“The Weekly Book Nook” by Ryan Harding—NY Times guest columnist.

This week’s review: “Lazy Sombra: Or Why You Might Be Living Next To A Pony Now”.

219 pages, $23.99 hardcover, published through Random House.

Writing a book review for Lazy Sombra almost feels like a redundancy. The book’s been on the best seller’s list since the moment it hit the shelves, and if the numbers I hear are accurate, that means a quarter of Americans already own themselves a copy of the thin text and have probably already lent it to a friend. So is there much chance of my opinion on the book swaying whether you read it or not? I highly doubt it. But let’s give it a try anyways.

Here’s a brief synopsis of the book, if you’ve somehow managed to have your head buried in the sand for the past six months:

In the magical land of Equestria, a tyrannical unicorn by the name of King Sombra is defeated in spectacular fashion and sent flying across space and time to land in a middle-aged human’s condo. The human in question is a man named Steve (we’ll talk more about him later). Very soon, the dark pony and easygoing human soon form an uneasy bond, and when a group of seven mares from Sombra’s original home world come to take him back, Steve follows them close behind in rescue of his furry friend.

What those mares failed to mention at the onset, though (and here’s where things get a little complicated), is that they’re actually not from the original Equestria at all, but a duplicate Equestria that was created the moment King Sombra was destroyed. And this Equestria, having never been meant to exist in the first place, soon comes under attack from monsters from other worlds we’d rather have stayed put in our worst nightmares.

Still following along well enough? (I’ll add a link on our web page to a 60 Minutes interview with Discord the draconequus who explains it in more detail.)

The leader of this group of desperate mares that takes Sombra from Earth is probably someone you know quite well by now—Princess Twilight Sparkle. Having lost her family and mentors in a crumbling, horror-filled version of her home, she decides the best course of action is to recreate what started it all to begin with. Namely: the explosion-heavy death of King Sombra.

So here you have the basic plot of Lazy Sombra; an overwrought tale of a human literally going to the ends of the Earth just to get his pony back, all the while changing the course of human history for all time.

I think we can all remember what we were in the middle of doing when we heard news that millions of pony-like creatures had miraculously appeared in the heart of the United States—talking and singing and happy to be away from that terrible place they’d called home.

Midway through my read of Lazy Sombra, I asked our editor if an interview with Steve might be possible, only to learn Steve had stopped making public appearances altogether and had gone into hiding alongside his moody pony friend. Truthfully, I don’t blame him one bit for running away—not when the name “Steve” became a household name in less than a day, now akin to Earth’s single-named Madonna or Cher. Sure, he might’ve singlehandedly saved an entire race from extinction, but he did so without the consent or approval of either humans or ponies.

Since his return, Steve has become a highly divisive figure—given accolades by celebrities and politicians while also viciously hounded by the small minority that have yet to warm up to our talking horse brethren.

If you’ve somehow managed to miss out on current events for the past half-year, then a quick read of Lazy Sombra should be the next thing you plan on doing. At 219 pages, it’s short enough and told with just enough sarcasm that Steve’s mediocre first-person writing style shouldn’t put too much of a damper on things—even if the second half of the book becomes a little too grim for its own good.

What are the reviewer’s thoughts on the world we live in now following “Pony Gate?”

Honestly, I really don’t have all that much to complain about. All the ponies I’ve interviewed so far have been some of the kindest subjects I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting, and each morning when I get to work, our new mare secretary gives me the same wonderful cup of joe with that bright smile of hers.

No, humans should have very little to complain about. The one figure in all this that deserves more attention than she’s getting is Twilight Sparkle, actually, the only alicorn to make it back to Earth and that last of her kind. With no real family left and with her (horribly misguided) plans of global suicide derailed at the last minute, she’ll need to rely on her friends and that weird looking boyfriend of hers to see her through. And, with any luck, the humans of Earth will help her out as well.

To paraphrase an old film quote to make my stance on the subject perfectly clear:

“I, for one, welcome our new pony overlords.”

And hopefully you will too. Everyone needs a little help once in a while. Even talking ponies.

Lazy Sombra: Or Why You Might Be Living Next To A Pony Now: 3.5/5 STARS.

Sept. 18th, 2015, NY Times Newspaper.