“Show Time” is a fiction story written by the founder of Adam & Eve, Phil Harvey. At 241 pages long, this book easily has chapter stopping points regularly which makes it a good choice if you like to read in short bursts. The book is paperback, and it’s about the size of an average book. The book took me about two hours of straight reading to finish, but I read very quickly. I’d say that it wouldn’t take most people more than a day, though, if they only sit down and read the book. (Which might happen when you get hooked!)
The plot of this book is pretty interesting. Here’s the description from the back of the book to avoid accidentally giving away more than I should:
“With viewers lapping up reality TV, one production company has put seven people on a heavily wooded island in the middle of Lake Superior where they must try to survive a winter with temperatures of 20 below zero. If they live, the three women and four men will get $400,000 apiece plus bonsues if the show does well. But the food supply issued to each one is too small, and only two have been given tools and guns. It’s a setup for cutthroat competition – for food, for shelter, for sex – and every move the desperate contestants make will be broadcast. At least that’swhat the producers and viewers believe, not suspecting that the castaways can block the cameras and plot an act so violence that ratings are sure to climb.”
The book is a bit slow to start. It’s hard to get into it within the first twenty pages, and there’s just so many characters and details going on that it’ll be confusing. However, once you hit 40 pages in or so, the book will have drawn you in enough and given you enough detail to really know what’s going on – and to hook you into reading more. It really caught my attention after about 40 pages, and I didn’t want to stop reading. It’s just a warning to give the book a chance and keep reading even if it seems hard to get into at first.
I must admit that I didn’t really know why this is sold on a Sex Toy site. Well, actually, I do know now, but it’s still interesting. The author is actually the founder of Adam & Eve – which is cool. The book really doesn’t have enough erotic content to be considered an erotic book, though (and the erotic content is really minimal at best), so keep that in mind. Still an enjoyable read, but don’t think that, just because it’s on a sex toy site, it’s a sex book, though.
The book itself is an enjoyable read. The drama between the characters is realistic, and it’s entertaining exactly how the author managed to find so many “weird” and “problematic” people but managed to find ways that the characters could relate to one another as well. It’s nice and interesting to see how the people and their personalities change as they spend time on the island, and the entire book really is a great read that draws you in. I read the entire book in a day. I wasn’t planning to, but after I got drawn into the characters and the plot, there was no putting the book down. So it was very interesting and well-done writing.
Don’t be too caught up on the “for sex” aspect of the book. There are some mentions of sex, but the mentions are short and non-erotic. The majority of the book just focuses on the drama between the characters as well as the search for food. Like all good book descriptions, the description for “Show Time” overplays the violence and sex that the book has, but as long as you don’t go in expecting this very gorey, lots-of-erotic sex book, then you’ll be fine.
Along with that, the book has an interesting look into what might happen in our society if we let reality television get too out-of-hand. The reality television company goes to intense lengths to record and keep the islanders performing well for the entertainment of their viewers. Secret contracts were signed, and even when there’s danger, the reality television show wants to push it more for views – even if it causes fatalities. It’s an interesting statement on the future of reality television if we let it get too far.
I will admit to being disappointed by the shortened ending. I like how the ending happened, but at the same time, I feel like an additional 40 pages talking about how the characters reacclimated and how things turned out would have been nice. Instead, you know the final ending to the character’s plight, but you never really learn about the aftermath of how everything may have changed. So I wish that really would have been added on to help add some finality with the characters. As it stands, the ending feels very short and cut-off.
Overall, “Show Time” book is an enjoyable book. I wouldn’t call it a “must-read”, but I also don’t feel like I wasted my time reading it. It was an enjoyable read, gripped me in half-way through the book, and while it had an abrupt ending, the story made some interesting points that have kept me thinking about it for the last couple days. Thanks to Adam & Eve sex toys for providing this reality television fiction book for my “Show Time” Book review.
