The Plutonium Blonde (1997)

Please note: I read and reviewed this book in 2007. Just copying over review from Amazon.

Overview and Synopsis: In the year 2057 the world is brand new - everything is New - New New York, New New Mexico (the state) as well as New Mexico (the country). Zachary Nixon Johnson is the last licensed private investigator - the licensed bit is the important thing here. There are other private investigators (for example - the employees of DickCo) but none are licensed like Zachary! Gates is God and DOS is hell and news is down to the nano.

When Zachary receives a call from BB Starr - an ex-exotic dancer who is now CEO of the largest corporation of the planet - he is naturally concerned. She is one of the richest and most powerful people on the planet - why does she need him? It turns out she requires his discretion and - unique - skills. So, with the help of HARV - his holographic assistant (who is the most intelligent computer in the world - and is, during the course of this adventure, implanted directly into his brain) - Carol, his psionic receptionist and potential future niece-in-law and Dr. Electra Gevada, his fiance, he sets out to track down BB-2. Of course, things aren't always as they seem. . .

Review and recommendation: Always funny, constantly exciting and eminently readable, I cannot recommend this book enough. Zakour and Ganem play with the English language with all the virtuosity of a savant while keeping the story readable and the pace swift. Do yourself a favor and get this book! ( )

This book was so great! The world's last P.I., his AI sidekick (who lives in his head) and his smart, ass-kicking girlfriend save the world. Punny and witty. ( )

This was a fun book, a bit heavy on the tired cliches, but in the end that became part of it's charm.

This was a perfect book for someone who needed easy mindless fluff, and this fit the bill. ( )

Think Sam Spade in 2032: Zachary Nixon Johnson is the last licensed PI on the planet. He has a psychic secretary, his girlfriend is a curvaceous, highly intelligent (think surgeon) ex-kick-boxing champ, and his best friend is the smartest computer on Earth. Stir in one missing (and deadly), plutonium-powered android, a wealthy corporation - missing aforesaid android - and a few annoying competitors from DickCo, and you've barely scratched the surface of a very good, slightly tongue-in-cheek, mystery.

Campy, silly, predictable and fun. I've just started the sequel, The Doomsday Brunette, and it's right up the same alley. ( )

This book didn't work for me. I couldn't quite settle on whether the authors were lampooning the pulp genres or contributing to them, though it was unquestionable that they were lampooning our society. The humor was a bit forced and got old after a while (OK, I get it—Bill Gates is a god, everything is "New" and Hollywood does run everything!); the action never really got going; the smartest computer on the planet was less smart than the reader. I think A. Lee Martinez did a better job of mixing noir with science fiction in The Automatic Detective. ( )