Review by Sou Hi -- Culture Man by Guy Cook

[Sou Hi]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Culture Man" by Guy Cook.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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What will you do if you suddenly gain supernatural powers? Will you dream of saving the world, helping the weak, fighting the villains, and so on? I guess every superhero would, as we have seen in many movies and stories. But Rob Griffin would not. If you're wondering what he will do, let's see what Guy Cook has for us in his Culture Man.

The story started with a cliché. Rob was in his ex's house to pick up his stuff after their break-up. By chance, he discovered that her cellar was actually a lab with experimental equipment. When Rob exited, he accidentally brought a sample jar with him. What's more, he even ate the substance inside it by mistake. That, along with a bite from a wild lizard, gave him the power to finish a 100-meter dash in 6 seconds. He could also soar into the sky after gaining enough momentum.

And how did he deal with that? He first tried to win a tennis tournament, then started a detective agency. That was his way of using his power. But one day, the Velvet Vandal appeared with similar abilities, directly targeted the artifacts mentioned in Rob's blog, his Year of Culture. Who was this thief? How would Rob react to this?

I like the flow of this book. The characters' manners give off the slice-of-life feeling with their ordinary routines. Since the book's short, there aren't many characters and each of them has decent screen time. The relationships between them are well-described, too. Paul, aware of Rob's abilities, willingly becomes his sidekick. Marianne broke up with Rob but still treats him like a friend. Kate, being Rob's physiotherapist, slowly turns into someone else in his heart.

Though this is not a mystery book, it has some small twists to surprise the readers. For instance, Julie's first encounter with Rob and Paul, or the Velvet Vandal's identity, though you can see the hints if you squint really hard. The ending is also good and logical - easy come, easy go, what doesn't belong to you will not be yours forever. This makes the book different from the other superhero series, but that's the selling point.

The book has detailed descriptions of tennis matches and fighting scenes, as well as the knowledge about the cultures, so those who are interested in them will like it. As for the editing, since the author uses British English, I'm not so sure, but there are some typos and punctuation mark errors, so I think it needs another proofreading. Overall, it's suitable for both adults and teenagers.

However, while it's a good book, something bugs me. To be frank, Rob's power was not very useful. Aside from using it against the antagonists, he hardly utilized it elsewhere. Similarly, Marianne's was totally wasted as she did not activate it throughout the story. Then there is Rob's detective agency. He accepted a murder case, but in the end, it's left unsolved, as if the author has already forgotten about it. Those details are kind of pointless. Thus, I only rate the book 3 out of 4 stars because of these incomplete facts.

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Culture Man
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[Rodel Barnachea]

I find the book's premise fascinating. Although, I think that Culture Man's name is a little unappealing. Great review!

[Sou Hi]

I find the book's premise fascinating. Although, I think that Culture Man's name is a little unappealing. Great review!

Thanks for your reply. The name is kind of plain, isn't it?