Review by Ian Braidwood
Cast of Characters:
Lady Venom, Kid Zero, Homer
Hegarty, Ace the Ace, Doc Zarathustra, Carl Preston, Sasumu Yokoi,
Ray Pascoe, Mr Hayhurst, Jensen, Carey Castle, Harriet the Hooker,
Cyril Atlas, Charlie Atlas, Sammy Ulinski, Rico Andriano and Junichi
Tanagawa.
Ghost Dancers features a mysterious guy called Kid Zero, who rides about the
deserts of the ex-USA with a pet rattlesnake called Lady Venom. The
intent is to provide a Mad Max style setting, so there is a surfeit
of semi and fully automatic means of persuasion, armour plated means
of dogged resistance, hackers, and lots of things considered 'cool'
by its intended audience.
To
this recipe for eternal harmony must be added the corps - that's corporations
to you - who are the nearest thing to governments in the Dark Future
universe. It is the machinations of and rivalry between Gen Tech and
Mitsu-Makema which provide motive force for the series, (other authors
have written Dark Future stories, including Kim Newman - OOPS! - Jack
Yeovil.
Ghost
Dancers itself doesn't disappoint. It really is full of callous idiots
who feel the very acme of human development is robbing people so they
can get enough money to buy ammunition and beer. I am of the opinion
that the title is a comment on the whole Mad Max type of ethos and
people who buy into it.
Anyway,
the book reads very easily and I was quite happy turning each page,
knowing I was working closer to the end, when: WHUMPH! Brian only
goes and plonks down a corker of an idea! Parts of my mind, which
had been busy composing a review had to stop what they were doing
and pay attention!
Now
I would complain, except whose writing am I reviewing? Only mr 'subvert
the genre' himself, so I don't really have any right of complaint,
after all he's caught me out before, hasn't he? Oh yes.
Thus
I have had to restrain myself from ripping this book to shreds, but
don't think that's a recommendation, because it isn't.
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