This book is not my normal Sci-fi offering. I met Freddy Cruz through an event my former publicist set up. I discovered that Freddy has done a lot of voice work in radio and was expanding into audio books. That piqued my interest since I was looking to push SPARK into audio. We chatted a bit and I found out that he’s also an author. They Cancelled the DJ is his second novel.
I would bet on more to come.
Cruz has an easy-to-read style that pulls you into his story quickly. Aubrey Cortes, AC, is a radio DJ. He has some understandable problems with those in power at his radio station. Cruz helps us see them as generally decent people faced with the need to generate ratings for their station and the corporate overlords who own it.
AC makes a bad dining decision, meets Bobbi, the girl of his dreams, and then vomits on her shoes during a publicity event.
Bobbi is an uber fan of ukulele-strumming pop star River Brownswell. Her fandom sets the stage for the remainder of the novel.
Knowing that Cruz spent a fair amount of his life as a DJ, I found myself wondering how much of the story is autobiographical. There are things that are surprising to me as a listener regarding life behind the microphone. They feel very authentic. I plan on asking for an interview with Cruz and will bring that up.
On the Feral Scale, this one is N/A for science. Ipecac comes into play, so I researched that and found its role in They Cancelled The DJ to be reasonable and accurate – even if no longer supported by the AMA. In terms of story, it’s an 8. I took the book on vacation with me, thinking it would last the week. Uh uh. It didn’t survive the plane ride to the beach. It pulled me in quickly and I was content that the flight was delayed at the gate long enough for me to finish it – even if it did leave me with the “what do I read now?” problem. That’s always a nice problem to have because it meant that what you just read was so good, you finished it quicker than anticipated. Downside: At the beach house, the book was discovered, and highlighted in crayon by our nearly-two-year-old granddaughter. Lots of highlighting, very little in line with the actual text.
Now I’m going to have to buy another one for Cruz to sign.
It’s an entertaining read that provides insights on both sides of the microphone – the DJs and the celebrities. Check it out.