Reviewed by Chris
TITLE: Scrudge & Barley, Inc.
AUTHOR: John Inman
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 200 pages
BLURB:
A classic tale takes off in sexy new directions! Poor Mr. Dickens must be twirling in his grave.
When E.B. Scrudge, putz extraordinaire and all-around numbnuts, is visited by his dead ex on Christmas Eve, he can’t imagine how his life could sink any lower. But the three ghostly spirits that come along after are even worse! Good lord, a dyke, a drag queen, and rounding out the trio, a big, hunky bear with nipple rings and a butt plug! What’s next?
What’s next is a good deal of soul-searching and some hard lessons learned with a dash of redemption thrown in for good measure.
And love too, believe it or not. Love that had been simmering all along at the heart of Scrudge’s miserable existence, although he was too selfish to see it—until a trio of holiday beasties pointed his sorry ass in the right direction.
REVIEW:
Scrudge & Barley, Inc. is a modern retelling of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol…with a gay twist. Scrudge, also known as Ebbie, is the man in charge of the insurance company, Scrudge & Barley, Inc.. And he is just as miserly and cruel as you could imagine. But for some reason that doesn’t stop Willie from falling for his boss…just maybe makes him regret it with painful frequency. But this Christmas something new is stirring in the air, and Scrudge might just get his chance to undo a future full of pain for more than just his shriveled heart.
If you have read, seen, or even been around for any length of time, you know the bare bones of this story. One miserable boss, one kind-hearted worker, and four ghosts hell bent on unending the twisted core of protagonist. It is a story with many reincarnation, but one that I enjoy reading and/or watching every Christmas season. Add in a gay twist, and some typical Inman humor, and I was all ready to have a good time.
For the most part, I did enjoy it. Ebbie was a nice blend of expected character flaws with a rather good, if painful, backstory. Inman did a good job of creating sympathy for a character who was quite lacking in empathy. I really liked how certain parts of this story were updated and made to fit with a gay character. The dude is a bit of a douche, but as the story progresses you kinda see how he got that way, and you find yourself reluctantly liking him. Sort of. A little.
It was Willie that I perhaps liked the best. He is a good man–with a massive masochistic streak, or something. The dude does not have the best taste in men, that is for sure. But despite that, I liked him. Or maybe because of it. Willie sees something deep (deep deep deep) in Ebbie worth trying for, and he does not give up (mostly) despite the walls he is constantly running headlong into.
The four ghosts (Barley plus past, present, and future) were interesting as well. The initial meeting with Barley was incredibly freaky, and I loved that it was able to creep me out despite the fact I knew what was coming.
Still, while there was a lot good in this, there was also a lot there that was too predictable to really hold my complete attention. It was an interesting twist, but by this point, there would have to be something astonishing written into this story to not make it feel a bit worn around the edges. I enjoyed reading it, because I like how Inman writes his more humorous stories, but it suffered from having been structured after a story so well known.
It makes a good Christmas story, though. Massive butt plugs and all.
RATING:
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