Deadstock (Mass Market Paperback)

by Jeffrey Thomas (Author)
Key Phrases: trash zapper, wrist comp, access chute, Jeffrey Thomas, Blank People, Steward Gardens (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Living human skin is the latest designer fabric, mobile phones call the dead and genetics corporations manufacture headless livestock for the butcher in the latest dispatch from Thomas's Punktown, a vividly realized, ultra-bleak off-world cityscape, in which bloody terror and sci-fi spectacle meld to ferocious effect. The central plot—from which there are a number of strange digressions—concerns Jeremy Stake, an interdimensional war veteran and private eye who's constantly aggravated by his involuntary, Zelig-like ability to mimic those around him. His latest assignment is to track down a missing one-of-a-kind bio-doll manufactured specially for a genetics tycoon's daughter—a toy that isn't quite as defenseless as its teenage owner presumes. When describing the intricacies of Punktown's macabre culture, Thomas's prose sizzles, but the setup proves largely superfluous to the narrative, propelled by splatter-happy action and firefight climaxes, along with occasionally stilted exposition regarding extradimensional deities. Those hoping for a provocative exploration of the ethical dilemmas posed by Punktown's morbid culture—the sale of living female torsos to brothels, for example—will be disappointed. For a wild ride, however, readers will be hard-pressed to find a better vehicle than Thomas's bizarre multiverse; fans of cyberpunk noir and Lovecraftian horror will find much to enjoy in this messy, bravura hybrid. (Apr.)
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Product Description
Punktown: established by Earth colonists on a faraway world, a crime-ridden megalopolis peopled by countless races. There is Stake, the private detective with chameleon-like abilities he can not control. There is his wealthy client, Fukuda, whose company mass produces life forms for labor and as playthings. There is Fukuda's beautiful teenage daughter, whose priceless one-of-a-kind living doll has been stolen. And there is the doll itself, growing in size and resentment. Meanwhile, at an abandoned apartment complex with a dark history, a tough street gang and a band of mutant squatters have been trapped inside by bioengineered life forms mindlessly bent on destroying them like an infestation of vermin. The destinies of all these individuals will converge and collide.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Solaris (February 27, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1844164470
• ISBN-13: 978-1844164479
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #641,168 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Blade Runner movie fans will LOVE this one!, March 22, 2007

By	Detra Fitch (USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Punktown is a crime-filled metropolis on the colony world, Oasis. Jeremy Stake is a (mutant) private detective with chameleon-like abilities. If Stake looks too long at a person's face, his own face becomes a mirror image. Something Stake hates more than anyone could possibly know or understand. Stake's current assignment is to locate the missing, one-of-a-kind, living doll of teen Yuki Fukuda.

Yuki's doll is called Dai-oo-ika and had been created by her father, John Fukuda, owner of Fukuda Bioforms. The company not only creates limited editions of living dolls, but also grows battery animals as a food source. (Battery animals are rapidly grown by the thousands in great tanks of nutrient solution, minus heads, feathers, and other unneeded parts.) Yuki's doll had been stolen out of her locker while she attended class. The only person Yuki feels could possibly hate her enough to consider doing this is Krimson Tableau, the daughter of a business rival. No one knows where Krimson disappeared to on the day Dai-oo-ika went missing. Some say that Krimson had run off with her older boyfriend, Brat. However, Brat has also disappeared.

The Folger Street Snarlers, Brat's gang currently lead by a man named Javier, goes searching for their missing brother near the apartments of Steward Gardens. The apartments had been created on the prime land location of Beaumonde. Yet, the apartments had never opened for business and still sit empty. Upon entering the building, the Snarlers, learn that a mutant gang called the Tin Town Terata are already within it. Worse, the Tin Town Teratas have been trapped there for over ten days by some bio-engineered humans without faces. These faceless humans are referred to as "Blank People". And the Snarlers begin sharing the Teratas gang's fate. The gangs must team up to find a way to escape. Unable to call for out for help, the Blank People are slowly killing off the gang members.

Meanwhile, Dai-oo-ika pines away for his young mother as he struggles to survive and understand what is happening to him. Dai-oo-ika begins growing in size, intelligence, and resentment toward others. The doll will soon become a danger to all living beings.

**** Fans of the classic cult movie "Blade Runner" will absolutely LOVE this novel. The author, Jeffrey Thomas, has added several items and flash backs (Stake's) that do not truly matter to the plot and/or story line, except for a small reference near the end; however, I found them to be extremely creative and never got bored. If P.I. Jeremy Stake has a future assignment published, I hope to be first in line to read it. I believe Jeffrey Thomas possesses a riveting imagination and I am hoping for more on this mutant character. ****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Welcome to Punktown!, August 23, 2007

By	Mary T. Duros (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Deadstock is a wonderful sci-fi story of mystery and mythos set in Punktown. Punktown is a dark place where aliens and humans, as well as interdimensional beings and worlds all come together. And Jeremy Stake, a detective with special gifts brings this story all together. This book is a real page turner and consumed me to the point that some touching parts brought me to tears. Punktown is a wonderful world that is uniquely Thomas and well worth investigating if you have never had the pleasure of entering this world before. You'll be hooked. I highly recommend this book.

5.0 out of 5 stars Creepy SciFi Page-Turner, April 1, 2007

By	David Keith "FurNTats" (Washington, IN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you're looking for a well written creepy SciFi thriller, you've found your book. This here's a great little treat. Never read this author before, and will read more by him.