American Meat (Dark Future)

It is once more the dark future - a place all too similar to how our own world might be in the coming decades. Sanctioned op Batton MacKay and his cyborg monkey travel the remnants of the country doing specialty wetwork no one else seems to be capable enough - or willing - to do. When a unique job from a company called Fuzzies, Inc. comes his way, things start getting REALLY weird for zoologist-turned-hired-killer Batton MacKay..._American Meat_ is one of those books I didn't want to stop reading because I didn't know where it would go next. It jumped from hardcore cyberpunk action, to political commentary, seemingly to fantasy/caricature, to biopunk social commentary, back to cyberpunk action, etc... and I enjoyed it. It covers serious issues, but it doesn't take itself too seriously. It is a fun book with teeth that will make you want to read more novels like it. It is *NOT* extremely dry, serious cyberpunk in the style of William Gibson, but it shouldn't be - there are already enough clone-writers out there as it is. If you want to read something that expands the genre rather than just regurgitates previously established stories, this book is worth buying.Note: This novel seems to go out of print rather often. If the "Add to Shopping Cart" option isn't immediately available, it is well worth the small amount of extra time it takes to either 1) pick it up at a used bookstore or 2) pick it up from an Amazon.com marketplace seller for a reasonable price.

This is a highly worthwhile addition to the original DARK FUTURE series written largely by Jack Yeovil (Kim Newman) back in the 1980s. Moore, a former editor then freelance writer at DC Comics, makes the mileau his own. I'm looking FWD to reading the sequel REALITY BITES.I've bought but not yet read the other new DF books and look FWD to them as well as MORE new books from Moore et alia.

I loved this series when Games Workshop first published them in the late 80s. I'm very happy to see the old books updated and back in print and thrilled that new books are being written.Long live Dark Future!

PLOT:American Meat is a dark future story with a sci-fi feeling. It follows the story of ex-zoo keeper Batton McKay who specializes in killing animals as humanely as possible. He runs afoul of a vegetarian biker gang on what should be a routine assignment and gets swept into a world of cartoons come alive, talking animals, vast corporations, and an impossible mission to save himself and discover the riddle of the American meat supply. But what he uncovers is disturbing, disgusting, and terrifying.HIGHLIGHTS:Stuart Moore develops a good pace in this book and creates some very interesting characters. Not only is Batton engaging to read about, his pet robot monkey `dog' steals the spotlight more than once. The Mad Cows, a vegetarian biker gang provides a bit of comic relief and their leader Mia's journey throughout the book is as riveting as Batton's own. The brightest point in the whole book is Miko D, a cartoon come to life that looks like a 1940's Mickey Mouse, with a mouth and attitude of a hardcore rapper. Also, much of the imagery is stunning, but it would have been nice to see it in graphic novel form.LOWLIGHTS:Though the fast pacing of the book makes for a quick read, it leaves the plot riddled with holes. The most gaping wound occurred when Professor Wan, a promising Lex Luthoresque villain is completely underdeveloped. I also found the nearly condescending tone toward the vegetarian biker gang annoying. There are far too few representations of responsible vegetarians/animal rights activists to countenance such derogatory tones. After all the main message seemed to be that they just needed to eat some meat and they'd be fine. The sinister plot undertones seem less than sinister in the end, and the book ends not with a bang but with an unsatisfied sigh.OVERALL:This book is less than `filling' to use an eating analogy. At the end I had equally good and bad feelings towards my reading experience. I thought it tied too hard to be edgy, like a preteen in leather trying to look punk while hanging out at the mall. I can't recommend it in good conscience.

Sanctioned Operative Batton MacKay's partner and only friend is Dog. Dog is a cyber monkey, with a live monkey brain. As the story opens MacKay and Dog are in Florida doing some mercy killing on genetically mutated pigs. The partners have a run-in with a gangcult called The Mad Cows.The Mad Cows are militant vegetarians and THE nastiest gangcult in the south-eastern US. The leader is Mia Sangre, as beautiful as she is deadly. When MacKay leaves Florida, Mad Cows follow. MacKay and Dog are heading north on a job that pays enough for them to retire if they so wish. Fuzzies, Inc. (affiliated with GenTech) is the leader in DNA-Based Faunic Manipulation "DFM". Recently they have created a strain with far greater intelligence and range of emotional responses than before. These are called Intelligent DNA-Based Faunic Manipulation "i-DFM". Thus far, there are three: a dog, a cat, and a large mouse. These three have been kidnapped by ACTS, a survivalist military-stroke-religious group. MacKay's mission is to locate and recover the three i-DFM. Sounds easy. That should have been warning enough.***** This is the best "Dark Future" novel I have read to date. Author Stuart Moore makes characters that the readers can actually sympathize with. He also used a topic that is big in today's time, animal rights. The two combine into a futuristic sci-fi story that will capture your interest on the first page and hold you tighter than Super Glue. Highly recommended! *****Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.