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Last Rites
Why are Quasars suddenly Blinking out in the far reaches of the universe? Why has a mysterious organization gathered deep beneath a mountain of granite somewhere in the American desert? What does a retired ax murderess have in common with an alcoholic expert on St. Thomas Aquinas? How can a man sealed inside a Patton tank be shot and killed when the only witness is able to swear that there was no murder?
- GenresHorror
389 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1971
22 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 24, 2022
(Full review 1/24/22)
Here's the early 70s? (no date given other than the 1971 copyright) Lancer mass-market paperback, 389 pages. This one was rec'd by Osiris Oliphant to Jordan West a few days back, but I'm hijacking it because it looks awesome.
ETA: I see from the "About the Author" page that this was written by an Episcopal priest (in fact he looks exactly like the robot priest on the cover, minus the split in half head and galaxy brain), which is weird considering this book seems loaded with whacked out conspiracy theories and the like.
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John is a failed Episcopal priest whose only interests are booze, tinkering with computers, and reading (and thinking) about St. Thomas Aquinas. One day he's kidnapped -- somewhat willingly -- from his clergy house by a couple of very strange, secretive men who take him by helicopter to a secret underground "base" of sorts hidden beneath a giant mesa. Here he's introduced to various eccentric, possibly crazy scientists, psychologists, astronomers, some ex-military, etc. Some of the smartest people in the world live in this underground facility, only no one in the outside world is looking for them because they're all dead, legally speaking. And they have access to a giant supercomputer that gathers information from all over the world, and they can tweak that info and even steer the course of human history.
This is where John comes in. He's obsessed with computers, and the organization needs him since their last computer expert went missing. He doesn't care what dubious things he's programming the computer to do, nor their implications, even though he should since he's a priest. He's just happy to have access to the world's greatest computer. Maybe he's just as much of a lunatic as the rest of them?
This was a very fun read, and pretty damn hilarious at times. I'm surprised this never became a cult classic, as it hit all the right notes for me. It's filled with unique, memorable characters (who are all batshit crazy), great dialogue, some mystery to keep the pages turning, conspiracies atop conspiracies, etc. It's all done as a satire, but never strays so far so that the reader stops "believing" in the world and its characters. I only wish Perry Michael Smith had written more in this vein. Or anything at all, really. I'm not sure the words "badass" and "priest" have ever been used in the same sentence, but this guy sure is (was?) one helluva badass priest.
Here's the early 70s? (no date given other than the 1971 copyright) Lancer mass-market paperback, 389 pages. This one was rec'd by Osiris Oliphant to Jordan West a few days back, but I'm hijacking it because it looks awesome.
ETA: I see from the "About the Author" page that this was written by an Episcopal priest (in fact he looks exactly like the robot priest on the cover, minus the split in half head and galaxy brain), which is weird considering this book seems loaded with whacked out conspiracy theories and the like.
--------------------------------------------
John is a failed Episcopal priest whose only interests are booze, tinkering with computers, and reading (and thinking) about St. Thomas Aquinas. One day he's kidnapped -- somewhat willingly -- from his clergy house by a couple of very strange, secretive men who take him by helicopter to a secret underground "base" of sorts hidden beneath a giant mesa. Here he's introduced to various eccentric, possibly crazy scientists, psychologists, astronomers, some ex-military, etc. Some of the smartest people in the world live in this underground facility, only no one in the outside world is looking for them because they're all dead, legally speaking. And they have access to a giant supercomputer that gathers information from all over the world, and they can tweak that info and even steer the course of human history.
This is where John comes in. He's obsessed with computers, and the organization needs him since their last computer expert went missing. He doesn't care what dubious things he's programming the computer to do, nor their implications, even though he should since he's a priest. He's just happy to have access to the world's greatest computer. Maybe he's just as much of a lunatic as the rest of them?
This was a very fun read, and pretty damn hilarious at times. I'm surprised this never became a cult classic, as it hit all the right notes for me. It's filled with unique, memorable characters (who are all batshit crazy), great dialogue, some mystery to keep the pages turning, conspiracies atop conspiracies, etc. It's all done as a satire, but never strays so far so that the reader stops "believing" in the world and its characters. I only wish Perry Michael Smith had written more in this vein. Or anything at all, really. I'm not sure the words "badass" and "priest" have ever been used in the same sentence, but this guy sure is (was?) one helluva badass priest.
May 19, 2016
This satire is absolutely insane, but the further you go the more addicting it gets.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews