Fishy-fleshed [Paperback]

Carlton Mellick III (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 29, 2012

Was Jesus actually a time-traveler from the future? The citizens of Ocean City believe this could be the case. Their world has become so technologically advanced that everyone now possesses the ability to walk on water, cure diseases, multiply food, and raise the dead... They are like an entire civilization of Jesus Christs. But when a team of researchers travel back in time to the days of Christ, they discover the past is a lot different than they ever imagined. It is an illogical flatland lacking in dimension and color, a sick-scape of crispy squid people wandering the desert for no apparent reason. And when they meet the Messiah, they learn he is not actually the great man they were expecting him to be. In fact, he isn't exactly a man at all.

Told in Mellick's early schizophrenic prose style, Fishy-fleshed is part pulp science-fiction, part experimental fiction, and 100% bizarro as hell.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Praise for Carlton Mellick III

"Easily the craziest, weirdest, strangest, funniest, most obscene writer in America."
- GOTHIC MAGAZINE

"Carlton Mellick III has the craziest book titles... and the kinkiest fans!"
- CHRISTOPHER MOORE, author of The Stupidest Angel

"If you haven't read Mellick you're not nearly perverse enough for the twenty first century."
- JACK KETCHUM, author of The Woman and The Girl Next Door

"Carlton Mellick III is one of bizarro fiction's most talented practitioners, a virtuoso of the surreal, science fictional tale."
- CORY DOCTOROW, author of Little Brother

"Bizarre, twisted, and emotionally raw--Carlton Mellick's fiction is the literary equivalent of putting your brain in a blender."
- BRIAN KEENE, author of The Rising and Dead Sea

"Carlton Mellick III exemplifies the intelligence and wit that lurks between its lurid covers. In a genre where crude titles are an art in themselves, Mellick is a true artist."
- THE GUARDIAN

"Just as Pop had Andy Warhol and Dada Tristan Tzara, the Bizarro movement has its very own P. T. Barnum-type practitioner. He's the mutton-chopped author of such books as Electric Jesus Corpse and The Menstruating Mall, the illustrator, editor, and instructor of all things Bizarro, and his name is Carlton Mellick III."
- DETAILS MAGAZINE

Product Details

• Paperback: 110 pages
• Publisher: Eraserhead Press (June 29, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 162105036X
• ISBN-13: 978-1621050360
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.2 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,082,383 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Like a real world Kilgore Trout, cult author CARLTON MELLICK III has been pumping out some of the weirdest, trashiest, most imaginative books that you'll never want to admit you secretly love.

His books are released on a quarterly basis (every January, April, July, and October).

Best known as one of the leading authors of the bizarro fiction movement in literature, he is also one of the most prolific authors of his generation with over 40 books in print since 2001. He won the Wonderland Book Award for his novel "Warrior Wolf Women of the Wasteland" and has had short stories make it into The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror and The Best Bizarro Fiction of the Decade.

Although many of his earliest works are on the surreal and experimental side, his current style is to take the most ridiculous concepts imaginable and approach them with complete sincerity, as if they are not intended to be ridiculous at all. Always full of tongue-in-cheek humor, social satire, and told in a simplistic straightforward prose style similar to that of children's literature or early pulp fiction, Carlton Mellick III's work is one of a kind, to say the least.

He lives in Portland, OR, the bizarro mecca.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Who knew science fiction could be this much fun? August 20, 2005

By R. Duffy

Format:Paperback

What happens when you mix together schlocky 50's science fiction movies, otherworldly future landscapes, a mischievous sense of humor, religious satire, fluffernutter, and a generous dose of time travel? I have no idea, but I really like this book, "Fishy Fleshed", by Carlton Mellick. It's kind of like the mixture mentioned above, except much better, and without the fluffernutter. Mellick, a young author with an evergrowing and well-deserved cult following has written another irreverent story in his own genre of bizarro literature. It neither takes itself to seriously nor gets lost in childish meanderings. Mellick strikes a balance that is only possible through natural ability, and his stories continue to show that he has that ability. If you would like to enjoy something that is different without even trying to be, kind of like fluffernutter, then purchase this book now.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Mellick is Cooler than Jesus March 18, 2005

By 100-letter thunder-word

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Fishy-fleshed is not like other novels. But then, none of CM3's novels are like other novels. They are more like bizarre cult films, only you can't put them into VCRs or DVD players and watch them. You have to read them, because they are books.

If the words "book" or "reading" make you want to punch someone, don't worry. Fishy-fleshed is fast paced and entertaining. You can read the whole thing in an hour or two. Nearly all of Mellick's books are like this; short and sweet. But don't be fooled. He's able to pack more into a thin novella than most authors could in a bulky tome. You can read his books over and over and find something new every time.

And did I mention the pictures? Most of Carlton's books are illustrated. The images in Fishy-fleshed are not like anything I've seen before. They are the thoughts of the narrator, plucked from his head and presented visually. I really can't tell you how strange they are. You'll have to see them yourself.

Get this book, and every other Mellick book, and you'll never be bored again.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Shadow Over Ocean City January 2, 2012

By Richard A. Bottles, Jr.

Format:Paperback

I just happened upon a copy of Carlton Mellick III's "Fishy-Fleshed." It was the first novel of CM3's work that I've read and I was glad I chose it - or did it choose me? Anyway, Fishy-Fleshed takes place in a future where the population has exploded thanks to scientists and doctors being able to cure all known diseases. In a world where people usually only die of old age, society must extend its boundaries out to sea and build cities and towns on the ocean surface, which is where Mellick sets his novel. But science has also dispelled many of the myths and legends of mankind, things that make our differing cultures and lifestyles so interesting, thus resulting in a rather bleak and boring existence for the inhabitants of "Ocean City." Some people, like the main character Cocoan (which translates to 'Somebody who kills the snails'), withdraws into himself, a self-preservation technique that he credits to his refusal to be treated for Attention Deficit Disorder; while others seek ways to travel into the past to investigate ancient mysteries like the existence of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Conflict arises when Cocoan's wife drags him along on such a time-travel journey and the reader is treated to symbolic parallels to the Virgin birth, like can clones conceive? Without giving anything away about this imaginative journey into bizarro science-fiction/fantasy, suffice it to say, we end up learning whether Cocoan's method of self-preservation will perpetuate the endangered human race. Or did I just read too much into this? Regardless, I highly recommend "Fishy-Fleshed" to established fans of the bizarro genre and to new readers who are curious about what bizarro fiction has to offer.

Rich Bottles Jr., author of "Lumberjacked" and "Hellhole West Virginia"