Terminiello’s comic novel, set during a whirlwind sea voyage, offers a satirical look at the chaos and unrest of revolution.

This fast-paced, action-packed story uses Trip Torrent, the public relations director of the titular Climax of Dreams cruise liner, as its central character. He lives in New York City, an uncertain number of years in the future, and he describes the place as having “become the Crossroads of the World” in its vast diversity—as if it hadn’t already been so for more than a century. He also makes a point of referring to the people living there as “never-ending immigrant hordes.” Upon his arrival at work, readers learn that the owners have donated the Climax of Dreams to a group of refugees; shortly afterward, the ship is hijacked by an armed group led by the eccentric Simón Bolívar Francisco de Miranda Bernardo O’Higgins, who seeks to lead an uncertain revolution. From this point forward, the U.S. government gets involved in an attempt to rescue the refugee inhabitants of the craft—who have now become hostages—as well as defuse what’s become a volatile situation aboard the ship. But bonds form between Torrent and the revolutionaries, a media storm ensues, and, eventually, it becomes clear that not everyone’s goals are what they seemed to be at the start. Terminiello’s novel is fast moving and full of incident. But although the book is purportedly a comedy, it features many moments of intended humor that simply don’t land; the humor often uses sensitive issues as punchlines or relies on tired stereotypes (such as calling the New York mayor’s political party the “Democratic-Socialist-Neo-Nonsexualist Vegans”), while lacking in nuance or clever wordplay. These jokes often involve exaggeratedly elaborate descriptions, which makes the already highly eventful story difficult to follow. The narrative’s sequence of events feels somewhat aimless and lacking in either momentum or direction.

An eventful narrative that’s hampered by lackluster humor and a disorganized plot.

In this farcical work set in first-century Rome, the Emperor Caligula goes mad and his chef tries to save him from ruin.

The Emperor Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus—commonly referred to as Caligula—suffers from at least two grave problems: He is widely despised by his people and is descending into insanity. He suddenly proclaims himself a god, challenges the 100 best gladiators in Rome to a death match, and chats about politics with a horse, Incitatus. In an attempt to force the fictional King Neptune—or “old Neppy”—into submission, he even declares war on the sea. The emperor’s chef, Logos, a wily and resourceful Greek, continually attempts to rescue Caligula from his own self-destructiveness, a role that keeps “testing his wits to the limit.” Logos fears the competitive anarchy that will ensue should Caligula be dethroned and a republic established. Terminiello comically chronicles Logos’ ingenious efforts to protect Caligula from himself, an increasingly worrisome problem since—as he learns from Tatiana the vestal who is not a virgin—the senators no longer fear the leader. The author hits some memorable comedic highs; his depiction of 900 soldiers charging the sea—“Aqua warfare”—is hilarious. But most of the humor is more silly than funny—one might say zany at best and childishly lowbrow at worst. For example, Lady Labia—Caligula’s “wife, girlfriend, or sister or all three”—joins the cult of “Chrissies” until she balks at one of its demands: “Do you know what they wanted me to do?...They wanted me to wash some smelly beggar’s feet!” Terminiello sometimes seems to be phoning in the humor—characters have names like Devious Maximus and Effetus the Choreographer.

A madcap Roman Empire story densely packed with bumpy humor.