Arts Review

Jim Munroe

Jim Munroe is the consummate pop-culture provocateur, being the brains behind the No Media Kings outfit and the Perpetual Motion Roadshow and bringing literary and multimedia goodness to folks all over North America. But we really love him for his writing: his subversive sci-fi tales Flyboy Action Figure Comes With Gasmask and Everyone in Silico, his video game reviews for The Cultural Gutter and elsewhere, and now his newest novel, An Opening Act of Unspeakable Evil.

That last is what he's promoting on his current tour – you can catch him Monday at MonkeyWrench Books (where he's doing a sort of seminar called Time Management for Anarchists) and then at Pedazo Chunk (where he's appearing with anti-folkster musician Acoustic Ross). Munroe's also running the new book as a fake blog, as if the novel is actually taking place in realtime and his protagonist Kate is journaling it live on www.roommatefromhell.com.

What would you do if your new roomie were performing satanic rituals in her bedroom and calling up demons and such on a daily basis? You'd probably leave the apartment and go see Jim Munroe on Monday, wouldn't you? You should anyway.

Mon. Nov. 1, 6pm: MonkeyWrench Books, 110 E. North Loop, 407-6925. 8pm: Pedazo Chunk, 2009 S. First, 441-3505. www.nomediakings.com.