John Sundman's Cheap Complex Devices contains sentences of terrible beauty that are also terribly funny. Chunks of it are structurally flawless. Readers of general fiction might not enjoy the way it messes with their heads. But for some of us, that's its strongest attraction.

I'm reviewing this novel in honor of a panel John organized for SXSW about self-publishing that will take place this coming Saturday. If you have 15 minutes you can read my longer review, but at a high level... 

CCD contains a novel within a novel, Bees, set in a slightly altered present. As a science fiction fan, I admired the way the changes from my own reality became apparent. But the alterations are subtle enough that you can read CCD for entertainment without bothering about them.

Except on page 50.000963 the narrator says: "Pay attention." (The page numbers are "that way" because a floating point error is both a plot point and a theme.) And your attention will be rewarded. This novel makes its reader take a stand, forces us to decide. Repeatedly. It's far more than the stunt its own introduction(s) suggest it is.

I recommend Cheap Complex Devices to anyone with an interest in electronic/experimental literature - "metafiction with a side of crazed typography" - or anyone who has ever worked for a computer company and still has his/her sense of humor - or anyone who has thought so deeply about AI that they need a slap upside the head (in this case, a complex and poetic slap).

Bonus link: John's candid report about selling his three novels directly to hackers at a recent Defcon. Includes dollar amounts. The guy is fearless (he's a volunteer firefighter; perhaps that's one reason why).