Oily

by Angus Woodward

A deep-water oil rig explodes, killing workers and spewing millions of barrels of crude into the Gulf of Mexico. The survival of the human species is threatened, and it is up to a New Orleans couple and a pair of aliens to prevent our extinction... It begins when Warren, a young college instructor, encounters a spaceship on a levee. He and his ailing wife, Penny, soon learn that the aliens piloting the ship have been sent to monitor Earth's petroleum use, and their bosses are pretty upset. To make matters worse, their planet's government intends to eradicate the human race to stop the flow of oil.The New Orleans couple scrambles to prevent our extinction by any means they can, with a little help from their new alien friends. Couched as a terms-of-use agreement, those ever-present post-modern texts that no one reads, OILY is a playful, experimental novel on heroism, absurdity, and life from other worlds.

242 pages, Paperback

Published October 15, 2018

About the author

Angus Woodward was born to southerners in a northern state and moved to Louisiana in 1987. Angus' next novel, Oily, is due out from Spaceboy Books in October of 2018. His previous books are the short-story collection Down at the End of the River and the novel Americanisation: Lessons in American Culture and Language. The Oxford American hailed Americanisation as “a hilariously crafted postmodern novel.” Angus has two wonderful daughters, and he teaches writing at Franciscan University in Baton Rouge. 

Reviews

[Zach · Rating 5 out of 5]

A humorous metafictional SF novel that parodies humanity's petrochemical dependence as well as the follies of publishing and authorship.