false <![CDATA[Atom]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1181713165m/1183561.jpg 1183561 3 Take the guys and dolls of Damon Runyon's gangster fairy tales, the hyperbolic criminals of Chester A. Gould's comic strip "Dick Tracy," the unflappable antiheroes of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, and the wise- guy paranoiacs from the fiction of William Burroughs, run them through a genetic shredder, then glue the remains back together in the dark using alien DNA, and the result might resemble Steve Aylett's dizzying, dazzling, and ultimately wearying novel, <I>Atom</I>.<p> The author of five previous novels--including <I>Slaughtermatic</I>, a finalist for the Philip K. Dick Award--Aylett writes like Robin Williams does improv: at an ever-accelerating rate. <I>Atom</I> is set in the noirish city of Beerlight, where the brain of Franz Kafka is sought by a cast of seedy characters with monikers like Nada Neck, Flea Lonza, and Eddie Thermidor. Private dick Taffy Atom matches wits and weapons with this misbegotten crew in a plot as convoluted as it is beside the point. What matters here is language. Aylett's hyperkinetic, magpie style sparkles with baubles of pop culture and jokes so inside they may never before have seen the light of day. Following in the slipstream of his chaotic, often inspired inventiveness makes for an exhilarating read. But alas, an exhausting one. In the end, Aylett's bravura yet one-note performance lacks a nucleus strong enough to hold readers in their orbits. <I>--Emerson Cooper</I> 1171495 30 10 2000 Atom total:26|5:10|4:8|3:7|2:1|1:0| 26 105 47 7 5 0 false false Mon Oct 22 15:18:45 -0700 2007 Mon Oct 22 15:37:28 -0700 2007 Atom is a lot like holding water in your hands. The thought stays with you for a mere moment until it just runs through your fingers. You remember the experience vividly, but are unable to accurately explain the sensation.

Three figures emerged from ...more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Aug 08 20:35:54 -0700 2007 Fri Jul 10 11:29:10 -0700 2009 Steve Aylett's Atom last night, and was reminded of how much I love this book.

'Are you familiar sir, with the author Franz Kafka?'

'Sure. Greatest black author ever lived.'

'He wasn't black sir.'

'He probably is by now.'
...
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