The Good Humor Man: Or, Calorie 3501

by Andrew Fox

Overview

In this satiric romp inspired by Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, set in 2041, government-sanctioned vigilantes—the Good Humor Men—ruthlessly 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 humanity's future. In a mad dash to retrieve his family heirloom—the mortal remains of the King's belly fat—Dr. 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?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781616960759
Publisher:	Tachyon Publications
Publication date:	04/15/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	282
File size:	376 KB

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 FEMA's Gulf Coast Recovery Office. His influences include Marvel Comics, Planet of the Apes movies, and Ray Bradbury novels.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for The Good Humor Man: Or, Calorie 3501

“Fox unveils more all-too-plausible bits of the future and has us laughing to keep from crying.”
—Booklist

“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 Schmalzberg’s 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 Fox’s magnificent evocation of place and twisted humor. Wonderful!”
—Kage Baker, author of The Company of Thieves

“...keeps the pages turning.... I’d suggest playing ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ and grabbing a bag of chips for ambiance.”
—Electric City

From the Publisher