This was a fun read!
Once again, I took a chance on an author I've never heard of, and it has paid off. This book just happened to catch my eye in the "new releases" section of the book store.
The title and outlandish cover (included here, in case there are other editions) caught my eye at the bookstore. My first thought was "Nazis on Mars?" - what a bizarre concept! Sure, there have been other novels about Germany/Japan winning World War II, but this is the first far-future treatment I've seen (almost 300+ years into the future). Very interesting, but the subject matter wasn't immediately thrilling for me (yeah, yeah, don't judge a book by its cover - although sometimes this seems really appropriate).
That being said, the back-cover blurb of "...part Quentin Tarantino, Victor Gischler is a raving, badass genius" from James Rollins kept my interest. I've only read The Doomsday Key by Rollins, but I really enjoyed it, so this was a good endorsement. I was a bit concerned about the statement "A Carter Sloan Novel" on the front cover, which would normally lead me to believe that this was part of a series, but there was nothing else to indicate that there were previous books. So, I bought it and added it to the book queue for a time when I needed a short book to read, and that time recently arrived.
The first chapter had me hooked. I smiled on page two, and laughed out loud on page three. That is an accomplishment - the opening pulled me into the story right away. There is a ton of dialogue that is reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino - Mr. Rollins nailed that for sure.
Carter Sloan is an assassin who is employed by the Third Reich, and he is kept in cryogenic sleep until he is needed. When they wake him at the start of the story, he has been asleep for 258 years, so he's a little pissed off. This whole story is just a fun read. For me, I would compare this to the Bruce Willis movie The Fifth Element, with Quentin Tarantino providing some of the dialogue and violence. It is just a really fun, violent, funny, sex-filled adventure story, poking fun at life and politics in the right places, showing how things can become quite ridiculous.
The story also contains several original ideas that really add to the story. The element of satire reminded me of The Mission Earth saga by L. Ron Hubbard, which I read back when it was first published in the 1980's. While there is satire throughout Gestapo Mars, I did feel that the final battle scene, which contains a nod to Star Wars, starts to enter the territory of Douglas Adams and Craig Shaw Gardner with some of its silliness, briefly changing the tone of the story. This isn't a story just about silliness, there is a serious element to it as well - just like The Fifth Element - so this scene was just a touch over the top for me. But that is my only real complaint, and it is a relatively minor one.
While I was reading this book, I pictured Manu Bennett as Carter Sloan, playing his Slade Wilson character from the TV show Arrow, For some reason, his voice just fit the dialogue for me.
I understand a sequel is in the works, and I'm definitely looking forward to it. If I can find Gun Monkeys (seems like a gangster version of Gestapo Mars?) or Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse (which seems more like a Craig Shaw Gardner title), I will try to check them out (although my queue of books to read it quite large).
Feel free to comment, whether or not you've read the book.
Minor spoilers below for those who are interested in some of my favorite moments from the book.
SPOILER SPACE
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Here are some of my favorite moments from the book:
- The Kardashian Effect - a person who was important or popular or interesting but nobody knows why.
- Garden Meadow Bowel Fragrance - this is a major product in the future.
- The robot prostitute that sounds like a pay telephone - "Your current session ends in two minutes and nine seconds. To extend for another thirty minutes please authorize payment."
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