THE JOKE AT THE END OF THE WORLD

In Dikkers’ YA novel, a boy from 1950s America travels through time to the year 2020.

Twelve-year-old Patrick Stoodle lives in Cordial Falls, Nevada, in the year 1957. He’s an introverted boy who, when he’s not worrying about the H-bomb, fuels his imagination with SF comic books and radio programs. Meanwhile, he and his scientist father have an emotionally distant relationship. On Patrick’s birthday, however, his dad gives him the ultimate present—a journey through time to the year 2020. The boy is excited at first, but the experience doesn’t go as planned. America in the future has survived the threat of nuclear war, but there are people fighting in the streets, and a deadly virus is killing thousands. Worse, it turns out that Patrick’s whole life has been a lie: Cordial Falls, it turns out, was created by Patrick’s billionaire father to ease his son’s formative years. As Patrick tries to come to terms with life in 2020, a being claiming to be Jesus Christ appears on Earth, throwing the world into further disarray. Dikkers, a founding editor of The Onion and the creator of the comic strip “Jim’s Journal,” has an easygoing prose style and a good grasp of dialogue. Patrick and the other characters ring true, and the tempo of the story effectively ramps up over the course of its three major movements. However, it’s hard to pin down this work’s target audience. The 1950s time-capsule section seems more likely to appeal to nostalgic grandparents than to a young readership. The next section allows for a child’s view of modern society, but it features adult commentary as much as it does Patrick’s newly awoken impressions. The dénouement manifests as an invasion narrative that promotes rationalism over unthinking religious belief. As intriguing as the novel’s ideas are, they’re more edifying than enjoyable. Indeed, given the book’s title and Dikkers’ resume, readers may be surprised by the dearth of humor here. The only discernible joke is of the joke’s-on-you variety, as the narrative tackles the dark folly of humanity.

Somewhat bland social commentary bookended by SF twists.