How To Die On The Planet Earth

To put it simply, this is the short story i’ve ever read. I went into this expecting a simple, comedic thinkpiece to keep me occupied for a bit. came out of it sobbing and reevaluating the path I’ve begun to choose for myself. 

Beany has such an incredible and recognizable prose, he’s able to create characters that feel so human and worlds that feel so real. Weaving in relatable, almost sitcom like situations with deep existentialism and a futuristic world that would be impossible to imagine we’re it not for his writing, it creates a world that feels so unknown and familiar at the same time. 

There’s such a deep, emotional complexity to Sols simplicity as a character, it’s impossible to not relate to their struggles and feel deeply for their losses and triumphs. Alexander and Euron were bursting with life, and all three of them had such a beautifully written dynamic with one another that felt more human than any friend group i’ve seen in short stories like these. 

The commentary on advertising and capitalism didn’t feel like some sort of ham fisted, jokeresque take on how ‘we live in a society’. Much like the rest of the story, it was simple and complex at the same time; up-front and easy to see, yet it weaves itself into the world building so effortlessly, it’s not until the end that it truly, finally hits you like a mental punch to the gut.

Overall, this was one of the most amazing, harrowing, and thoughtful stories I’ve ever read. I feel like I’d need some time to think on it before even attempting a second read through, but I’m excited to go through it again, and I’m truly excited to read the rest of Beany’s work.  

(P.S, if you ever manage to turn this into a physical book, I’d buy it.)

there's a lot of cool ideas in here. i enjoyed reading it very much

Beany has a gift for a particular type of comedic writing that I have yet to find anywhere else. It's hard to describe what makes his work so different from other writers, but whatever it is, it's absolutely unique. There's an artistry to his descriptions of everyday scenarios and everyday human beings. At the risk of sounding pretentious, I'm going to try to describe it. If you find amateur art analysis a bit hard to stomach, look away immediately, because I'm about as skilled at dissecting media as a two year old is at dissecting a frog with a screwdriver.

Beany finds the unspoken absurdities of life and heightens them. Satire is nothing new, of course, but Beany seems to go right the core of whatever the topic is. I'm not sure if "speaks to the human condition" is the right term, but it certainly feels like it. It finds the strange, unspoken quirks of the human experience and hones in on them with a laser focus while rarely being cheesy or condescending. 

Also, I really love the concept of the Blackout Wars and their veterans. It feels very reminiscent of how jobs are treated today: you're practically defined by your career, and yet the jobs are so personally meaningless to you that it's impossible to truly make it a part of your identity. A lot of people try, but it never feels like they really succeed.

Beany Tuesday is one of my favorite artists, and I look forward to seeing what he makes in the future.

These days my attention span is hanging on by a thread but I was glued to this story through all 53 pages. I realize that "reading the whole thing" barely constitutes a compliment, but I mean it when I say I haven't been this stimulated by a piece of media in a while. The jokes killed just as hard as the tragedy did. The suspense you weaved into the lives of the side characters and the main trio couldn't have accumulated into a better payoff. Seriously dude, amazing work. Would love to see more short stories from you.

This was great. I think the bits that made me laugh the most were the ones that completely blindsided me, like the ad break towards the end. 

It reminded me of when I spent a month binge-reading Worm in college. I hope you write more, just like in general.