The Champion of Reason

By Jim Riva

Have you ever felt the urge to strike a blow against ignorance and stupidity? The Champion of Reason is your kind of guy -- a thinking-person's superhero. He certainly has an uphill fight against him... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1891262009
• ISBN13: 9781891262005
• Release Date: June 1998
• Publisher: Soaring Sparrow Press
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A SUPERHERO FOR THE REST OF US

Ever felt the urge to strike a blow against ignorance and stupidity? Then the Champion of Reason is your kind of guy. I chuckled (also snickered and guffawed) as the Champion campaigned to free the world (or at least one Midwest town) from banality and small-mindedness. Riva aims his wit like a bull-exploding-raygun and invariably hits the bullseye of the bull.I am reminded of Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow ( though The Champion Of Reason is not nearly as dense) and Vonnegut's classic novels. Has anyone secured the film rights to this yet? It could yield a dandy script. But don't wait to see the movie. Read the book.

A new favorite

One of the few books I have read that gives me reason to bust out loud laughing by myself. With tears in my eyes, I can confidently offer this selection to the harshest of critics. It's too bad more books don't get this far but I guess that's got more to do with the writers then the readers.

Long Live the Champ!

'Champ' is one of my favorites, a laugh-out-loud book with a lot to say about the state of social thought and behavior. Jim Riva has a definite (if somewhat unconventional) knack for telling a tale (check out his 'The Geographer'), and his major characters are unique, to say the least, and likeable in an eccentric-relative sort of way. In the course of this romp through small-town America (or is it? ), the 'superhero' Champion of Reason takes on the small-mindedness of every dogmatic thought system plaguing modern society. Riva draws things together in a satisfying way, and when you finish you'll be ready to start again.

Sleeper

This book is a sleeper. No, it will not cause yawning, boredom, nodding, and snoring. Quite the contary. It is a sleeper in the sense of something unnoticed that could suddenly become popular. If this story of a super hero preaching logic and reason ever gets into the hands of a good screenwriter then look out. This sleeper will awaken! Read this for laughs and get some real lessons or vice versa. You will not avoid getting both. Just don't get insulted because the story will point out a likely shallowness in some area of your life, proving then, that the Champion of Reason lives, and not even kryptonite will harm him. Long live the truth!

The Champion, a Humourous Romp Through Small Town U.S.A.

It is a theme of many Shakespeare plays that only in disguise can a person truly be themselves, to say exactly what they feel. Only in disguise can the constraints of society be ignored. Such is the case with The Champion of Reason, a comic novel from Jim Riva. The novel is basically a humourous romp through small town America, more specifically the town of Addleton, a place about to have its prejudices jolted by the Champion of Reason whose identity in the Shakespearean sense is a secret that the reader finds easy to see through. Yet to compare this novel to Shakespeare is unrealistic, because despite its often theatrical qualities this is a book that defies genre. Rarely have I read something so original or so hilarious. Riva`s strength is to expose the folly and vanity of human nature, something he does with skill and a highly refined, often outlandish sense of humour. A modern age Henry Fielding, Riva is a unique writer who treads a fine line between artifice and reality. This is a book that deserves to be read and enjoyed.