Stanley Booth, a member of the Rolling Stones' inner circle, met the band just a few months before Brian Jones drowned in a swimming pool in 1968. He lived with them throughout their 1969 American tour, staying up all night together listening to blues, talking about music, ingesting drugs, and consorting with groupies. His thrilling account culminates with their final concert at Altamont Speedway?a nightmare of beating, stabbing, and killing that would signal the end of a generation's dreams of peace and freedom. But while this book renders in fine detail the entire history of the Stones, paying special attention to the tragedy of Brian Jones, it is about much more than a writer and a rock band. It has been called?by Harold Brodkey and Robert Stone, among others?the best book ever written about the sixties. In Booth's new afterword, he finally explains why it took him 15 years to write the book, relating an astonishing story of drugs, jails, and disasters.
I picked this up as a extra book to read while on vacation. Once I started reading, I had a hard time putting it down. The dialog and interactions between the characters, and amazingly enough the computers, were hilarious. And the action in the sci fi setting kept me reading to discover what happened next. I will definitely be purchasing the next book, which seems to be "The Radioactive Redhead".
A fun read!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 20 years ago
I've been jaded towards most of the genre sci-fi books lately. So many books are copies of LOTR, Star Wars, Foundation, et al, that I almost gave up sci-fi in general. Then I found this unusually titled book, The Plutonium Blonde. Catchy title, great content! After reading the back cover, my interest was sufficiently piqued. So I plunked down my $6.99, opened the book when I got home, and a few days later, was very happy that I bought this book. The book is a great blend of science fiction and pulp detective novel. I can actually hear(my actor choice for a movie role) Harry Connick Jr utter the main character, Zach Johnson, line, "And for some reason it always happens on my watch." You'll feel for Zach when he gets pummeled by the bad guys, say "Ouch!" or "Oooh, that's gotta hurt" when HARV pumps up Zach's Kirlian Aura to save his life, and fall for his sexy Doctor/kickboxing champ girlfriend, Electra Gevada (shades of Salma Hayek!). What are reading this review for? Go out and buy this book!!
Joke-book with a story-line
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 21 years ago
This book is not a typical detective fiction. ...This book is a detective fiction essentially designed to pick on every aspect of the whole detective fiction genera. So it's a book with ridiculous action, jokes on top of corny junks, and crazy idiotic characters all played up to be probably one of the world's funniest bashes on detective fiction. It's great fun and non-stop laughs.... Buy this if your looking for a joke book with a story-line.
A Sci-Fi Neo-Noir Adventure
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 23 years ago
This story is much better than a holodeck adventure from Star Trek. In this retro future the last private detective on earth bumbles his way across a case he can't solve. This book is like reading an updated version of a pulp novel. If you like the old Doc Savage and adventure stories with a twist; this one is for you. As the first reviewer said, the computer and the detective are just like the famous team of Abbott and Costello. Lots of pop culture references. Fun to read and hopefully there will be a sequel.
A zany updated version of Abbott and Costello-sf style
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 23 years ago
By 2057, technology enables people to drive hovercrafts and teleport to different places. The last private detective in the world Zachary Nixon Johnson, knows that HARV is a computer projection. However, that does not stop him from playing backgammon with it, talking with it or listening to it. When HARV informs Zach that they need an infusion of capital to pay the rent, he reluctantly takes on the case of BB Star, ex stripper and now the CEO of ExShell, one of the most powerful conglomerates in the world. BB has a doppelganger named BB-2 an artificially intelligent android that is angry, psychotic and dangerous. She has a plutonium core, which makes her a powerful weapon that must be deactivated if BB is to survive. Even knowing that the press will hounded him, thugs will beat him, and he will look like a fool, Zach takes on the case rather than face living on the street. Abbott and Costello meet a futuristic crime noir is the context underlying the amusing THE PLUTONIUM BLONDE. When HARV and Zach are talking to each other, especially during their numerous crisis, readers will laugh until they cry. It is impossible to believe HARV, the real star of the book, is only a hologram projected by Zach?s computer because he seems so human. The mystery is fun too, but the entertainment and uniqueness of this tale are the relationship between the two stars (that is Zach and HARV not BB and BB-2).Harriet Klausner
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