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Buddy Holly Is Alive and Well on Ganymede
Conceived in the backseat of a car on the day that Buddy Holly died, Oliver Vale turns on the TV one day to find Buddy Holly on every channel, and soon he is on the run from a pursuing mob of religious fanatics. Reprint.
290 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
8 people are currently reading
623 people want to read
About the author
Bradley Denton
63 books63 followersBradley Clayton Denton (born 1958) is an American science fiction author. He has also written other types of fiction, such as the black comedy of his novel Blackburn, about a sympathetic serial killer.
He was born in Towanda, Kansas, and attended the University of Kansas at Lawrence and graduated with degrees in astronomy (B.A.) and English (M.A.). His first published work was the short story "The Music of the Spheres," published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in March 1984. His collection The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians and A Conflagration Artist won the 1995 World Fantasy Award for Best Collection.
He was born in Towanda, Kansas, and attended the University of Kansas at Lawrence and graduated with degrees in astronomy (B.A.) and English (M.A.). His first published work was the short story "The Music of the Spheres," published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in March 1984. His collection The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians and A Conflagration Artist won the 1995 World Fantasy Award for Best Collection.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 87 reviews
September 13, 2023
”Even Jesus had to die at least once, but rock and roll lives forever.”
Preposterous. Silly. Fun. Those words pretty much sum up Buddy Holly Is Alive and Well on Ganymede (a title descriptive of the book’s core gimmick). And did I mention smart? That to. Despite the silliness of the book’s plot, its unlikely characters and preposterous situations, this mix of light farce and broad social satire is consistently erudite in its allusions.
The book is told from multiple perspectives, all focusing back on our hero Oliver Vale, an odd, unprepossessing young man of 29. Oliver’s late mother, an emotionally disturbed, mystical rock and roll rebel, believed that he was the avatar of Buddy Holly. When, on the 30th anniversary of Holly’s death, every television broadcast on the planet is hijacked with a feed of a seemingly live Buddy Holly under a dome on Jupiter’s moon, singing, playing, and asking everyone to contact Oliver Vale at his exact address, this suddenly seems plausible. The world is outraged to have their television entertainment superseded, and begins to spiral toward apocalypse. Oliver is forced to go on the run from police, federal agencies, enraged evangelicals believing him the Antichrist, cyborg Doberman Pinschers, a determined secret agent hit man, and ancient entities determining the fate of humanity, It is every bit as outrageous as it sounds, and then some, but its breakneck, kinetic pace sweeps you along, keeps you amused, and allows you to accept how absurd it all is.
This is a book that defies adequate description. It must be experienced. At times, it seemed too ridiculous to be good, but I couldn’t stop reading. Despite (because of?) its constant absurdity, it was riveting reading.
Preposterous. Silly. Fun. Those words pretty much sum up Buddy Holly Is Alive and Well on Ganymede (a title descriptive of the book’s core gimmick). And did I mention smart? That to. Despite the silliness of the book’s plot, its unlikely characters and preposterous situations, this mix of light farce and broad social satire is consistently erudite in its allusions.
The book is told from multiple perspectives, all focusing back on our hero Oliver Vale, an odd, unprepossessing young man of 29. Oliver’s late mother, an emotionally disturbed, mystical rock and roll rebel, believed that he was the avatar of Buddy Holly. When, on the 30th anniversary of Holly’s death, every television broadcast on the planet is hijacked with a feed of a seemingly live Buddy Holly under a dome on Jupiter’s moon, singing, playing, and asking everyone to contact Oliver Vale at his exact address, this suddenly seems plausible. The world is outraged to have their television entertainment superseded, and begins to spiral toward apocalypse. Oliver is forced to go on the run from police, federal agencies, enraged evangelicals believing him the Antichrist, cyborg Doberman Pinschers, a determined secret agent hit man, and ancient entities determining the fate of humanity, It is every bit as outrageous as it sounds, and then some, but its breakneck, kinetic pace sweeps you along, keeps you amused, and allows you to accept how absurd it all is.
This is a book that defies adequate description. It must be experienced. At times, it seemed too ridiculous to be good, but I couldn’t stop reading. Despite (because of?) its constant absurdity, it was riveting reading.
September 18, 2016
It doesn't have quite the same rocking energy that his first novel, Wrack and Roll, contained, but this is a very well written good book in the semi-quirky tradition of Rudy Rucker and the best of Avram Davidson. The characterization is especially well-drawn, and the plot, while a little hard to completely buy all the way, is fast-paced and entertaining. A good bet for a list of the best thinking-person's intellectual science fiction novels of the decade of the '90s, when the field was expanding in all directions without a particular destination in mind. (And we're probably lucky that such a list doesn't exist.)
October 24, 2016
Over twenty years ago, I saw a book on the shelf that looked interesting, but I decided not to buy it. I later regretted that decision and always wished I had. Last month, I discovered the book is available online for free, so I finally got a chance to read it. That book is Buddy Holly Is Alive and Well on Ganymede.
This book has one of the strangest premises for a novel ever. The title is not a metaphor; it's literal. At the beginning of the story, on the thirtieth anniversary of the death of Buddy Holly, every television set in the world changes to a station showing a thin young man with thick glasses. It's Buddy Holly himself, somehow brought back to life. He's in a transparent dome, and stars and planets can be seen behind him that show he's on Jupiter's moon, Ganymede. Buddy has no idea how he got there, and says the only thing he can see is a TV camera with a sign on it that says to contact someone named Oliver Vale for assistance. Then Buddy starts singing, and no one can turn him off.
Oliver Vale is the hero of the novel, a down-and-out TV repairman with a passing resemblance and obsession with Buddy Holly. He was conceived on the day of Holly's death, and taught by his mother that he has a mystical connection to Holly. He's lived his life around Holly's music, and even drives an Ariel motorcycle, just like Holly. Oliver has no idea why Holly has come back to life or how he's supposed to help him, but Oliver sets out on a pilgrimage to Holly's grave site for answers. Along the way, the people and governments of the world are after him to try to get their TV working again, including his psychiatrist, a government assassin, a televangelist cult, a cyborg Doberman, and a couple of space aliens in human form.
If it's not clear at this point, the book is a comedy.
Oliver's journey takes him through the Midwest, hiding out in grungy motels, struggling with his temperamental motorcycle, and meeting odd characters who have hidden connections to his life. As the world goes mad from lack of television, Oliver becomes public enemy number one; considered a terrorist by the government, the Anti-Christ by the Christian right, and a danger to extraterrestrials who've been hiding among us and risk exposure.
At the same time, half the book is dedicated to the life and times of Oliver Vale, whose father killed himself, leaving his mother alone and pregnant in the fifties. Disowned by his grandmother, Oliver's mother gets a job at a radio station, and struggles with poverty, loneliness, and a growing obsession with UFOs. As he grows up, Oliver is forced to watch her life collapse around her in a surprisingly moving and tragic story, partially told through her diary entries.
Much of the novel is about the power of music. Oliver shares his mother's view, which is that rock and roll is religion. His gods are Elvis Presley and the Beatles, and his prayers are pop songs. His extensive record collection is his prized possession. Every death of a major rock star, from the Big Bopper to John Lennon, is the death of a saint. Throughout the book, Oliver mediates on the effect music had on his life and the lives of others. But it all comes down to Buddy Holly. Holly's effect on the world through his interstellar concert is a metaphor for the effect he had on the music world in general.
I found the book very dated, to be honest. It was written at a time when videotape and cable were exciting new technologies, vinyl records were the main medium of music, and televangelism was ripe for skewering. In an age when hip hop dominates the radio, and even eighties pop is on the oldies station, celebrating the joys of fifties rock and roll felt like a distant memory. I did get a sense of how rock and roll changed American culture, and felt new and dangerous, and it made me wish for those days again.
Of course, the big question with a book like this is, "Is it funny?" I say, yes. It didn't make me laugh out loud like the works of Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett, but it did make me smile. I usually prefer comedic novels that are more zany than this, but I liked it. Despite the weirdness, I found the book very grounded in realism. Most of the characters, especially Oliver, feel like real people. I was impressed by the author's efforts to flesh out the story rather than just rely on sheer wackiness.
There aren't a lot of comedic sci-fi novels, so I'm always eager to seek one out. This is one I'm glad I got to read. It's an uplifting and funny story about music, life, and family. And it's free, so why not? Recommended.
This book has one of the strangest premises for a novel ever. The title is not a metaphor; it's literal. At the beginning of the story, on the thirtieth anniversary of the death of Buddy Holly, every television set in the world changes to a station showing a thin young man with thick glasses. It's Buddy Holly himself, somehow brought back to life. He's in a transparent dome, and stars and planets can be seen behind him that show he's on Jupiter's moon, Ganymede. Buddy has no idea how he got there, and says the only thing he can see is a TV camera with a sign on it that says to contact someone named Oliver Vale for assistance. Then Buddy starts singing, and no one can turn him off.
Oliver Vale is the hero of the novel, a down-and-out TV repairman with a passing resemblance and obsession with Buddy Holly. He was conceived on the day of Holly's death, and taught by his mother that he has a mystical connection to Holly. He's lived his life around Holly's music, and even drives an Ariel motorcycle, just like Holly. Oliver has no idea why Holly has come back to life or how he's supposed to help him, but Oliver sets out on a pilgrimage to Holly's grave site for answers. Along the way, the people and governments of the world are after him to try to get their TV working again, including his psychiatrist, a government assassin, a televangelist cult, a cyborg Doberman, and a couple of space aliens in human form.
If it's not clear at this point, the book is a comedy.
Oliver's journey takes him through the Midwest, hiding out in grungy motels, struggling with his temperamental motorcycle, and meeting odd characters who have hidden connections to his life. As the world goes mad from lack of television, Oliver becomes public enemy number one; considered a terrorist by the government, the Anti-Christ by the Christian right, and a danger to extraterrestrials who've been hiding among us and risk exposure.
At the same time, half the book is dedicated to the life and times of Oliver Vale, whose father killed himself, leaving his mother alone and pregnant in the fifties. Disowned by his grandmother, Oliver's mother gets a job at a radio station, and struggles with poverty, loneliness, and a growing obsession with UFOs. As he grows up, Oliver is forced to watch her life collapse around her in a surprisingly moving and tragic story, partially told through her diary entries.
Much of the novel is about the power of music. Oliver shares his mother's view, which is that rock and roll is religion. His gods are Elvis Presley and the Beatles, and his prayers are pop songs. His extensive record collection is his prized possession. Every death of a major rock star, from the Big Bopper to John Lennon, is the death of a saint. Throughout the book, Oliver mediates on the effect music had on his life and the lives of others. But it all comes down to Buddy Holly. Holly's effect on the world through his interstellar concert is a metaphor for the effect he had on the music world in general.
I found the book very dated, to be honest. It was written at a time when videotape and cable were exciting new technologies, vinyl records were the main medium of music, and televangelism was ripe for skewering. In an age when hip hop dominates the radio, and even eighties pop is on the oldies station, celebrating the joys of fifties rock and roll felt like a distant memory. I did get a sense of how rock and roll changed American culture, and felt new and dangerous, and it made me wish for those days again.
Of course, the big question with a book like this is, "Is it funny?" I say, yes. It didn't make me laugh out loud like the works of Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett, but it did make me smile. I usually prefer comedic novels that are more zany than this, but I liked it. Despite the weirdness, I found the book very grounded in realism. Most of the characters, especially Oliver, feel like real people. I was impressed by the author's efforts to flesh out the story rather than just rely on sheer wackiness.
There aren't a lot of comedic sci-fi novels, so I'm always eager to seek one out. This is one I'm glad I got to read. It's an uplifting and funny story about music, life, and family. And it's free, so why not? Recommended.
June 18, 2009
A little bit mystical, a little rock n roll, and just a little bit of silliness.
It was a good read, with adventures and humor, but in the end it wasn't as entertaining as I thought it would be.
It was a good read, with adventures and humor, but in the end it wasn't as entertaining as I thought it would be.
May 4, 2011
so much potential but is missing something
August 2, 2024
In between the randomness of this book and Michelle‘s diary entries, this was a weirdly good book if you are into sci-fi and can handle Rock ‘n’ roll references every turn of the page. Even though I side-eyed some of the dialogue of this book, I love Oliver and his mother’s relationship and at some points made me want to cry.
I don’t know if it was tended by the author but between Oliver reading Michelle’s (his mother) diary entries you get to see her perspective during the 60s,70s, and 80s up till her death.
I feel bad for both Michelle and Oliver because Michelle was never able to cope with the death of her boyfriend and Oliver’s father, she ended up fixating on predominant rock and roll figures (like Buddy Holly obviously) to UFOs and aliens. This was also her downfall because she ended up projecting this to Oliver who later stated in one chapter when he was getting glasses that he didn’t want to be the spitting image of Buddy Holly and just wanted to be himself which Michelle wasn’t helping with that ( she compares him to Buddy Holly when he was getting picked on because of the glasses).
But it’s not her fault because she was 17 and pregnant with Oliver and her boyfriend killed himself after he impregnate her, it could have been traumatizing for her and a lack of support from her family wasn’t helping, so she turns to rock and roll and spiritualism as a coping mechanism so she doesn’t have to face the reality that everyone dies (including herself and Oliver).
In my perspective Oliver, while also being on the run from the police and trying to figure out how to stop the aliens, he’s also trying to figure out if his mother had been right about all of this happing or was she disturbed as a person.
Either way, this is just my theory but the main point Is that I enjoyed the book.
Alternative title for a book: Buddy Holly comes back from the dead and doxed a 20-year-old man because of aliens.
I don’t know if it was tended by the author but between Oliver reading Michelle’s (his mother) diary entries you get to see her perspective during the 60s,70s, and 80s up till her death.
I feel bad for both Michelle and Oliver because Michelle was never able to cope with the death of her boyfriend and Oliver’s father, she ended up fixating on predominant rock and roll figures (like Buddy Holly obviously) to UFOs and aliens. This was also her downfall because she ended up projecting this to Oliver who later stated in one chapter when he was getting glasses that he didn’t want to be the spitting image of Buddy Holly and just wanted to be himself which Michelle wasn’t helping with that ( she compares him to Buddy Holly when he was getting picked on because of the glasses).
But it’s not her fault because she was 17 and pregnant with Oliver and her boyfriend killed himself after he impregnate her, it could have been traumatizing for her and a lack of support from her family wasn’t helping, so she turns to rock and roll and spiritualism as a coping mechanism so she doesn’t have to face the reality that everyone dies (including herself and Oliver).
In my perspective Oliver, while also being on the run from the police and trying to figure out how to stop the aliens, he’s also trying to figure out if his mother had been right about all of this happing or was she disturbed as a person.
Either way, this is just my theory but the main point Is that I enjoyed the book.
Alternative title for a book: Buddy Holly comes back from the dead and doxed a 20-year-old man because of aliens.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 15, 2015
Simpatico.
NOn appassiona, ma si legge volentieri.
NOn appassiona, ma si legge volentieri.
June 25, 2017
Was expecting a lot more science fiction/rock n roll and a lot less unlikable characters and cringe bad parenting.
June 11, 2022
El título no decepciona. Buenos Presagios en versión ciencia ficción. La interrupción de las emisiones televisivas por Buddy Holly a finales de los 80 crea una situación de caos generalizada (salvo en la unión soviética donde los telespectadores aprovechan el cambio de programación). Holly menciona un nombre en sus apariciones televisivas, un pobre hombre atormentado por el recuerdo de su difunta madre y su amor compartido por el rock and roll. Desde las autoridades estadounidenses a fanáticos cristianos quieren echarle el guante, pero Oliver, así se llama el susodicho, encuentra una sucesión de inesperados aliados en su Road movie hacia la tumba de Buddy Holly. Mención especial para el perrete, me recordó mucho al de snowcrash.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 25, 2025
This was such a weird book! I went into it thinking maybe it would be along the lines of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but it isn't even in the same ballpark. I can't recommend it.
November 17, 2019
I first noted the name Bradley Denton in connection with the excellent story “The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians” in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Along with Lucius Shepard’s “The Scalehunter’s Beautiful Daughter,” it was my pick of best short fiction of 1988, and I tried to cajole everyone I knew into reading it. Denton had a way with humor and pathos that captured the heart and soul of Lenny Bruce and John Belushi, and said something about everyone at the same time.
I was extremely pleased to find out that Denton moved to Austin sometime around then so that I could tell him how much I liked that story. He was humble and effusive at the same time, and the one thing that I remember him saying in response was “I don’t even feel like the same guy who wrote that story.” It’s easy to understand his alienation when you realize that he probably wrote it in 1985, had it rejected a couple of times before Ed Ferman bought it (say in 1987) and it’s ultimate appearance in F&SF in 1988. A lot of things can happen in three years. Three years ago Mark Ziesing sold books from Conneticut, Ed Ferman was the editor of Fantasy & Science Fiction, people thought the words Russia and USSR were interchangeable, and there were American hostages in the middle-east.
When Neil Barrett, Jr. started selling his weird and wild stories to Asimov’s like “Sweetheart Ginny’s,” the talk around the Austin SF scene sounded like this: Neil must have sat too close to Howard Waldrop and mutated. If not for the evidence of “The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians,” I would be saying the same thing about Denton now. Denton’s first novel, Wrack & Roll, didn’t do much for me, but this novel knocked me for a loop. The biggest trouble with this book is that it’s hard to describe, except to quote the title. Kind of like Howard Waldrop, with a little bit of Ken Grimwood’s Replay, and a lot of humor that is Denton’s own. This is my pick for the novel of 1991.
I was extremely pleased to find out that Denton moved to Austin sometime around then so that I could tell him how much I liked that story. He was humble and effusive at the same time, and the one thing that I remember him saying in response was “I don’t even feel like the same guy who wrote that story.” It’s easy to understand his alienation when you realize that he probably wrote it in 1985, had it rejected a couple of times before Ed Ferman bought it (say in 1987) and it’s ultimate appearance in F&SF in 1988. A lot of things can happen in three years. Three years ago Mark Ziesing sold books from Conneticut, Ed Ferman was the editor of Fantasy & Science Fiction, people thought the words Russia and USSR were interchangeable, and there were American hostages in the middle-east.
When Neil Barrett, Jr. started selling his weird and wild stories to Asimov’s like “Sweetheart Ginny’s,” the talk around the Austin SF scene sounded like this: Neil must have sat too close to Howard Waldrop and mutated. If not for the evidence of “The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians,” I would be saying the same thing about Denton now. Denton’s first novel, Wrack & Roll, didn’t do much for me, but this novel knocked me for a loop. The biggest trouble with this book is that it’s hard to describe, except to quote the title. Kind of like Howard Waldrop, with a little bit of Ken Grimwood’s Replay, and a lot of humor that is Denton’s own. This is my pick for the novel of 1991.
August 31, 2009
Buddy Holly Is Alive and Well on Ganymede lives at the wacky adventure/magic realism end of science fiction, where the alien intelligences behind the events of the novel might as well be angels and demons for all the light scifi veneer of robots and so on. But that's fine, because the story's a subtle interweaving of a meditation on American music of the twentieth century, and of the life of a single mother and her son, and the aforementioned wacky adventure, sparked when Buddy Holly appears on every television in the world, speaking seemingly from the surface of Ganymede (one of the moons and Jupiter) and telling everyone that for more information they should contact Oliver Vale, our humble protagonist. Any one of the elements might have fallen short for me, but the combination really captivated.
June 20, 2022
the premise was very interesting and seemed like the perfect setup for a lot of fun absurd humor. so it was very disappointing when the majority of the book was filled with unlikeable characters (especially the protagonist), dragging scenes, and an ultimately unsatisfying journey. it was a roadtrip story, one that went on for much longer than necessary. the only parts that i personally found fulfilling were the sections where the protagonist told the story of his childhood and read his mother's diary entries, as well as the sections that didn't feature first person narration; of course, this book is about the protagonist, so these parts are not given as much attention compared to the rest of the book. i am aware that i am digging way too deep into this book, but i like buddy holly so :/
December 17, 2015
When an author bases a story on the absurd, they have to tread carefully to avoid destroying the verisimilitude of the book. And I don't feel that Bradley Denton succeeded in this regard. I really liked the parts of the book that dealt with Oliver's childhood and relationship to his mother - they were very touching and rang true - but the parts of the book that gave it its title are just not great. Maybe it's a stylistic mismatch between the story and me, but it felt cartoonish, contrived, and ridiculous - and not in a good way.
Similar title:
Mermaids in Paradise
Similar title:
Mermaids in Paradise
February 7, 2009
I bought it at a library sale because of the title. How could you pass that up?
Charming, witty, funny, insightful, flawed in the way first novels are. Even touching, in it's way. An explosion of imagination.
One of my luckiest hidden gems because it led me to read the rest of Bradley Denton's work. All of which share a delightfully skewed imagination.
Charming, witty, funny, insightful, flawed in the way first novels are. Even touching, in it's way. An explosion of imagination.
One of my luckiest hidden gems because it led me to read the rest of Bradley Denton's work. All of which share a delightfully skewed imagination.
July 25, 2011
Not great, but an enjoyable, well written book. As the title implies, this book is humorous - no laugh out loud moments, but still pretty funny. The story and characters reminded me a bit of a Tom Robbins novel.
September 20, 2018
So, saw someone was reading this on one of the forums, checked it out and found a free copy through Wikipedia on Manybooks. Entertaining. Googled a bit on Buddy Holly and others in the plane crash as it’s a tad before my time.
May 20, 2011
Was this supposed to be a good book? A funny book? An enjoyable book?
Fell way off the mark.
Fell way off the mark.
Read
September 21, 2020This was a favorite when I was a teenager and I recently reread it after the author made it available on his website. It holds up pretty well, although the sexism fairy may have been to visit a bit.
February 11, 2019
Good for light reading. To a large extent, a chase story. On the 30th anniversary of Buddy Holly's death, all the world's TV shows are replaced by a live broadcast of Buddy Holly in a transparent dome with Jupiter in the background. Holly says there's a sign there telling him to ask viewers to tell Oliver Vale of Topeka, Kansas his help is needed. The authorities and public assume Oliver has hacked the system and caused this to happen. Thereafter, he's pursued by a government spook, neighbors who are of some unearthly nature, the neighbors' cyborg Doberman dog, Oliver's therapist and her husband, religious fanatics who say Oliver is the antichrist... He also gets assistance from a biker from whom he bought a motorcycle years ago, an army buddy of his uncle, an angry woman traveling to Houston, and (twice) from an unearthly being.
The book also includes extensive reminiscences by Oliver of his mother and growing up in the 1960's and 1970's with a mother who was a Buddy Holly (and rock) fan and who was also an independent woman in that time and place. Over the years, they experienced the loss of a number of rock legends.
The book doesn't explicitly explain the nature of the unearthly beings. They are not "fleshbound" and at the end Buddy Holly is invited to journey with them in a bodyless form. Some science fiction has depicted "energy beings" or other beings which are neither matter nor supernatural. But when human Buddy Holly can journey without a body, one may deduce spirits are the bodyless beings. Here, the supernatural is relatively "quiet" and implicit, so while the supernatural aspect didn't affect my reading much, I'll categorize this as "speculative fiction," not "science fiction."
The book also includes extensive reminiscences by Oliver of his mother and growing up in the 1960's and 1970's with a mother who was a Buddy Holly (and rock) fan and who was also an independent woman in that time and place. Over the years, they experienced the loss of a number of rock legends.
The book doesn't explicitly explain the nature of the unearthly beings. They are not "fleshbound" and at the end Buddy Holly is invited to journey with them in a bodyless form. Some science fiction has depicted "energy beings" or other beings which are neither matter nor supernatural. But when human Buddy Holly can journey without a body, one may deduce spirits are the bodyless beings. Here, the supernatural is relatively "quiet" and implicit, so while the supernatural aspect didn't affect my reading much, I'll categorize this as "speculative fiction," not "science fiction."
February 22, 2020
Bradley Denton's zany, weird, yet immensely memorable Science Fiction novel Buddy Holly Is Alive And Well on Ganymede was a strange and wonderful book. The book centers around 30 year old Oliver Vale who was conceived at the exact moment the small beach bomber plane with Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper, Pilot Roger Peterson, and Buddy Holly crashed in a cold ice covered Iowa field in 1959.
Oliver's life is strangely connected to Buddy Holly. Buddy was Vale's only father figure because his real father committed suicide after impregnating Olivers mother. Oliver grew up to fervently believe in personal freedom, higher consciousness, rock-and-roll, and UFOs. Oliver's mother would spend her son's childhood slowing Turing to insanity that aliens would come to earth. And that her son would be a key component. Then one day in 1989 he turns on the TV to find Buddy Holly on every channel. Broadcasting nonstop from a moon of Jupiter, and telling the world that Oliver Vale knows the reason why. Suddenly Oliver is on the run. Trying to put some distance between himself and a bloodthirsty mob of religious fanatics, Kansas aliens, a killer cyborg dog, a CIA assassin, and desperate couch potatoes who want their soap operas back.
I throughly enjoyed the book, I identified with Oliver due to his flashbacks of his childhood making this a part time coming of age story. The science fiction part of the novel reminded me of old fifties sci fi movies made on a low budget like The Fly, The Blob, and Plan 9 from Outer Space. This was a fun and strangely satisfying page turner that is meant to entertain you and shouldn't be taken to seriously. And thankfully that is exactly what it did.
Oliver's life is strangely connected to Buddy Holly. Buddy was Vale's only father figure because his real father committed suicide after impregnating Olivers mother. Oliver grew up to fervently believe in personal freedom, higher consciousness, rock-and-roll, and UFOs. Oliver's mother would spend her son's childhood slowing Turing to insanity that aliens would come to earth. And that her son would be a key component. Then one day in 1989 he turns on the TV to find Buddy Holly on every channel. Broadcasting nonstop from a moon of Jupiter, and telling the world that Oliver Vale knows the reason why. Suddenly Oliver is on the run. Trying to put some distance between himself and a bloodthirsty mob of religious fanatics, Kansas aliens, a killer cyborg dog, a CIA assassin, and desperate couch potatoes who want their soap operas back.
I throughly enjoyed the book, I identified with Oliver due to his flashbacks of his childhood making this a part time coming of age story. The science fiction part of the novel reminded me of old fifties sci fi movies made on a low budget like The Fly, The Blob, and Plan 9 from Outer Space. This was a fun and strangely satisfying page turner that is meant to entertain you and shouldn't be taken to seriously. And thankfully that is exactly what it did.
January 23, 2019
I first heard about this book in 2011 when I saw a teaser trailer for a movie adaptation that never happened (https://youtu.be/OmQpZ7iYDo4), starring Jon Heder. It seemed interesting, but my local library didn't have the book and it fell to the back of my mind.
Recently, I found myself with an abundance of Audible credits that I needed to spend in a hurry, and found that there was a 2015 production on there, so over the last week I've listened to the book on my commute.
It's... only okay, and I think that's the fault of the ending.
The characters are there. I like, or at least enjoy (characters can be utter dicks that I want to toss off a cliff and still be enjoyable within the narrative), most of them.
I think this is just a case of too much build up. SO MUCH STUFF happens, and the explanation for WHY, the final payoff... just isn't there, not for me.
If a story is going to be about something that changes the world, I would like the world to be changed at the end of it, and I don't know that it was.
I've started and stopped reading several books lately because I wasn't digging them: life is too short to waste time on books that you don't enjoy. I finished this one, so I guess it has that going for it.
Recently, I found myself with an abundance of Audible credits that I needed to spend in a hurry, and found that there was a 2015 production on there, so over the last week I've listened to the book on my commute.
It's... only okay, and I think that's the fault of the ending.
The characters are there. I like, or at least enjoy (characters can be utter dicks that I want to toss off a cliff and still be enjoyable within the narrative), most of them.
I think this is just a case of too much build up. SO MUCH STUFF happens, and the explanation for WHY, the final payoff... just isn't there, not for me.
If a story is going to be about something that changes the world, I would like the world to be changed at the end of it, and I don't know that it was.
I've started and stopped reading several books lately because I wasn't digging them: life is too short to waste time on books that you don't enjoy. I finished this one, so I guess it has that going for it.
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January 2, 2021Buddy Holly is Alive and Well on Ganymede is a story of Oliver Vale who all his life been compared to Buddy Holly. The story starts off with Buddy on Oliver's tv singing his classics and then states if anyone has any questions in regards to this broadcast to contact Oliver Vale. After this announcement, Oliver goes on the run and heads to Buddy's resting place in Luddox, TX to get some answers. Throughout the book, we find out more about Oliver's upbringing and how his mom believed in aliens and her love for music. It also jumps around to Oliver fleeing from everything going on with the broadcast.
This had so much potential to be a fun book. I had to stop reading halfway through as it was redundant and it was falling flat. I was starting to not care about the characters anymore nor did I want to find out what happened. I decided to stop halfway though.
This had so much potential to be a fun book. I had to stop reading halfway through as it was redundant and it was falling flat. I was starting to not care about the characters anymore nor did I want to find out what happened. I decided to stop halfway though.
February 5, 2022
Not a Review, just an opinion: I don't read Science Fiction, so let me start with that. I got this book from a $4.00 a bag book sale at our local library. Come on, with a title like this, how could a lady in her late 50s resist? This book sat on my bookshelf until a couple of weeks ago, when I decided to give it a try, and now I'm in my early 60s. It was funny, it was imaginative, and the SF portion of it (aliens) was not what made the story at all. OMG, I just loved this book!!
I am now looking for Mr. Denton's books when I go to the used book store, because I read while taking a bath or lounging in the swimming pool so I always get them very wet. I'll exhaust the low cost options and then turn to the library, new print or the dreaded kindle. (I love my kindle for games but I like paper books)
It was a plus that Oliver was the exact same age I am. Good ole Class of '77
I am now looking for Mr. Denton's books when I go to the used book store, because I read while taking a bath or lounging in the swimming pool so I always get them very wet. I'll exhaust the low cost options and then turn to the library, new print or the dreaded kindle. (I love my kindle for games but I like paper books)
It was a plus that Oliver was the exact same age I am. Good ole Class of '77
March 4, 2018
This book blends rock and roll, science fiction, and a crazy road trip in middle America that provides a unique tale. Starting near Topeka, Kansas, events rapidly take off when all of the world's television airwaves become jammed with a live broadcast of Buddy Holly seeking Oliver's, the main character's, help. Set in the late 80's (although this is not entirely true as the tale spans from the untimely 'death' of Buddy Holly to the mysterious broadcast in 1989), this captures a time many now find nostalgic. I'm about Oliver's age and we did believe in rock and roll. This is an enjoyable, fun book and if you're lucky you'll find a copy. I rated this at 4 stars for being imagination and enjoyable but no more than that.
August 25, 2025
This book is absolutely ridiculous in the best way possible, the most difficult aspect of the reading experience for me was continuing to read while a new Buddy Holly track gets stuck in my head every 5 minutes. Never before has that been an issue while I was reading & I highly doubt it will be again. I am very glad I didnt put this book back on the store shelf. I love Buddy Holly.
July 15, 2021
Raamat sisaldab nii ulmet kui olmet, nii oleviku kujutamist kui ka minevikumälestustes sobramist, nii häid kui ka halbu tegelasi, tagaajamisest ajendatud road tripist rääkimata. Meelelahutuseks sobiv.
October 10, 2021
A strange and comic escapade with rock and roll history. And, yes, Buddy Holly is alive and well, although rather confused, on Ganymede, and he is the only thing on television. A nice robotic dog--good dog--is featured who can spit back bullets and belch up beer cans.
September 23, 2018
I loved every minute of this book! Brilliant characters, dark humour and lots of action!
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