Synopses & Reviews
In this satiric romp inspired by Ray Bradburys
Fahrenheit 451, set in 2041, government-sanctioned vigilantesthe Good Humor Menruthlessly patrol the streets, immolating all fattening food products as illegal contraband. A pound of real chocolate is worth more on the black market than a kilo of cocaine. Evil nutraceutical” company MannaSantos controls the food market with genetically modified products, such as Leanie Lean” meats. But the craze for svelte healthfulness has reached a critical turning point, as a mysterious wasting plague threatens to starve all of humanity.
A lone ex-plastic surgeon and founding Good Humor Man, whose father performed a secret liposuction surgery on Elvis Presley, holds the key to humanitys future. In a mad dash to retrieve his family heirloomthe mortal remains of the Kings belly fatDr. Louis Shmalzberg becomes entangled with a civil servant of questionable motives, an acquisitive assassin from a wealthy Caliphate, a power-mad preacher evangelizing anorexia, a beautiful young woman addicted to liposuction, and a homicidal clone from a MannaSantos experiment gone terribly wrong.
Can Elvis save the world sixty-four years after his death?
Review
"Fox unveils more all-too-plausible bits of the future and has us laughing to keep from crying." Booklist, starred review
Review
"Fox [also] tackles the SF thriller mode with panache. Can Elvis's belly fat save the world? Read it and see!" Locus
Review
"Keeps the pages turning. I'd suggest playing 'Heartbreak Hotel' and grabbing a bag of chips for ambiance." Electric City
Review
"An intensely interesting, wild ride through a wickedly-accurate depiction of the American psyche . . . a witty, incisive satire . . . well worth the read." io9.com
Review
"Fox [also] tackles the SF thriller mode with panache. Can Elvis's belly fat save the world? Read it and see!"
—Locus
Fox unveils more all-too-plausible bits of the future and has us laughing to keep from crying.”
Booklist, starred review
The Good Humor Man is an intensely interesting, wild ride through a wickedly accurate depiction of the American psyche...a witty, incisive satire all on its own. By turns heartbreaking and mesmerizingly grotesque, The Good Humor Man is well worth the read.”
io9.com
The Good Humor Man is hilarious, trenchant, important, and the story of Dr. Louis Schmalzbergs search for the jar of liposuctioned Elvis fat that may save America is impossible to put down. Andrew Fox writes like a combination of Kurt Vonnegut, Dave Barry, and Molly Ivins....”
Lucius Shepard
A Fahrenheit 451 for the post-millennium, told with Foxs magnificent evocation of place and twisted humor. Wonderful!”
Kage Baker, author of In the Company of Thieves
...keeps the pages turning.... Id suggest playing Heartbreak Hotel and grabbing a bag of chips for ambiance.”
Electric City
Synopsis
A witty tribute to Ray Bradburys Fahrenheit 451, this surreal, futuristic narrative explores the highly topical relationships between obesity, government health care, pop culture, and body image. In a world where chocolate is worth more than cocaine on the black market, government-sanctioned vigilantes known as Good Humor Men patrol the streets, seeking to immolate all fattening food products as illegal contraband and summarily cancel the health insurance of any offenders. An evil nutraceutical company controls the food market with products engineered to keep the population painfully thin, while a mysterious wasting plague threatens to starve humanity. An ex-plastic surgeon whose father performed a secret liposuction surgery on Elvis Presley may hold the key to humanitys future. Incorporating a colorful cast of charactersa civil servant with questionable motives, an acquisitive assassin, a power-mad preacher evangelizing anorexia, a beautiful young woman addicted to liposuction, and a homicidal clone from an experiment gone terribly awrythis satirical romp asks the question Can Elvis save the world 64 years after his death?
About the Author
Andrew Fox is the author of the critically acclaimed novel Fat White Vampire Blues, described as Ann Rice meets A Confederacy of Dunces.” Fox has been employed as a mime, public-safety advocate, playwright, and, after Hurricane Katrina, a part of FEMAs Gulf Coast Recovery Office. His influences include Marvel Comics, Planet of the Apes movies, and Ray Bradbury novels.