All Encompassing Trip

"NORMAL IS MISSING. REWARD."

All Encompassing Trip is a 2007 novel by Nicole Del Sesto.

Nikki Nasco is 40, single, obsessive, and neurotic. She has a to-do list a mile long, no boyfriend, and the habits of calling her mother, going to the gym, and putting off important projects until the last possible moment. She is having a normal day.

Amber Lawson is 35, lesbian, and teaches aerobics. She attends law school, teaches Boot Camp, and is friends with Nikki. She is also having a normal day.

Both their normal days shatter when the darkness comes, taking them both to a place that is not normal. Coffee is no longer available, the only television shows are reality TV re-runs, and the animals are talking back. Now Amber, Nikki, and a singing Coyote in a do-rag embark on a journey to restore the light and hopefully get back to normal.

Welcome to Bizarro world. Rod Serling might want to lie down for a bit.


 * Affably Evil: The Big Man is described as such, almost in so many words.
 * Bizarro Fiction
 * Dark World
 * Expecting Someone Taller: Happens twice as Luke goes to recruit three people, each time appearing as some version of their chosen savior, only three feet tall.
 * Eye Scream: Amelia is blind when we meet her, having had her eyes stolen by a leprechaun. There is another, similarly-eyeless character, who appears on The Ophrah Winfrey Show, said that after he lost his eyes, he gained supernatural abilities.
 * Funetik Aksent: It is clear early on that Luke is Irish, because he pronounces "Jesus" as "Jasus".
 * Leprechaun: Luke.
 * Lipstick Lesbian: There is nothing about Amber that really screams lesbian, but people tend not to be overly surprised when informed she is one.
 * Oireland: Luke.
 * Ontological Mystery
 * Our Zombies Are Different: Nikki and Amber seem to be the only two definitely mortal characters who are not mindlessly going through a numb routine after the darkness falls.
 * Ravens and Crows: Rey.
 * Refused the Call: Kassam Kyle has better things to do, but Fate intervenes.