Review
(from "Literature in 1997: Brilliance and Boredom.") "The Harvest," by Perry Brass, is about a budding gay romance in a hateful futuristic America. It is one of the ten best books of 1997. -- Steven Lavigne in Lavender Magazine, Minneapolis, MN, Dec. 19, 1997
Perrry Brass is a man of many literary talents and his writings run the gamut from poetry to drama to the heavy-duty Smoky George gayrotic stories. However, if his published works are any indications, Brass's speciality is science fiction. In the "Ki Trilogy"-"Mirage," "Circles," and "Albert"-Brass created a alternate world of men-loving men at odds with our own homophobic society. But as good as the "Ki" books are, Brass clearly outdid himself in "The Harvest," his latest and best. In the "Ki" books, Brass created a homoerotic Utopia. In "the Harvest," Brass created the opposite-a society that's dysfunctional through and through. . . . In George Nader's "Chrome" the hero dared to love a robot. In "The Harvest," (a vastly superior novel) Chris Turner falls in love with a vacco, Hart256043, who realizes his humanity and seeks to escape his fate. . . . Brass uses his future world as a way to comment on our present one, and sets his sights on Big Government, multinational corporations, Christian communes, police corruption, and the popular mania for "law and order." The Harvest looks at what could happen when science goes amuck and humans allow the almight State (or the Almighty Corporation) to control their lives. It is a cautionary tale, and an exciting one, the kind of story the Corporation would not allow its citizens to read but one which we are fortunate to enjoy. -- Jesse Monteagudo writing in The Weekly News, Miami, FL, Dec. 17, 1997
Perry Brass is a hero to gay horror fans and you will not be disappointed by The Harvest. Set in an all-too-familiar future, one all-powerful corporation runs America and guarantees health, happiness, and prosperity. Transplants are the the norm but the organs are removed from laboratory-produced humans. 'Hunky' Hart escapes and how can any self-respecting gay man resist his most valuable asset? -- Jeffrey Baines in Gay Times, London, England, Nov. 1997
Perry Brass's latest book revives the politics of George Orwell and the futurism of A Clockwork Orange and sets them in the midst of the contemporary cloning controversy. The Harvest begins with Chris Turner, a designer for the Corporation, the political machine responsible for societal conformity and, even more grisly, the harvesting of vaccos: living, cloned cadavers who feed the economy by existing soley as involuntary donors for organ tranplants. When Hart, one of the brighter vaccos, escapes and falls in love with Chris, they defy the Corporation by attempting to steal the drugs to keep Hart alive. Brass's brilliant writing explores questions of sexuality, indentity, class structure, and religion. The Harvest is an artistic and terrifyingly prophetic depiction of science merging with politics and its universal consequences. -- John Pruitt writing in Icon Magazine, Toronto, Ontario, April, 1998
Perrry Brass is a man of many literary talents and his writings run the gamut from poetry to drama to the heavy-duty Smoky George gayrotic stories. However, if his published works are any indications, Brass's speciality is science fiction. In the "Ki Trilogy"-"Mirage," "Circles," and "Albert"-Brass created a alternate world of men-loving men at odds with our own homophobic society. But as good as the "Ki" books are, Brass clearly outdid himself in "The Harvest," his latest and best. In the "Ki" books, Brass created a homoerotic Utopia. In "the Harvest," Brass created the opposite-a society that's dysfunctional through and through. . . . In George Nader's "Chrome" the hero dared to love a robot. In "The Harvest," (a vastly superior novel) Chris Turner falls in love with a vacco, Hart256043, who realizes his humanity and seeks to escape his fate. . . . Brass uses his future world as a way to comment on our present one, and sets his sights on Big Government, multinational corporations, Christian communes, police corruption, and the popular mania for "law and order." The Harvest looks at what could happen when science goes amuck and humans allow the almight State (or the Almighty Corporation) to control their lives. It is a cautionary tale, and an exciting one, the kind of story the Corporation would not allow its citizens to read but one which we are fortunate to enjoy. -- Jesse Monteagudo writing in The Weekly News, Miami, FL, Dec. 17, 1997
Perry Brass is a hero to gay horror fans and you will not be disappointed by The Harvest. Set in an all-too-familiar future, one all-powerful corporation runs America and guarantees health, happiness, and prosperity. Transplants are the the norm but the organs are removed from laboratory-produced humans. 'Hunky' Hart escapes and how can any self-respecting gay man resist his most valuable asset? -- Jeffrey Baines in Gay Times, London, England, Nov. 1997
Perry Brass's latest book revives the politics of George Orwell and the futurism of A Clockwork Orange and sets them in the midst of the contemporary cloning controversy. The Harvest begins with Chris Turner, a designer for the Corporation, the political machine responsible for societal conformity and, even more grisly, the harvesting of vaccos: living, cloned cadavers who feed the economy by existing soley as involuntary donors for organ tranplants. When Hart, one of the brighter vaccos, escapes and falls in love with Chris, they defy the Corporation by attempting to steal the drugs to keep Hart alive. Brass's brilliant writing explores questions of sexuality, indentity, class structure, and religion. The Harvest is an artistic and terrifyingly prophetic depiction of science merging with politics and its universal consequences. -- John Pruitt writing in Icon Magazine, Toronto, Ontario, April, 1998
Product Description
A classic novel whose truths never seem out of date, The Harvest is a universal story of human love against all odds, even if one of the lovers is not fully human. Nonstop action, incendiary eroticism, and a stark, well-thought-out scientific and political background make this an unforgettable reading experience.
In the not-so-distant future, one Corporation, combining government and business, will rule America (in other words, the real "Bail Out" is here). Food, shelter, and above all, health, will be prioritized as an old elite Corporate class rises again, behind a mask of “universal health and happiness.” Much of the “Corp’s” wealth will be invested in the production of vaccos, living human analogues, “Corporate cadavers,” raised on isolated ranches as sources for organ and tissue transplants. Drugged on “euphorics,” the vaccos will be regularly euthanized, or “harvested,” for organs scheduled for a waiting list of patients.
One such vacco, the valuable “Corporate property” Hart256043, will escape. At an underground bar specializing in illicit sex and drugs, he meets Edgar Devereaux, a successful designer and adopted son of Joshua Morgan Devereaux, a member of the Corporate board. But Edgar has a secret: he was born Chris Turner, a lower-class renegade—and can never shake his origins or a desire to retaste his wild youth. Chris and Hart bond. They discover within each other compassion, fulfillment, and a completeness outside the boundaries of “Corp” life. Edgar will reject his stepfather’s lifestyle, and join with Hart to do anything—including kill—to ensure the vacco’s survival. And Hart, one of the most appealing characters to appear in contemporary fiction, will find in the reborn Chris Turner the humanity he needs to survive.
Another pulse-pounding novel from Perry Brass, author of the gay science fiction classic, Mirage, and its sequels, Circles and Albert or The Book Of Man , about which New York’s Men’s Style magazine said: “Depth of vision and a mastery of solid prose, Brass gives us a book where lesser writers have only a premise.” With non-stop action, gothic “Frankenstein” elements, white-hot gay eroticism, and a political slant for our times, The Harvest will be one of the most talked about gender-topic books of any season. “Facinating . . . adventurous.” London Gay Times. “One of the Ten Best Books of 1997,” Lavender Magazine, Minneapolis. “In George Nader’s Chrome, the hero dared to fall in love with a robot. In The Harvest—a vastly superior novel, Chris Turner falls in love with a vacco, Hart256043.” Jesse Monteagudo, The Weekly News, Miami, Florida. Finalist, 1998 Lambda Literary Award, Gay and Lesbian Science Fiction.
In the not-so-distant future, one Corporation, combining government and business, will rule America (in other words, the real "Bail Out" is here). Food, shelter, and above all, health, will be prioritized as an old elite Corporate class rises again, behind a mask of “universal health and happiness.” Much of the “Corp’s” wealth will be invested in the production of vaccos, living human analogues, “Corporate cadavers,” raised on isolated ranches as sources for organ and tissue transplants. Drugged on “euphorics,” the vaccos will be regularly euthanized, or “harvested,” for organs scheduled for a waiting list of patients.
One such vacco, the valuable “Corporate property” Hart256043, will escape. At an underground bar specializing in illicit sex and drugs, he meets Edgar Devereaux, a successful designer and adopted son of Joshua Morgan Devereaux, a member of the Corporate board. But Edgar has a secret: he was born Chris Turner, a lower-class renegade—and can never shake his origins or a desire to retaste his wild youth. Chris and Hart bond. They discover within each other compassion, fulfillment, and a completeness outside the boundaries of “Corp” life. Edgar will reject his stepfather’s lifestyle, and join with Hart to do anything—including kill—to ensure the vacco’s survival. And Hart, one of the most appealing characters to appear in contemporary fiction, will find in the reborn Chris Turner the humanity he needs to survive.
Another pulse-pounding novel from Perry Brass, author of the gay science fiction classic, Mirage, and its sequels, Circles and Albert or The Book Of Man , about which New York’s Men’s Style magazine said: “Depth of vision and a mastery of solid prose, Brass gives us a book where lesser writers have only a premise.” With non-stop action, gothic “Frankenstein” elements, white-hot gay eroticism, and a political slant for our times, The Harvest will be one of the most talked about gender-topic books of any season. “Facinating . . . adventurous.” London Gay Times. “One of the Ten Best Books of 1997,” Lavender Magazine, Minneapolis. “In George Nader’s Chrome, the hero dared to fall in love with a robot. In The Harvest—a vastly superior novel, Chris Turner falls in love with a vacco, Hart256043.” Jesse Monteagudo, The Weekly News, Miami, Florida. Finalist, 1998 Lambda Literary Award, Gay and Lesbian Science Fiction.
