Author Bill Dutcher's "Fictoids" is a racy read. A fictoid, according to the author, is making a statement or telling a story in one sentence. A typical fictoid tells who did what, when and where, although the fact in it may be debatable. Putting it simply, a fictoid is a fictional factoid.

Dutcher is an owner of oil and gas business in Oklahoma City. What started as an interest outside his regular occupation in the year 1997, has taken the shape of this book. His experience in oil and gas business inspired him to write a couple of related fictoids. Since then, Dutcher has written many fictoids ranging from historical events to modern day incidents. This book contains enjoyable anecdotes in short sentences, packing loads of chuckles in every page. From the rich and the famous to the commoner, everyone finds a place in this interestingly written book. Cartoonist Jack Ziegler's illustrations aptly complement the fictoids and add appeal to this book.

Here are examples of a few entertaining fictoids: "Due to the actions of his predecessor, Henry the Ninth couldn't even get a date. (The lonely king remained a bachelor until he was sixty, when, in the midst of a late-life crisis, he got married to the widow next door.)"

" Thomas Edison's creative yet scatterbrained younger brother, Alvin, founded 37 different businesses in the 1920's before combining them into a confused conglomerate called General Eclectic."

" In 2001, the Southwestern Lung Association warned patrons of Tex-Mex restaurants that frequent exposure to second-hand fajita smoke caused lung cancer in laboratory armadillos."

Some amusing names find place in the index of well-known personalities, such as Anwar Sedate, Al Cappucino, Mia Culpa, Girl Saturday, Rush Limbo, Dean Martini, Ralph Nadir, Mia Pharaoh.

Dutcher concludes the book in his inimitable style "All Rights Reserved / All Wrongs Regretted / All Disclaimers Apply." Read this book, it is a comic relief.

BookWire Review
June 29, 2005