Surfing Samurai Robots

Zoot Marlowe #1

by Mel Gilden

New New New New New New Meet Zoot, an alien in a trenchcoat, searching for truth in a city of sex, violence and good rays. They have the agility of surfers and the loyalty of samurai. They are the Surfing Samurai Robots, the invention of America's leading industrial genius, Knighten Daise. Zoot, an alien with a big nose from the planet T'toom, is exploring the mean streets of Earth to find out where all the surfing robots went. Before he can say Philip Marlowe, he meets some Malibu dudes who want to

Genres: Science Fiction, Humor, Fiction, Aliens, Comedy, Mystery, Speculative Fiction

252 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 1, 1988

About the author

Mel Gilden is the author of many children's books, some of which received rave reviews in such places as School Library Journal and Booklist. His multi-part stories for children appeared frequently in the Los Angeles Times. His popular novels and short stories for grown-ups have also received good reviews in the Washington Post and other publications. (See new publications under his name at the Kindle Store of Amazon.com.)
Licensed properties include adaptations of feature films, and of TV shows such as Beverly Hills, 90210; and NASCAR Racers. He has also written books based on video games and has written original stories based in the Star Trek universe. His short stories have appeared in many original and reprint anthologies.
He has written cartoons for TV, has developed new shows, and was assistant story editor for the DIC television production of The Real Ghostbusters. He consulted at Disney and Universal, helping develop theme park attractions. Gilden spent five years as co-host of the science-fiction interview show, Hour-25, on KPFK radio in Los Angeles.
Gilden lectures to school and library groups, and has been known to teach fiction writing. He lives in Los Angeles, California, where the debris meets the sea, and still hopes to be an astronaut when he grows up.

Reviews

[Terence · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know if I would have finished this book if not for the fact that I'm recovering from a fractured pelvis and have a great deal of time on my hands. It's boring and it's not funny, and it's on my "humorous" shelf only as a concession to its claim that it is.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this dumb book. A dumb Detective trying to be noire romp.
I don't think this book made me laugh as much as I was hoping, but the dry wit got a good few chuckles out of me. I feel like, weirdly, you almost have to have read the Raymond Chandler books being referenced all throughout the book to get the humour they're going for. I haven't read those before so I didn't catch all the references or jokes I'm sure, but it's still an alright read without them.
A combination of Douglas Adams and Harry Harrison is what this book is, but Mel Golden sadly didn't quite get to the heights of those two authors (Harrison is my jam).
I'll definitely pick up the sequel though, I want to know what's up with Whipper Will's yoyogurt and see more of my new boy, Zoot Marlowe.

[Ian Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is science fiction in the sense that the protagonist is an alien stranded on earth and that there are robots but otherwise, this is 1980s Southern California. Zoot the alien is a fan of Philip Marlowe (who he knows from old radio play broadcasts). To make a living on Earth Zoot decides to become a private eye working for some surfers.

I read this some years ago so am sketchy on details, but it is not a book to be remembered for the plot. It's more about how the story is told and the funny details. It is not as laconic or as melodramatic as Raymond Chandler's scripts and the dry humour is more tongue-in-cheek.

[Max · Rating 2 out of 5]

I vaguely remembered reading this book as a teenager, and after finding a copy I had to go back and see if this was as weird as I remember. It's definitely got a lot of problems as a product of the 80s -fatphobia, a weird obsession with redheads, etc - but I ended up still enjoying this extremely chill book about an alien who comes to Earth to be a PI and get mega high.
The core mystery is...not very good? But if you're reading this book, you're not looking for a tightly plotted thriller, you're looking for buff robots and *~-vibes-~*

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

More sexist and racist than I remembered, but otherwise a really original mashup if sci fi and detective noir.

[EmBe · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Surfing Samurai Robots" liest sich als Titel genauso schräg wie "Mutant Ninja Turtles". Wie im gleichnamigen Film (und Comicvorlage) scheint sich im Roman ein Autor seine Vorlieben in einem Werk zusammenfassen und zu einem Ganzen, also einem Roman formen zu wollen. In diesem Roman sind es Surffilme, Krimis mit Philip Marlow, Roboter und Joghurt.
Auf dem Planeten T'Tum empfängt man irdische Radiosendungen, was zu einem festen Teil der dortigen Kultur geworden ist. Zap, ein T'Tumler, identifiziert sich so stark mit Philip Marlow, dass er glaubt den Menschen helfen zu müssen und sich Richtung Erde aufmacht. Er landet natürlich gleich am richtigen Ort, am Strand von Malibu. Da die Surfroboter der Strandkommune, die ihn aufnimmt, vor einem wichtigen Wettkampf demoliert werden, hat er prompt auch seinen ersten Fall. Dass er etwas anders aussieht und sein Bild vom Leben auf der Erde, besonders in L.A., noch unvollständig ist, hindert ihn nicht, hartnäckig und untadelig die Aufklärung zu verfolgen. Dabei trifft er auf allerlei seltsame Gestalten, von denen drei Gorillas die unangenehmsten sind. Auch das Unternehmen "Surfing Samurai Robots" scheint hier seine Finger im Spiel zu haben. Der Fall wird - natürlich - aufgeklärt.
Dem Autor scheint das Schreiben Spaß gemacht zu haben und der Spaß überträgt sich auch auf den Leser, wenn er die Geschichte von vornherein als augenzwinkernde Unterhaltung betrachtet. Gildens Unbekümmertheit grenzt manchmal schon an Unverfrorenheit, wenn er in sich Pop-Kultur wie in einem Supermarkt bedient.
Der Außerirdische fungiert auch als Ich-Erzähler, und versucht auch im schnoddrigen und mit wendungsreichen Erzählstil Marlow nachzuahmen, das geschieht aus einer Bewunderung für die Romane und Erzählungen von Raymond Chandler heraus. Das Stilpastiche gelingt Gilden manchmal ganz gut. Von den Chandler-Romanen wird auch einige Typen und die unblutige Handlungskonstellation übernommen, was hier positiv angemerkt werden soll. Also diese Mischung ist sehr unterhaltsam und vielem (dicken) SF-Abenteuerschinken vorzuziehen.

[Dan Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this one in high school, and it really stuck with me. I don't know now if it's actually any good, but I recall enjoying it quite a lot. It's a detective story featuring an alien with a big nose and a taste for film noir detective stories. There are surfers who imbibe on a psychedelic dairy product known as yo-yogurt, and of course, there are the surfing samurai robots of the title.

I guess if I remember that much of it, it can't be all that bad, eh?

[Sami Smile · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun. Just fun. Doesnt take itself seriously and a quick, light hearted mystery read. Double down. Cant wait to read the next one.

[Levi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boooooring. It was a slog to get through.

[Edward Bear · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great crossover novel combining light-hearted science fiction with detective noir - a genre Gilden has pretty much to himself.

Zoot finds himself accepted by a cummunal house of surfers after landing secretly off Malibu. On T'tuum, he had learned to love detective noir from Earth radio programs and finds a chance to do some Earth detecting. Although he has a huge nose and is quite short in stature, the L.A. community accepts him as human, while he goes about solving the mystery of the Surfing Samurai Robots. There is so much social commentary that you might miss, if you did not know L.A. of that era. Look for the two sequels "Hawaiin UFO Aliens" and "Tubular Android Superheroes" even though all of them are now hard to find. I re-read the whole series every couple of years since they were first published.

I miss Zoot but Mel Gilden went on to write books for children and young adults.

[Alison Allegresso · Rating 2 out of 5]

My husband found this at an old used bookstore for $1.25. It looked ridiculous, so we bought it, and I read it. Uhm... There's too much to say, but I guess the biggest issue for me was the absence of any real motivation for minor characters to do things, particularly going out of their way for the main character when there was no point for them to. Overall, though, it wasn't the worst thing I have ever read, but it was far, far from the best. Meh.

[Bryan House · Rating 2 out of 5]

I saw the cover of the book and NEEDED to own it. I wanted to love it so bad.

Zoot is an alien who comes to Earth because he is an aspiring Detective. The first people he meets are fun named surfer bros - who eat drug yogurt (called yoyogurt) and don't actually surf but use robots to surf.

I would continue with a plot summary but it's only going to get more nonsensical when I start talking about the genetically mutated gorillas, biker gang, and robot surfing competition...

[Hiram Michael Skaggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my all time favorite books. I found it in an odd and old used book store that since went out of business. It’s an absolutely fantastically weird little tale that sucks you right in. Nothing but delightful and unusual. I love reading stuff off the beaten path and this was the surprise winner that has taken the honor of being the best surprise find of my reading career.

[Alexander Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.77
I can see this adapted into some nice schlock. Fun turns of phrases at times in the narration. Good time. I will get to the other books eventually.

Tribal Tech was a great band to listen to while reading.

Could’ve used more surfing, moderate cowabunga at times. Zooted

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know that movie from your childhood that's bad, but you still love it? That's this book, but with a better script. I would definitely read it again.

[Erik Egly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Playful Fun Mixed with chill vibes and a dangerously good "who done it" mystery that keeps you guessing till the very end.

[Jessica Lerbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very silly. A good pastiche of the old noir detective novels with truly bizarre characters.

[Louis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Take this with a grain of salt. It's a comedy, so suspend all belief, and let an alien who loved old radio recordings of Detective Marlowe come down and solve some mysteries. Ignore the fact that he's short and looks more like Opus from Bloom county than a debonair detective. He's got the trench coat (even if he's missing a heater) and there certainly seems to be a need for a private dick in Earth's currently hectic world.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an amusing little fantasy. The protagonist is an alien who has heard radio broadcasts from Earth, and is such a Philip Marlowe fan that he feels compelled to come visit the planet. The text becomes more and more Chandleresque as the book goes on. And for once, the cover illustrator seems to have actually read the book. All the characters shown figure in the plot and are portrayed as they are described in the book.

[Charl · Rating 2 out of 5]

The protagonist is an alien from a culture hooked on our radio broadcasts. This one is hooked on Chandler's Philip Marlowe series, and comes to Earth to be a detective.

Gilden's trying to imitate Chandler's style, too, and the alien is consciously trying to imitate Marlowe, but neither one does it well enough to be amusing.

The gimmick was interesting enough to keep me reading, but not interesting enough to actually enjoy it. I wish I'd moved on instead of slogging through it.

[Veronica · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of those books you have to be in the mood for. It's aimed at humor and requires a total suspension of disbelief. It involves a four foot alien channeling Philip Marlowe, gorillas in suits, a robot duck named Bill, a talking lobster, a motorcycle gang, and the requisite surfing robots. I can do silly but I guess I just wasn't in the right frame of mind.

[Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

nostalgia. I bought this in an airport as a kid, because the cover art reminded me of Opus (a penguin from the strip Bloom County/Outland). And i loved it's kooky style (a hippie-beach-bum-alien take on marlowe detective story).

[surfmadpig · Rating 3 out of 5]

fun, but not too much. really wanted to like it more, perhaps if i was into marlowe mysteries i would. then again, perhaps not.

[KJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved this and the other two Zoot Marlowe books - laughed until my stomach hurt - but then I grew up in So Cal...

[Serena · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Rating System:
* couldn't finish, ** wouldn't recommend, *** would recommend, **** would read again, ***** have read again.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Felt sorta cheated that it wasn't actually about surfing robot samurai - the "samurai" bit is just the company that produces them.

[Jon · Rating 2 out of 5]

The mystery set up was decent enough, but the humor fell flat and the final act was a complete mess.

[Gary Yager · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love all these books they are funny and enjoyable too read I would love too see them made into a movie someday soon. They have got something for everyone in the book. Zoot Marlowe Alien from another planet who was listening to Phillip Marlowe Through the air ways and fell in love with his hero. Then you have his earth found young hippie beach bum friends that help him investigate his cases just like Phillip Marlowe did. There is lots of action, sex. I love all three books and I wish he would write more books about the adventures of Zoot Marlowe and his group of friends !!!