The book industry always has attempted to take advantage of current trends in fashion, which extends far beyond anoretic models parading on a runway clad in clothes that defy logic or are affordable to any but the average Wall Street broker's mistress or the Hollywood Starlet of the Month.
With every other film hitting the multiplexes these days being filled with car chases, boat chases, bodies hurling out of high rises, and a stalwart hero who can perform superhuman deeds, it`s not surprising to come across "The Ultimate Rush," (Rob Weisbach Books, $23) the first effort of a New Jersey native who somehow landed in Berkeley, Calif. Joe Quirk (don't you love that name?) has constructed a book that contains almost as many wild chases as the average $100 million extravaganza playing on 3,000 screens nationwide.
Quirk's protagonist is Chet Griffin, a rollerblade messenger who works for an ultra-sleazy operator of a delivery service. Using methods that may remind readers of Simon Legree or other notorious villains of literary history, Griffin`s boss challenges his employees to meet a seemingly impossible task, reaching a part of San Francisco in a time that sounds preposterous. Our intrepid hero, however, not only gets there, he makes it by cutting several minutes off the allotted time.
Quirk, who writes in a breezy style that makes good use of cinematic techniques, describes this death defying feat with a rush of words that makes the reader experience the twists and obstacles on every corner.
The plot, while not reinventing the wheel, serves well to keep the action moving along at a respectable rate, although there are several lulls in which witty repartee might have been trimmed in order to keep the thrills coming.
"The Ultimate Rush" should find an eager audience for mystery lovers who like plenty of action along with a story line that keeps them guessing. And the resulting film should create new challenges for Hollywood`s stalwart crew of stunt men.
Space Opera Demands Time, Pays Off
With science fiction achieving new fans every day, many sent to book stores after watching some of the recent Hollywood s-f achievements on the big screen, the time seems right for a renaissance of the genre.
Peter F. Hamilton, a British novelist, could well become an important figure in the field, which seems ready for a renewed interest well beyond the material that shows up on screen. Hamilton garnered some success a few years ago with the two-volume "The Reality Dysfunction," and now adds to that burgeoning reputation with another two-volume fiction extravaganza that`s a sequel to the first two books, "The Neutronium Alchemist, Part 1: Consolidation" and "The Neutronium Alchemist, Part 2: Conflict" (Warner Aspect paperbacks, $6.50 each).
Hamilton works on a massive scale, constructing intricate plots with seemingly hundreds of characters, moving his creations across the whole breath of the universe. There are elements of horror, hard s-f, and plain old fashioned space opera, all assembled in an energized style that will compel readers to keep turning pages.
While this kind of pure fun has taken a back seat in recent decades, Hamilton shows that he can construct this kind of diverse, sometimes silly, yet always entertaining mishmash with the best of them. Longtime readers of science fiction may remember the good old days of E.E. "Doc" Smith and even that oddball L. Ron Hubbard, who prior to starting his "religion" of Scientology, used to write some damned good space operas.
The plot of the "Alchemist" books is summed up this way by the publisher: "The minds of those long dead are taking over the bodies of the living in increasingly alarming numbers. A "doomsday"` weapon might blast the dead back into oblivion--but in the wrong hands, it could mean the end of the human race.
"Join hotshot pilot Joshua Calvert as he risks everything to find the Doomsday weapon.`"
A Fantasy Trip to Numantia
A year ago, Chris Bunch produced "The Seer King," which introduced fantasy fans to the kingdom of Numantia, a peaceful place where a general pledged eternal loyalty to the wizard Tenedos and to the Seer's wisdom of a unified nation.
The story continues in Bunch`s new novel, "The Demon King" (Warner Aspect, $12.99), when complications ensue after the nation`s emperor starts making plans for a war with Maisir, a great country to Numantia`s south. General Damastes of Numantia, skeptical of the war plans, feels obligated to obey his emperor. But the proverbial straw comes when Damastes finds out that the king has been bedding the general`s wife. Time for war!
Author Bunch is a Vietnam veteran, both ranger and airborne qualified. After experience writing for Stars & Stripes, he edited outlaw motorcycle magazines. He`s written for publications varying from the underground press to Rolling Stone. He writes action scenes that sizzle. "The Demon King" is a compulsive read.
G21 ASIA RAOUL TESLA with more insights from Manila, the Philippines.
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POWERSBOOKS has our literary critic looking at the most FASHIONable books by JOE QUIRK, PETER HAMILTON, & CHRIS BUNCH.
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