Milky Way Marmalade [Paperback]

Mike DiCerto (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 19, 2004

"With a unique, refreshing plotline that immediately captures the imagination, Milky Way Marmalade stands in a league of its own. Talent of this caliber will not go unnoticed." - Lynette Marie, eBook Review Weekly." The past is a refuge for retired exotic meat collector Caffrey Quark, a place and time where he can lose himself in the one thing that gave his life meaning: Rock'n'Roll. But a blue android, a purple-eyed woman and a dog who is more than he appears, are just a few of the interruptions to Caffrey's idyllic life that send him on a quest to save the Wisest Subtance in the Universe, the all but mythical L'Orange--not to mention life as we know it.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

have been a writer and story teller since I created a menagerie of imaginary characters in the Garden of Eden of my youth- a garden that was a reflection of the backyard I spent a collective childhood in East Harlem, NYC. In school I would often find myself in situations reminiscent of Pink Floyd?s The Wall- busted by my teachers for writing stories and humiliated before my peers for attempting "the great American novel." But my family (especially my Dad) and two terrific High School English teachers encouraged the heck out of me. I would always write. No matter what paths detoured me. I dabbled in film for ten years, writing and directing numerous shorts, documentaries, and a feature film as well as writing screenplays that sat in the oft cited development hell. But only in the novel have I found true bliss. I need to swim in Technicolor waters, fly through rainbow clouds and traverse Seussian roads lined with Carrolesque mushrooms and McKenna-like elves. Freedom filled roads where the air has the cotton candy smell of childish innocence but is spiced with a healthy pinch of dystopic cynicism. And most importantly, where the air is soaked with music- preferably the powerful and wondrous chords of Led Zeppelin, Yes, Pink Floyd and the rest of the Rock and Roll pantheon. To write is to seek. To seek is to hope to one day find an ounce of Truth that may be transmuted into a vaccine- an inoculation to cure the psychosis that has diseased mankind since Og learned he could kill Oog with the thigh bone of a gazelle and steal his wife and property. To write is to escape. To write is to find bliss. To write is love. And when you find love and bliss- there is no need to kill your neighbor with the thigh bone of a gazelle. You realize that the real riches in life are at the tips of your fingers and a thought away. Not in oil fields. I have been blessed with that bliss in the confines of my one bedroom Manhattan apartment with my wife, Suzy, two cats- Thumper and Nana, and the endless tales within my skull.

Product Details

• Paperback: 323 pages
• Publisher: Zumaya Publications, LLC (July 19, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1894942213
• ISBN-13: 978-1894942218
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,487,567 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A filmmaker and writer since childhood, Mike DiCerto has directed numerous shorts, music videos, documentaries, promotional videos and two feature films (NO EXIT and TRIPTOSANE). His first novel, Milky Way Marmalade, received rave reviews and was the winner of the 2003 Dream Realm Award. He is very excited about the release of the first of his exciting new kid-lit series, Rupert Starbright: The Door to Far-Myst.
Mike has many interests including yoga (practicing for over ten years), gardening (loves growing chilli peppers in his rooftop garden), playing guitar (and trying hard to get better), cats (long-time volunteer at NYC's Ollie's Place Adoption Center and cat whisperer), really good and really bad movies and 70s TV as well all kinds of geeky stuff. He is a dedicated MST3K fanatic. He thinks of music as his religion--especially Classic Rock. He lives quite contently in a NYC apartment with his wife and soul mate, Suzy and their rescued kitty, Cosmo.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very highly recommended, November 5, 2003

By 

C. Penn "WordWeaving" (Greenville, SC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Milky Way Marmalade (Paperback)

An orange cube of gelatin contains the ultimate knowledge in of the universe. Called L'Orange, or the Akashic Records, or the Philosopher's Stone, or the Universal Hologram, and so on, it contains the past, present and future of all things. In the year 3265, Trinesmart Quark, II, a "procurer" of exotic foods, travels the universe in pursuit of his trade, until he tires of killing exotics merely for the satisfaction of the extremely wealthy and indulged. Soon he finds himself in pursuit of L'Orange and engaged in a surreal adventure.

Floating in the vastness of space, Caffrey discovers an ancient jukebox and recovers the sound of 20th century music. Living in a time when music no longer exists, Caffey finds that rock and roll speaks to his soul. His new passion lends new purpose to his life and he retire from procurement to spend his life on 20th century earth. But soon the android Poe 33, Portsmith to L'Orange finds him and ask for help. Suspiciously separated from L'Orange, Poe 33 needs Quark to help him before another entity can capture L'Orange and gain ultimate domination of the universe.

Author Michael DiCerto pens a novel that combines the outrageous fun of HITCHHIKER THROUGH THE GALLAXY and Monty Python with the search for cosmic meaning. Exotic imaginings and bizarre adventure lend MILKY WAY MARMALADE an irresistible appeal with its whimsical and outrageous style. Science fiction fans will discover DiCerto's gift of fabulous characterizations and wicked plotting lends a dynamic freshness to the genre. With rich nuances that become at once spiritual and satirical, MILKY WAY MARMALADE belongs on the keeper shelf. Very highly recommended.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Adventure and Rock & Roll on the Galactic Sea of Life-, April 30, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Milky Way Marmalade (Paperback)

...and so much more. Milky Way Marmalade is a trip .

Once you embark on Michael DiCerto's often-demented-yet-virtuous romp to save the Universe, you will find yourself looking at little dogs in a different light and will likely have more respect for marmalade (Orange, to be specific). In fact, you may find yourself looking at everything in a different light.

MWM is SciFi/D&D /Douglas Adams/Chaucer/Hunter Thompson all rolled into one: You won't know what to expect or who or what you'll run into, but you'll have one heckuva time and a great sound track to boot. Along with an assorted cast of loons, near loons, and loons who aren't really loons but instead are just confused loons in need of wisdom (and maybe a few good friends). But there's more...

androids, cute poochies, amorous beings , orange gelatin, egomaniacs, and a poor soul who just wants to play music with his bandmates - what could this possibly all mean?

Please move your tray to the upright position, fasten your seatbelt, sit back and read Milky Way Marmalade. You are about to embark on an amazing journey of insight, hindsight, inside out sight and everything in between.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bruce Von Stiers -..., April 21, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Milky Way Marmalade (Paperback)

...One upcoming release by them is sure to have you either laughing loudly or tossing the book out the nearest window. The title of this new novel is Milky Way Marmalade and was written by Mike Dicerto. This story is as much about rock and roll as it is about galactic travel and mischief. Dicerto has a certain way of looking at things that makes this story appealing to those sci-fi fans who like Douglas Adams tales of the universe or other quirky tales of both the cosmos and time travel. Caffrey Quark is a guy who has a interesting job. At least to some people. He is rather bored with it and wants to retire. Quark is what is known as an exotic meat collector. He collects piece of animals and other beings to be auctioned off for eating of such delicacies as alien butt. Quark comes across an ancient juke box and it changes his life. Up till now, music has been an abhorrence in his life. All of a sudden, finding this jukebox with a record containing Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven is something that has cosmic ramifications for him. Caffrey sells his ship and sets out on a course to change his life. This is done over many objections from his onboard computer Angie. She sort of reminds me of an oversexed Rommie from Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda (but I just finished reviewing several episodes of that show, so who knows). Our guy gets to travel back in time to the late 20th century and hang out in the East Village, a definite strange place, or so I've been told. Caffrey is now going to embark on a new career as a rock musician. But wait. Caffrey had some weird, eccentric uncle named Greppledick who created an android called Poe 33. Supposedly Poe 33 was designed as the Portsmith for the great universal substance known as L'Orange. Somehow Poe has gotten untethered from L'Orange. He will need the assistance of Caffrey to get back to L'Orange, which the author describes as "a cube of orange colored gelatin the size of an average throw pillow." Caffrey declines the offer to help out Poe 33 until one of the members of his rock band gets kidnapped. The Order Determined to overthrow Reality (O.D.O.R.) has a devious plan. But just when it couldn't get any weirder, the book does just that. A little dog that Caffrey brings with him on this jaunt ends up being an alien agent. Can Caffrey rid himself of this pesky terrier, get his friend back and hook Poe 33 up with his gelatin galactic guru? If I told you, they'd have to kill me. Milky Way Marmalade is a quirky, funny tale from someone who is both a little twisted and extremely talented. The chapter headings are especially cool as they are lyrics from some of my favorite rock songs. Having been a teenager in the `70's, these tunes, and this book, have more of a meaning than just a CD of classic rock songs...