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fellfromfiction's review against another edition
4.0
Had Douglas Adams been American, this is the book he would've written. So I'm pleased he was English. It's not bad though, rather funny and fast paced.
gengelcox's review against another edition
5.0
I first noted the name Bradley Denton in connection with the excellent story “The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians” in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Along with [a:Lucius Shepard|26767|Lucius Shepard|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1395743242p2/26767.jpg]’s “[b:The Scalehunter’s Beautiful Daughter|1830230|The Scalehunter's Beautiful Daughter|Lucius Shepard|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1213493326s/1830230.jpg|1830076],” it was my pick of best short fiction of 1988, and I tried to cajole everyone I knew into reading it. Denton had a way with humor and pathos that captured the heart and soul of Lenny Bruce and John Belushi, and said something about everyone at the same time.
I was extremely pleased to find out that Denton moved to Austin sometime around then so that I could tell him how much I liked that story. He was humble and effusive at the same time, and the one thing that I remember him saying in response was “I don’t even feel like the same guy who wrote that story.” It’s easy to understand his alienation when you realize that he probably wrote it in 1985, had it rejected a couple of times before Ed Ferman bought it (say in 1987) and it’s ultimate appearance in F&SF in 1988. A lot of things can happen in three years. Three years ago Mark Ziesing sold books from Conneticut, Ed Ferman was the editor of Fantasy & Science Fiction, people thought the words Russia and USSR were interchangeable, and there were American hostages in the middle-east.
When [a:Neil Barrett, Jr.|14422185|Neil Barrett Jr|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] started selling his weird and wild stories to Asimov’s like “Sweetheart Ginny’s,” the talk around the Austin SF scene sounded like this: Neil must have sat too close to [a:Howard Waldrop|113942|Howard Waldrop|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1336251287p2/113942.jpg] and mutated. If not for the evidence of “The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians,” I would be saying the same thing about Denton now. Denton’s first novel, [b:Wrack & Roll|778144|Wrack and Roll|Bradley Denton|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1293492508s/778144.jpg|2168232], didn’t do much for me, but this novel knocked me for a loop. The biggest trouble with this book is that it’s hard to describe, except to quote the title. Kind of like Howard Waldrop, with a little bit of [a:Ken Grimwood|19651|Ken Grimwood|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1404329298p2/19651.jpg]’s [b:Replay|341735|Replay|Ken Grimwood|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1441156728s/341735.jpg|1804797], and a lot of humor that is Denton’s own. This is my pick for the novel of 1991.
I was extremely pleased to find out that Denton moved to Austin sometime around then so that I could tell him how much I liked that story. He was humble and effusive at the same time, and the one thing that I remember him saying in response was “I don’t even feel like the same guy who wrote that story.” It’s easy to understand his alienation when you realize that he probably wrote it in 1985, had it rejected a couple of times before Ed Ferman bought it (say in 1987) and it’s ultimate appearance in F&SF in 1988. A lot of things can happen in three years. Three years ago Mark Ziesing sold books from Conneticut, Ed Ferman was the editor of Fantasy & Science Fiction, people thought the words Russia and USSR were interchangeable, and there were American hostages in the middle-east.
When [a:Neil Barrett, Jr.|14422185|Neil Barrett Jr|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] started selling his weird and wild stories to Asimov’s like “Sweetheart Ginny’s,” the talk around the Austin SF scene sounded like this: Neil must have sat too close to [a:Howard Waldrop|113942|Howard Waldrop|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1336251287p2/113942.jpg] and mutated. If not for the evidence of “The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians,” I would be saying the same thing about Denton now. Denton’s first novel, [b:Wrack & Roll|778144|Wrack and Roll|Bradley Denton|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1293492508s/778144.jpg|2168232], didn’t do much for me, but this novel knocked me for a loop. The biggest trouble with this book is that it’s hard to describe, except to quote the title. Kind of like Howard Waldrop, with a little bit of [a:Ken Grimwood|19651|Ken Grimwood|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1404329298p2/19651.jpg]’s [b:Replay|341735|Replay|Ken Grimwood|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1441156728s/341735.jpg|1804797], and a lot of humor that is Denton’s own. This is my pick for the novel of 1991.
jessiqa's review against another edition
4.0
Oliver Vale was conceived on the night Buddy Holly died in 1959. 30 years later, a broadcast of Holly interrupts regular TV programming. Holly says to contact Oliver Vale for assistance. It becomes apparent that this was no local broadcast interruption, but worldwide, and that it in fact originates from Ganymede, one of Jupiter’s moons. And it shows no sign of stopping.
Now everyone from the FCC to a Bible-thumping preacher with a broad reach to coach potatoes worldwide blames Vale for not being able to watch their regular shows. Vale goes on the run and has to contend with a bald hitman, a robot doberman, and a very angry Republican woman who uses the most creative swears and insults I have ever encountered. All this is interspersed with flashbacks to Vale's odd upbringing by a woman obsessed with rock and roll who was convinced that Atlanteans (of the famously lost city) are trying to get in contact with her and others of the world. What if she was right?
My dad recommended this book to me, which just goes to show how well he knows me. I have never read a weirder book than this one, and considering my reading tastes, that's really saying something. There was a rumor about a film version of this book bouncing around a few years ago. If it ever actually sees the light of day, I will be first in line to buy a ticket. It's weird and wonderful and funny. If you want a good laugh or just enjoy Buddy Holly, you should give this book a read.
Now everyone from the FCC to a Bible-thumping preacher with a broad reach to coach potatoes worldwide blames Vale for not being able to watch their regular shows. Vale goes on the run and has to contend with a bald hitman, a robot doberman, and a very angry Republican woman who uses the most creative swears and insults I have ever encountered. All this is interspersed with flashbacks to Vale's odd upbringing by a woman obsessed with rock and roll who was convinced that Atlanteans (of the famously lost city) are trying to get in contact with her and others of the world. What if she was right?
My dad recommended this book to me, which just goes to show how well he knows me. I have never read a weirder book than this one, and considering my reading tastes, that's really saying something. There was a rumor about a film version of this book bouncing around a few years ago. If it ever actually sees the light of day, I will be first in line to buy a ticket. It's weird and wonderful and funny. If you want a good laugh or just enjoy Buddy Holly, you should give this book a read.
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