Envisioning a telecosm of the early 21st century, author Michael Drinkard makes a few good extrapolations as to where current trends will lead (carcinogen-blocking aerosols sprayed on meat, HDTV addiction, ubiquitous camcorder excess). He presents a world filled with high-tech gadgetry but lacking in poetic subtext. The flashbacks seem skeletal, ripping right along, with a ceiling on character development. Still, Drinkard does articulate a few intriguing memes: A baby is born during a massive earthquake that causes an "Information Tsunami" - all the world's telecommunications systems overload in the ensuing panic - which permanently zaps his nervous system. Drinkard is a talent, but comparisons to Pynchon (specifically, The Crying of Lot 49) forget one thing: Pynchon has a wicked sense of humor. Drinkard could use one, too.
Disobedience, by Michael Drinkard,US$21.95. WW Norton and Company: (800) 233 4830, +1 (717) 346 2029.
STREET CRED
The Ecology of CommerceCrashin' Windows
Hi-Fi-Fo-Fum, Pick the Wallets of the Dumb
Ada, the Enchantress of Numbers
Disobedience
Tumbling into the Paperless Office
