Plot summary

The beginning of the book takes place in the mental disabilites wing of the Las Vegas Clark County Detention Center. A psychiatrist

Psychiatrist

A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...

 named Dr. Vale interviews Jane Charlotte, who is there for the murder of a man called Dixon. Jane claims that she works for a secret organization devoted to fighting evil and that she is the operative for the Department for the Final Disposition of Irredeemable Persons, which is also known as Bad Monkeys. She also claims that her job is to eliminate individuals who are guilty of heinous crimes, but might elude normal channels of justice. Jane tells her story to Dr. Vale about her life working with Bad Monkeys.

Origins

Ruff has stated that Bad Monkeys is his "Philip K. Dick

Philip K. Dick

Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...

 novel" -- and that, for this reason, the protagonist is named for Jane Charlotte Dick, Philip K. Dick's twin sister who died in infancy;Bad Monkeys — the origins of the story, by Matt Ruff

Matt Ruff

Matthew Theron Ruff is an American author of thriller, science-fiction and comic novels.-Background and education:...

, originally posted at Powell's Books

Powell's Books

Powell's Books is a chain of bookstores in Oregon's Portland metropolitan area. Powell's headquarters, dubbed Powell's City of Books, claims to be the largest independent new and used bookstore in the world. Powell's City of Books is located in the Pearl District on the edge of downtown and...

, August 7 2007, retrieved November 11 2011 He also states that the book was inspired by having watched an episode of South Park

South Park

South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...

and, shortly thereafter, having read David Simon

David Simon

David Simon is an American author, journalist, and a writer/producer of television series. He worked for the Baltimore Sun City Desk for twelve years. He wrote Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets and co-wrote The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood with Ed Burns...

's Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets

Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets

Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets is a 1991 book written by Baltimore Sun reporter David Simon describing a year spent with detectives from the Baltimore Police Department homicide squad...

.

Reception

A New York Times review said, "“Bad Monkeys,” allusions aside, is highly entertaining. It moves fast and keeps surprising you. There are also some exciting and hallucinatory action sequences that are so skillfully written I felt as if I was watching the first “Matrix” movie, which I unabashedly loved." A Mostly Fiction review said, "This is the sort of book I would gladly read in one sit down session if I hadn’t had to suffer annoying interruptions such as work and sleep. Believe me, this book jumps right into the middle of a gripping story and doesn’t let up until the final page."

Bad Monkeys received the 2008 Washington State Book Award

Washington State Book Award

The Washington State Book Awards are presented annually in recognition of notable books written by Washington authors in the previous year.This literary awards program was established in 1967 as the Governor's Writers Awards. The program was based at the Washington State Library in Olympia...

 for Fiction.

External links

• Spike Magazine review
• Spot Central review (via archive.org)
• Writers Are Readers review (via archive.org)