Elvissey (Ambient, Book 4)

A troubled couple sets out from a dismal future to retrieve Elvis Presley from an oddly different 1954. They need the King to be a savior to what's left of humanity, but he's a murderous freak with no desire to be anyone's god. Elvissey is set in Jack Womack's maybe-not-cyberpunk future, where the Dryco corporation runs everything, and everyone has been or will be "regooded," for their own good. Womack writes in an evolved language, full of odd verbs and newspeak: "He unpocketed a bottle of small blue pills; Dryco's standard eyedots and smile were imprinted upon each tablet. Three hours sole could pass between dosings, no more, no less. Swallowing dry, he fixed a doorways stare; shook, and resettled.... Regooded or not, his unscratchables still itched."

This is a bleak tale, buzzy and complex, full of human failings. Elvis is a disgusting jerk. The United States of Dryco is horrifying and manipulative. And Iz and John are mutually lonely, despairing in their failing marriage, and betrayed by Dryco. Despite its darkness--or maybe because of it--you owe it to yourself to read Elvissey. Womack is one of the most interesting writers in the business, and nobody does cultural science fiction funk like he does. --Therese Littleton