- Paperback: 344 pages
- Publisher: Orbit; 1st printing, signed and dated 16/12/99 - pre publication edition (3 Feb 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1857239504
- ISBN-13: 978-1857239508
- Product Dimensions: 17.6 x 10.2 x 2.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,920,854 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| ||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Manic science fiction romps are ever more common these days, and it takes a particularly quirky and fractured imagination to pull off something new. David Garnett has the stuff, and Bikini Planet is satisfyingly weird and wonderful, an anarchic spin on the 20th-Century-hero-unfrozen-in-the-future yarn that takes in several vicious swipes at the genre while never undercutting the author's love for it (Garnett is, after all, best known as one of the distinguished editors of the classic SF magazine New Worlds).
Like all the best satirical SF, Garnett never ridicules the genre, always maintaining a satisfying plausibility, however outrageous his concepts.
The 23rd century. Wayne Norton, freshly unfrozen from a cryogenic sleep, is dragooned into being GalactiCop's latest recruit. Wayne is a reluctant hero, feeling desperately insecure so far from his own era. What could be the worst assignment for a wet-behind-the-ears GalactiCop operative? How about walking into the middle of a no-holds-barred war for control of the galaxy's ultimate seaside resort? And this is an assignment in which Wayne has to demonstrate a native cunning and resourcefulness to deal with opponents both ruthless and non-human.
It isn't surprising that the echoes of previous practitioners of witty SF have left their mark on Garnett's exhilarating tale. In fact, there is a lot more of Kurt Vonnegut in here than there is of Douglas Adams, and Bikini Planet is all the better for that. This is planet-hopping SF in which the humour comes from the unlikely situations rather than carefully crafted one-liners (not that Garnett can't dispense his fair share of the latter). Wayne is the perfect beleaguered SF hero, dealing with everything from traffic misdemeanours, interplanetary racism and corrupt mega-corporations. Even if we've seen some of the jokes before (Wayne's adopting the name John Wayne for people who haven't heard of a certain cowboy star owes not a little to Michael J Fox's Back To The Future use of Clint Eastwood as a nom de passage).
But who cares, when the dialogue and descriptions of this mad future are as sharp as one could wish:
"It started with my grandfather", said Brendan. "Collecting old stuff was a hobby for him. He was crazy. Then my father decided to exploit the monopoly potential, believing the best way to make money was to corner the market in something. That way he could charge any price he wanted. In theory. He established Corpses Unlimited, buying up every cryonic casket found anywhere in the world. He was even crazier than my grandfather. Money became totally worthless. My only asset is what I inherited. When my father died, it was more than just his own body he left. I have to make a living, so every now and then I thaw one of you out."
Product Description
Rookie cop Wayne witnesses a mob hit and must make a swift getaway. But waking up 300 years in the future is more extreme than he'd planned. Putting his only skills into use, he joins GalactiCop, but becomes entangled in a gang war for control of Bikini Planet - pleasure capital of the universe.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book, though it sounds not too bad in the blurb - has to be one of the single worst books I've ever read.
Their is no real story - what there is, is confused and cliched. To describe the characters as 2 dimensional, would be to give you an unrealistically high expectation of the characterization. Basically it is Froth.
It isn't even just light/light hearted reading material - I got to the end and though, "well what was the point of this".
Actually the bit that amazes me most, is that a sequal to this book has been produced (in the absence of any other info, I usually tend to believe that if a sequal has been produced then the original can't be too bad).
Believe it! The original IS bad.
Save your money ... if you like 'light' books then any of the 'Bill the Galactic Hero' books by Harry Harrison would possibly suit - at least they are readable!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'm going to re-read this on the beach! It's one of the funniest sci-fi novels I've read. In a medium that's inclined to take itself too seriously, it's really refreshing to have a writer like Garnett around. I enjoyed his Stargonauts a lot, but Bikini Planet is one of his best yet. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants an enjoyable holiday read. What could be better than a battle over the world's ultimate resort. Garnett has some witty things to say about holiday spots which will find echoes in all our hearts.
Format:Paperback
The comment on the front of the book says 'A billion monkeys working on a billion typewriters for a billion years couldn't have come up with this one' - (Paul J. McAuley) - it didn't take me long to discover that this was true. All those monkeys on all those typewriters, given a lot less time would in fact come up with something much better. He forgot that in the evolutionary scheme of things we are those monkeys millions of years later and that any one of us could do better. So David Garnett, if you're reading this, your book is the worst I've ever read. I'm proud to say that I put it down and left it to gather dust some five pages before the end and I am ashamed of myself for having made it that far.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Muddling!
I bought this book on the recommendation of Amazons 'people who bought this also bought' section. Thought it was worth a go and I cant complain! Read more
Published on 13 Aug 2004 by aceadrian
Goofy, but poorly ended
Wayne Norton is a cop in 1968 Las Vegas; he's as reliable as a brick wall, and pretty much as thick. Read more
Published on 16 Feb 2004 by Kurt A. Johnson
Just a bit of fun...
This is not out-and-out comedy in the mould of Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett, it is more of an affectionate parody of pulp SF. Read more
Published on 20 Sep 2001
Awful, just awful
So, if you want strong plots ? Try Iain Banks (Use of Weapons). If it's good characterization you like, I'd go for Alfred Bester (The Demolished Man). Or perhaps weird aliens ? Read more
Published on 15 July 2000 by M. J. Farncombe
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
