Title: A Disappointing and Offensive Narrative: A Review of "The New Bad Thing" by Michael Ebner
Thank you NetGalley and Pen and Picture Publishing for providing an advance copy of the audio and ebook for review. All opinions are my own. "The New Bad Thing" by Michael Ebner has inexplicably garnered rave reviews, with many praising it as riveting, engaging, exciting, action-packed, a thriller, and a page-turner. I might have agreed if I could have stomached enough of it to see if these reviewers were correct. Unfortunately, I couldn’t. The book starts off promisingly with a gripping terrorist attack at a Paris hotel, setting up what seems to be a thrilling rollercoaster ride. But then, Ebner makes the fatal mistake that too many authors do—resorting to lazy, harmful stereotypes. He dives headfirst into the tired trope of depicting Black characters as mere muscle for their "master's" whims. One of the main characters, Roman, has Black bodyguards. Predictably, one is described as a hulking, slow, and dim-witted figure, untrustworthy enough that he must wear ...