"It's raining zen satire."
The Time of New Weather
By: Sean Murphy
Genres: Science Fiction | Fantasy
Posted: May 15, 2008
THE TIME OF NEW WEATHER follows the life of Buddy Le Blanc in a near-future America. Buddy is a minor miracle-worker that wants to make the world a better place, and in the this near-future, the world has a lot of room for improvement. Corporations have taken over the US Government. Pollution and corporate malfeasance have caused the fundamental laws of physics to break down - gravity doesn't work all the time, time flows erratically, and the weather has gone completely haywire. So, Buddy joins the circus, and the circus joins forces with a political demonstration group, which then decides to stop the war in Antarctica. Along the way, he discovers that his father is the Hope Valley Hubcap King (the title of the book that THE TIME OF NEW WEATHER is the sequel to, I think), and discovers the power of transcendental meditation.
As far as satire goes, THE TIME OF NEW WEATHER is not as biting or insightful as it tries to be. Attacking corporations for being evil and exploitive is not exactly cutting edge. Nor is it particularly subtle - allusions to the government becoming a 1984-esque fascist totalitarian regime probably should stop sometime before billboards with "Big Brother is Watching You." And while meditation can provide deep spiritual insights, it doesn't provide for the most gripping narrative. By the fourth or fifth character's deep spiritual understanding I had obtained a deep understanding of the back of my eyelids.
Which isn't to say that THE TIME OF NEW WEATHER is all bad. In fact, there are moments when it can be quite amusing, and borderline clever. If only the author hadn't been aiming for profound...
Book Summary
THE TIME OF NEW WEATHER IS AT HAND–AND IT’S NOT A PRETTY
SIGHT.
In
this exhilarating adventure of absurdist wit, rollicking
revolution and
romance, the future isn’t what it used to be and the past
won’t leave
us alone. Bringing to mind 1984 and Brave New World–but with
his own
twist of gleeful humor–award-winning author Sean Murphy
presents a
vision of an America gone off the rails: an America where it
literally
rains cats and dogs, where a hubcap ranch is now a National
Preservation Site, where a horde of circus folk and Elvis
fans are on
the rampage–and where some rather suspicious things are
going on with
time and gravity.
Into this world is born Buddy Le
Blanc, a
young boy with a special gift: the ability to perform tiny
miracles.
Nothing big, like raising the dead or curing the sick–more
like an
uncanny knack for finding spare change. He longs to find a
way to make
a difference; but in a world where time and gravity storms
can spring
up at a moment’s notice (sending your belongings hurtling
through the
roof, or off to the Renaissance) and big business has
gobbled up the
U.S. government (now renamed The America Corporation), it’s
hard to get
your foot in the door. But when Buddy joins up with a cast
of fellow
seekers–renegade circus freaks, ragtag revolutionaries, a
woman in
search of her hat, and a particularly gorgeous journalist–in
the hope
of waking America up from its dream, the fate of the country
may just
end up in his not-so-capable hands.…
by: Sean Murphy
Dell
May 1, 2008
On Sale: April 29, 2008
Featuring: Buddy Le Blanc
384 pages
ISBN: 0553586793
EAN: 9780553586794
Mass Market Paperback