I really like summertime because the television (we call him Stevie) has released me from his tentacular grasp and I can break away from the Tivo (we call him Steve-O) long enough to read an actual book that’s more than 28 pages long and doesn’t have pictures. Do you hear that, Stevie and Steve-O? You don’t own me! I can read if I want to!
My first literary venture out of TV land was The Plutonium Blonde by John Zakour and Lawrence Ganem, which manages to blend the pulpy hard-boiled detective genre with pulpy science fiction for an entertaining read that pokes fun at both genres. The book is pretty well summed up by the single sentence teaser on the cover:
“He was the last P.I. on the planet, but could he save the world from a nuclear powered, genocidal, exotic-dancing fembot?”
The P.I. in question is Zachary Nixon Johnson. Zach is your typical gumshoe with money problems, woman problems and regular attempts on his life, all of which he meets with a bad joke and a quippy comment from HARV, his computer generated assistant.
The case is simple: find and disable the android double of BB Star, CEO of the largest and most powerful corporation on the planet. The problem? The android, BB-2, is stronger, faster, and smarter than the original, and a homicidal maniac. And she’s powered by a plutonium core, making her that much more volatile.
The story is told in the first person, which is hard to pull off without getting boring, but Zachary is a likable guy who doesn’t get down on himself, even when his surgeon girlfriend roundhouse kicks him in the head or when the world’s most dangerous psi tries to dismantle his brain or when a strip club full of droids attacks him all at once.
The writing and dialogue is snappy and smart and the story is fast paced, never letting up for sentence. Zakour and Ganem have written a future that is believable and do an excellent job of maintaining verisimilitude to keep it believable. I can’t recommend The Plutonium Blonde enough for anyone looking for a fun twist on science fiction and detective novels.
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Lisa Fary's earliest influences are Princess Leia, Rainbow Bright, Astronaut Barbie, and her 6th grade teacher, Ms. Palmer. She's angry that it's 2011 and she still doesn't have a hovercraft, but will accept a jetpack as consolation. That jetpack had better be pink with a rhinestone monogram. 
I read this book a few summers ago and it made me laugh and I had fun reading it. There are also two other books in the series about a brunette and a red head. I have not read those…and probably won’t. Not that I do not think they will be fun I just have other stuff I want to read. PRIORITIES!
Fan,
Frank in Dallas