Publisher : Dell Publishing Co., Inc.
First Dell printing, 1972
Cover Artist : uncredited (if someone knows, leave a comment)
Plot Synopsis (of cover): Giant circuit board descends on a world where the exiled b-cast of 70s Bond films have long since cast away conventional morality in favor of nudism. Protagonist attempts to prevent apocalypse with nipples, supported by trusty busty femme sidekick’s underboob and ennui. Ends with a picnic and a contest to see who can land a grape in the protagonist’s gargantuan bellybutton.
Relatively Irrelevant Inside Text: Big Brother is watching you, and he’s rock fuckin’ hard. It’s probably cockshyness, then, that prevents the doctor on page one from succumbing to the tempting nymphomaniac amnesiac boobs in his face (FYI, if Gatsby had started this way, I’d have read it). This is pulpy 70’s sci-fi done exactly as it should be, well worth the time of anyone, like me, who drools over the old Philip K Dick shtick. The book touts itself as a successor to Huxley’s “Brave New World,” and it’s obvious why, but I also kept getting whiffs of “The Count Of Monte Cristo.” That is, without the French. And with more nuclear blight.
Rating: 8.5 Nebulous Senses of Self
Questions for Critical Cover Viewing:
* If the sun is growing cold, why doesn’t he put on a shirt?
* Is chest hair out of vogue in the future, or did someone play a trick on this guy on his last soma holiday?
* If that shoulder is so boring, why doesn’t she go someplace else?
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