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Plastic Jesus by Wayne Simmons

October 15th, 2013 by Irwin Fletcher Comments


Paperback:256 pages
Publisher:Salt Publishing (15 Nov 2013)
Language:English
ISBN-10:1907773630
ISBN-13: 978-1907773631

Plastic Jesus grabs you by the throat. From the opening paragraph, without warning, it plunges you into a world of fear and confusion and visceral emotion. When it spews you back out again, you are left dizzy, overwhelmed – and desperate to read more. And it’s then that you take your first fearful steps into Lark City…

It is the near future, following a devastating Holy War. Once part of the US colonies, Maalside, the New Republic, now stands alone in the Pacific, separated from the heartland by 200 miles of salty ocean. Lark City is its capital, watched over by a 50 foot, pouting, stiletto-heeled and garter-belted ‘Miss Liberty’, a crude parody of the famous landmark across the water. In this brutal neon jungle, Code Guy Johnny Lyon writes a Jesus social networking AI, to rebrand religion following the war.

At first, the Jesus social networking VR is a success. Users are reconnected with significant moments and people from their past, guided by the Good Lord Himself. But a series of increasingly sinister demands corrupt the programme causing utter disaster; a virtual hell breaks on the streets of Lark – a violent, surreal and uncontrollable social breakdown. Caught in this terrifying web of danger and destruction are Sarah Lee, Johnny’s co-worker and love interest, drug lord Paul McBride who is determined to exploit the chaos to wipe out his enemies, and McBride’s junkie daughter, a prostitute called Kitty who must face her own demons in order to survive the night.

Now, only Johnny can save Sarah, Kitty and the city.

Review

One of the best new horror writers of the decade. Wayne Simmons takes everything you fear and exploits it with no apologies. (James Melzer, author of The Zombie Chronicles)Wayne Simmons does not disappoint. (Patrick D’Orazio’s Tomes of Darkness)

Breathless and unrelenting, you cannot fail to turn the page and see what happens next. (JD Gillam Starburst Magazine)

Fever builds on the nightmare world he created in Flu and manages to make it even more horrific and diseased. A sequel which surpasses the original. (David Moody)

About the Author

Belfast born, Wayne Simmons penned reviews and interviews for several online genre zines before publication of his debut novel in 2008. Wayne’s fiction has since been published in the UK, Austria, Germany, Spain, Turkey and North America. Wayne currently lives in Wales with his ghoulfiend and a Jack Russel terrier called Dita. Look out for Wayne at various genre and tattoo cons or visit him online: http://www.waynesimmons.org
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Irwin Fletcher

I'm an LA journalist who really lives for his profession. I have also published work as Jane Doe in various mags and newspapers across the globe. I normally write articles that can cause trouble but now I write for FTN because Nerds are never angry, so I feel safe.