A Highly Unlikely Scenario, or a Neesta Pizza Employee's Guide to Saving the World: A Novel by Rachel Cantor
Rachel Cantor's A Highly Unlikely Scenario, or a Neesta Pizza Employee's Guide to Saving the World: A Novel is a strange, quirky and fun science fiction novel. With an odd combination of dystopia, time travel and Jewish mysticism, Cantor follows in the footsteps of Douglas Adams with her debut novel. While perhaps not for everyone, I thoroughly enjoyed the story.
The title alone - A Highly Unlikely Scenario, or a Neesta Pizza Employee's Guide to Saving the World: A Novel - sets the tone for the off-beat humor in the novel. Most reminiscent of Douglas Adams' Dirk Gently series, the story is preposterous, humorous and strangely touching. Set in a dystopian future in which humans are segregated by which fast food chain and corresponding belief they support, the story is ultimately one of faith and love, with a bit of time travel thrown in for good measure. My only complaint about the story is that it was a bit of a slow burn - I was nearly halfway through the novel before I was hooked. While A Highly Unlikely Scenario, or a Neesta Pizza Employee's Guide to Saving the World: A Novel may not be every reader's cup of tea, I found it quite enjoyable.
A Highly Unlikely Scenario, or a Neesta Pizza Employee's Guide to Saving the World: A Novel by Rachel Cantor is a strange, funny and charming romp through the future, the past and Jewish mysticism. I would recommend this to fans of Douglas Adams, Robin Sloan's Mr. Penumbras 24-Hour Bookstore and Peter Clines' Ready Player One . This is a great addition to the realm of humorous science fiction.
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