Atom

Beerlight #3

by Steve Aylett

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, Atom. The author of five previous novels--including Slaughtermatic, a finalist for the Philip K. Dick Award--Aylett writes like Robin Williams does at an ever-accelerating rate. Atom 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. --Emerson Cooper

Genres: Science Fiction, Bizarro Fiction, Fiction, Humor, Fantasy, Crime, Satire

137 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Steve Aylett is a satirical science fiction and weird slipstream author of books such as LINT, The Book Lovers and Slaughtermatic, and comics including Hyperthick. He is known for his colourful satire attacking the manipulations of authority. Aylett is synaesthetic. He lives in Scotland.

Reviews

[🐴 🍖]

boris vian stretched in an even more tex avery direction, albeit sometimes @ the expense of lucidity

[Scott]

In a fit of pique, I reread 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.'

'No matter - as I need scarcely remind you, Kafka was of a most singular personality. Why, he'd think nothing of riding on a hound, or sticking wax lips on his eyeglasses. Seeing the world for what it was, he passed the time by whining with artful care, and an attention to detail which could oxidise completely the face of a lying optimist. He would moan, sir, to a standard unimagined by the canker poets.
No amount of fashion and falsehood could conceal man's futility from his eyes. Even before the nearest war, mankind was an experiment repeated long past its demonstrable validity. It was without comfort, use or protection; mean, tarnished, and afraid. Like all who have sung such facts, he died denied and bleeding from the lungs.
Are you with me so far?'

[Paul Dembina]

Bloomin annoying book. A Science Fiction Gumshoe detective "noir" which way over does the whole wise cracking shtick, adds in so many my head span and touches of surrealism that reminded me of another author I have an aversion to - Mark Leyner.

[Runed Platypus]

Чуть более понятная версия "Кровь электрическая" в жанре нуар. Есть много интересных метафор.

[Rick]

Describing Steve Aylett’s wild ride 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 Atom’s brownstone. A cloaked cadaver cradling its gored face, followed by a naked Atom and the fat gent carrying a fishtank between them. In the tank’s gloom rocked a giant mouth with a tail.

Atom is Taffy Atom, private detective (or private defective as he is referred to early on). His partner is Madison “Maddy” Drowner, weapons designer (Creator of such unique weapons as the Syndication bomb, which strips the pretext out of everything.) and best friend Jed Helms, an intelligent piranha. With even stranger villains, Aylett’s world is Dick Tracy on acid. Like a runaway Maltese Falcon, the plot defies description. With only glimpses and moments of what we know and how it should be, it all somehow makes sense.

It is a testament to Aylett’s skill that he keeps the reader’s rapt attention throughout. His sense of humor is dead on, with several passages demanding to be read aloud. His timing is exemplary, and Aylett knows when to give the reader a breather. With all the excitement and laughter, I loathed for the adventure to end. Luckily for me (and other readers), the climax is oddly satisfying.

"Ladies and gentleman," said Atom, "if you'll indulge me. I have assigned a musical note to every grade of human lie. Here's my rendition of the President's inaugural address." And he took out a clarinet.

Aylett maintains the insanity right up until the last page playing a game of psychic chicken and refusing to swerve. Atom takes you on a wild ride far afield of ordinary fiction (SF or not), and it’s a ride not soon forgotten.

[Tuuli Tammenkoski]

Tervetuloa Beerlightiin, kaikenlaisten gangstereiden ja hämärähemmojen kaupunkiin, jossa presidentillä on skandalööseja suhteita minkä milloinkin merenelävän kanssa, kuolemaantuomitut muistavat ennen sähkötuoliin istumista lähettää kiitokset niin kaupallisille yhteistyötahoille kun rakastajilleen, ja jossa aivan kaikki on kaupan. Beerlightin eniten juoruiltu yksityisetsivä, tai -estävä Taffy Atomi alkaa Aivoviraston räjähdyksen jälkeen selvitellä minne Tony Curtisin aivot ovat kadonneet, apureinaan kiukkuinen tappajakala Jed ja huippuluokan asesuunnittelija Madison.

Aylettin teksti on näennäisen sekavaa, nopeatempoista ja hurjaa kyytiä eteenpäin syöksyvää, mutta tarkkaan harkittua ja kaikesta turhasta karsittua. Vauhti on kova, ja lukiessa saa usein palata takaisin ja miettiä, että mitä tässä nyt juuri onkaan meneillään.

Tarinankerronta on ääri-ironista, absurdia ja totaalisen omalaatuista. Missään ei ole järkeä ja kaikki mahdotonkin on mahdollista, jopa todennäköistä. Ja kun lakkaa yrittämästä etsiä minkäänlaista punaista lankaa ja hyväksyy täydellisen mayhemin, muuttuu kirja hyvinkin, no ei helppotajuiseksi, mutta omalla tavallaan selkeäksi ja tosi valloittavaksi ja mukaansatempaavaksi.

Meno on alusta loppuun hyvin, hyvin happoisaa, eikä hellitä hetkeksikään. Tätä on vaikea kuvailla, ja vielä vaikeampaa yrittää selittää mitä tässä oikein tapahtuu ja kuka ja miksi ja häh.

Vaativa, kaoottinen ja täysin naurettava lukukokemus. Tykkäsin!

[Anthony Faber]

Another book in the same millieu as "Slaughtermatic". It didn't grab me as much, whether because the writing and/or plot weren't as good, or just because his style gets old, I don't know. Still a decent read.

[Aaron]

ACAB except Chief Blince.

[Shane]

Aylett proved he was a genius in Bigot Hall and I also enjoyed Slaughtermatic but this one was kinda dragged on for me. There are definitely plenty of amazing/hilarious lines but I lost the plot somewhere around page 12 and never got it back. There were a lot of characters and that didn't help. It was strange in the end it seemed like they were all in the same scene but I'm not sure how or why.

Anyway if you're into insanity, clever writing and nebulous plots, this is a fun noir romp.

[Robert]

I can't read avant-garde fiction quickly. But, Atom is pretty fun. I am reminded of Dick Tracy, the Movie, if made by David Lynch. There is definite and clearly plotted story here, unlike what I found in Mark Leyner's "My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist" (although Leyner made me laugh until I had to put the book down.)
Atom is an acid trip detective story. At times I felt the avant-garde-ness was getting in the way. I'll probably reread this and find one more by Aylett.

Recommended, very short to try.

[Ari]

This book was brilliant, a real surprise. I thought it would be sci-fi, but in fact it was more like a detective story on acid. And even though it was a novel, it felt like a comic book with all the absurdity and colourful narrative. Strongly recommended to everyone.

[Michael]

A neat little pamphlet of a book that I would classify as hallucinogenic noir for the 21st century. Aylett is a master of simile. I'll be curious to see if his other books are as rich visually.

[Nick]

This is what Noir is and should be. Dark and funny.

[Will]

Stylish, quirky, fluffy, like maybe uh, fiber optic brillo pad for the moment! Had actually forgotten that I'd read it.

[Bob]

The wonderful world of detective noir meets reality bending writing. This book started me on Aylett quest that I have yet to end, I have everything he has written.

[Matti Viren]

Confusing from the very beginning

[Ed Mitchell]

Loved the writing; a million one liners. Couldn't work out wtf was going on though; maybe this is my exhaustion, maybe it's bonkers; dunno.

[Teija]

Monen mielestä hieno kirja ei valitettavasti avautunut minulle ollenkaan. Turhan nopeatempoinen.