Sacred Locomotive Flies

This short novel was written in 1970, and it’s very much of its time. It’s mostly set in 1985 (15 years in the future), but the protagonist (Freddie Fong Fine) and indeed most of the other characters are mainly preoccupied with sex, drugs, and rock music.

Freddie is an agent of a strange organization called WAIT SOME, and is investigating a possible grave threat to the security of the USA; but he’s amateurish, easily distracted, and often high on something.

Now and then we get news items and samples of what life is like in the imagined future year of 1985. On the whole it’s an exaggerated version of 1970. Partway through, I realized that I was slightly reminded of John Brunner’s Stand on Zanzibar (published in 1968), although show more that’s a better book and three times the length of this one.

I initially found this book so tedious and unappealing that I was planning to give it one star. It’s not immediately obvious that it has any plot at all. Later on, a slender and implausible plot gradually emerges. I decided that maybe I could be generous and give it two stars: which means that I could tolerate reading it once, but I don’t plan ever to read it again.

There were some creative works from the years around 1970 (books, music) that I still much appreciate. The best seem almost timeless; some are dated but still good; this is very dated and not much good.

There’s an introduction by the author written some 30 years after the novel, in which he says he intended it as absurdist, comic satire. Well, it’s absurd, but it doesn’t strike me as effective, either as comedy or as satire. And Richard Lupoff died in 2020 at the age of 85, so nothing I say will bother him in the slightest. show less