Man in the Empty Suit
by Sean Ferrell
Sean Ferrell has done a wonderful thing: he’s written a book that will inspire every single person who reads it. Granted, they might not be inspired in the way he originally intended, but it’s still a fantastic book that I’ve whole-heartedly crammed down the throat of every person willing to listen. And every person who took my advice felt their own ideas blooming and couldn’t wait to share them with every person who would listen to them!
The first page consists of “Convention Rules”—and it’s perhaps the most intriguing first page of a novel ever written:
1. Elders know best.
2. No guests.
3. If it broke before, let it break again.
4. Don’t demand more information than an Elder is willing to give.
5. Nothing comes from nowhere: Don’t expect something if you don’t remember giving it.
6. No one is younger than the Inventor.
7. Stay below the third floor.
8. Try not to ruin the fun for the Youngsters.
9. Gambling makes no sense in the past tense.
10. Don’t park in the same place twice.
11. Never reveal the future.
12. Act like you’ve been here before.
13. Don’t expect anyone to be impressed.
14. Keep your promises.
15. Don’t come back until you’ve aged a full year.
See what I mean? When I read that page, I knew I had to buy the book. I’m not even a science fiction fan, but I couldn’t put it down! Man in the Empty Suit is about a man who has invented a time machine, and every year on his birthday he travels to the same hotel to have a party with all different versions of himself. Isn’t that an incredible setup? Everyone at the party is the same person, just aged in different years; when he talks to a Youngster, he already knows what he’s lived through, and when he sees an Elder, he wonders what will happen in the years to come to make him change. The different versions of the same man have nicknames, like Seventy, Yellow, and Screwdriver, so the situations don’t get confusing. I’m sure your mind is running wild already, trying to come up with the impetus for the fast-paced story—even though the premise alone would have made an interesting book, in my opinion. I won’t tell you what happens, because it’s incredibly exciting to find out as it unfolds, but I will reveal that while at the routine birthday party, something happens that isn’t supposed to happen. . .
I can’t recommend this amazingly inventive novel highly enough. Now, with that praise said, I’m going to give it a terrible criticism—and without spoilers, don’t worry. During the first third of the novel, I was riveted and convinced it was going to become one of my favorite books of all time. In the second third, I was puzzled, and tried to mentally will the story to take a different turn. The last third was such a horrific disappointment, I couldn’t imagine why Ferrell had derailed his wonderfully promising premise so terribly. You might wonder why I recommend this book so much if, at the end of the day, I couldn’t stand the direction it took. The answer is simple: this book inspired my imagination in ways I never dreamed possible—planning out all the different and better directions it could have taken. This book provided me with hours and hours of creative splendor, not to mention the days and weeks of talking about it with my family and friends, hearing their ideas of how the story could have been improved. Do yourself a favor and read this book. It’ll keep you entertained for weeks.
The first page consists of “Convention Rules”—and it’s perhaps the most intriguing first page of a novel ever written:
1. Elders know best.
2. No guests.
3. If it broke before, let it break again.
4. Don’t demand more information than an Elder is willing to give.
5. Nothing comes from nowhere: Don’t expect something if you don’t remember giving it.
6. No one is younger than the Inventor.
7. Stay below the third floor.
8. Try not to ruin the fun for the Youngsters.
9. Gambling makes no sense in the past tense.
10. Don’t park in the same place twice.
11. Never reveal the future.
12. Act like you’ve been here before.
13. Don’t expect anyone to be impressed.
14. Keep your promises.
15. Don’t come back until you’ve aged a full year.
See what I mean? When I read that page, I knew I had to buy the book. I’m not even a science fiction fan, but I couldn’t put it down! Man in the Empty Suit is about a man who has invented a time machine, and every year on his birthday he travels to the same hotel to have a party with all different versions of himself. Isn’t that an incredible setup? Everyone at the party is the same person, just aged in different years; when he talks to a Youngster, he already knows what he’s lived through, and when he sees an Elder, he wonders what will happen in the years to come to make him change. The different versions of the same man have nicknames, like Seventy, Yellow, and Screwdriver, so the situations don’t get confusing. I’m sure your mind is running wild already, trying to come up with the impetus for the fast-paced story—even though the premise alone would have made an interesting book, in my opinion. I won’t tell you what happens, because it’s incredibly exciting to find out as it unfolds, but I will reveal that while at the routine birthday party, something happens that isn’t supposed to happen. . .
I can’t recommend this amazingly inventive novel highly enough. Now, with that praise said, I’m going to give it a terrible criticism—and without spoilers, don’t worry. During the first third of the novel, I was riveted and convinced it was going to become one of my favorite books of all time. In the second third, I was puzzled, and tried to mentally will the story to take a different turn. The last third was such a horrific disappointment, I couldn’t imagine why Ferrell had derailed his wonderfully promising premise so terribly. You might wonder why I recommend this book so much if, at the end of the day, I couldn’t stand the direction it took. The answer is simple: this book inspired my imagination in ways I never dreamed possible—planning out all the different and better directions it could have taken. This book provided me with hours and hours of creative splendor, not to mention the days and weeks of talking about it with my family and friends, hearing their ideas of how the story could have been improved. Do yourself a favor and read this book. It’ll keep you entertained for weeks.