Rumored to Exist [Paperback]

Jon Konrath (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 24, 2002

Meet John Conner: UFO enthusiast, militant screenwriter, explosives expert, and extreme sports enthusiast. He works for an insane scientist who collects human corpses and made millions on an impossible-to-solve childrens puzzle that shoots poisonous spikes when it isnt completed. On his days off, Conner steals genetic material for blackmail purposes with his Columbian bodyguard Tito, and hangs out with his Lego-obsessed friend Nick. His Texan lawyer,preoccupied with his own earwax, has vanished to Vietnam; a guy named Ivan has started selling sheep for sexual purposes; a famous filmmaker is working on a cinematic trilogy based on vomit. Plus he and Nick found a way to talk to the dead via a librarys electronic card catalog terminal. But even in this strange world, the meaning of life eludes him, and he needs to know the answers, or at least find a way to pay his six-digit phone bill.The nonlinear, experimental fiction of Rumored to Exist blasts through a hyperdimensional landscape of the near-future, mutated fact, and impossible science. A combination of pop-fiction references, heavy metal speed, and hilarious parody mix the half-dozen different stories together into a nightmarish tale of post-apocalyptic America.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

In addition to Rumored to Exist, Jon Konrath is also the author of the novel Summer Rain. The former zine editor maintains rumored.com and is a technical writer by trade. He currently resides in New York City.

Product Details

• Paperback: 268 pages
• Publisher: IUniverse (June 24, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595234763
• ISBN-13: 978-0595234769
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,932,638 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jon Konrath is a writer living in Oakland, California. He's written five books and a failed lit journal. His hobbies include Civil War surgery reenactment and being the Washington Nationals of his fantasy baseball league. He can be found at rumored.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surreal Slash and Burn, September 21, 2002

By 

John L. Sheppard (Round Lake Park, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rumored to Exist (Paperback)

Clever, humorous and extraordinarily weird, "Rumored to Exist" jolts along with a supercharged cyberpunk writing style that's jam-packed with elements of tacky technology fetishism, rabid chunks of Fox TV's weeknight lineup, monster movies gone horribly awry, rewarmed and retwisted conspiracy theories, and--why not?-- horrifically ill-advised scientific research. Among other things.

It's as if the Post-Modern Paul Revere from Richard Linklater's "Slacker" (the guy who drove around blasting the sidewalks with dark warnings via the monster PA system atop his car) was told to crack his knuckles and get to typing... pronto fella. And then he did. With relish.

The squeamish are advised to stay away. There are more fecal jokes here than in a ten-hour South Park marathon. The rest of you should crowd into this here tent and take your seat. The show's about to begin.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A perfect Weekend!, March 1, 2004

By 

Lawrence Falli "lfalli" (chicago, il United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rumored to Exist (Paperback)

An alcoholic hit bottom and remembering the past August 27, 2003
This book is a new concept compared to Konrath's usual "fiction," in that it's a short series of seemingly related bookettes, almost like a long stream of consciousness that you can buy for cheap and read in one pass. I read this during the New York blackout, but I was in Chicago, and it hit the spot because it immersed me in another world, of a Navy dropout at the end of his rope, drinking mouthwash for alcohol and trying to think back as to what went wrong. It's like a good short story, but long enough that you feel like you got your money worth. I also like how he tied it into his book Summer Rain, but also described another side of the demented Konrath world. This is great stuff and well worth the price. PS Jon, congrads on your recent win before the MA supreme court!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The inner workings of a psycho mind..., March 2, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Rumored to Exist (Paperback)

This book is a complex and recursively spiraling journey through the mind of the author, refracted through the shattered lens of postmodern society.
Plus it comes in handy bite-sized chunks!
The best of Konrath's books, "Rumored to Exist" is easy to pick up and read thanks to the engaging over-the-top depravity and general sensory overload of the sci-fi tinged text. And despite the fact that the "chapters," if you will, can often be less than a page long, this is a difficult book to set down, since anything can, and often does, happen, including the strangest things that you're likely to ever read.