In the tradition of Godzilla as both a playful romp and a parable of the dawn of the nuclear era, this original satire blends the destruction of World War II with the halcyon pleasure of monster movies. In the summer of 1945 war is reigning in the Pacific Rim, while in the U.S., Syms Thorley continues his life as a B-movie actor. But the U.S. Navy would like to use Thorley in their top-secret Knickerbocker Project, putting the finishing touches on the ultimate biological weapon: a breed of gigantic, fire-breathing, mutant iguanas. Thorley is to don a rubber suit that will transform him into the merciless Gorgantis and star in a film that simulates the destruction of a miniature Japan—if the demonstration succeeds, the Japanese will surrender, sparing thousands of lives; if it fails, the mutant lizards will be unleashed. Godzilla devotees and history buffs alike will be fascinated by this conspiratorial secret history of a war, a weapon, and an unlikely hero who will have to give the most convincing performance of his life.
Shambling Towards Hiroshima
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"Witty and touching paean to the glory days of horror movies . . . The sheer insanity of the premise only makes the eventual payoff even more powerful." —Publishers Weekly
"A stellar performance." —Booklist
"Sharp-edged, delightfully batty . . . skillfully mingling real and imaginary characters with genuinely hilarious moments." —Kirkus Reviews
"The most provocative satiric voice in science fiction." —The Washington Post
"Amply displays [Morrow's] ability to juggle absurdity, tragedy, irony, and outrage." —Locus magazine
"No book has captured the strange brew of jolly satire and moral indignity of vintage Kurt Vonnegut so well." —Time Out Chicago
"Morrow understands theology like a theologian and psychology like a psychologist, but he writes like an angel." —Richard Elliott Friedman, author, The Hidden Book in the Bible
"A ridiculously fun read. Pitch-perfect satire." —Fantasy & Science Fiction
About the Author
James Morrow is a Nebula Award–winner and the author of Blameless in Abaddon, The Cat’s Pajamas, City of Truth, The Eternal Footman, The Last Witchfinder, Only Begotten Daughter, and Towing Jehovah. He lives in State College, Pennsylvania.
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More About the Author
Born in 1947, James Morrow has been writing fiction ever since, as a seven-year-old living in the Philadelphia suburbs, he dictated "The Story of the Dog Family" to his mother, who dutifully typed it up and bound the pages with yarn. This three-page, six-chapter fantasy is still in the author's private archives. Upon reaching adulthood, Morrow produced nine novels of speculative fiction, including the critically acclaimed Godhead Trilogy. He has won the World Fantasy Award (for Only Begotten Daughter and Towing Jehovah), the Nebula Award (for "Bible Stories for Adults, No. 17: The Deluge" and the novella City of Truth), and the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award (for the novella Shambling Towards Hiroshima). A full-time fiction writer, Morrow makes his home in State College, Pennsylvania, with his wife, his son, an enigmatic sheepdog, and a loopy beagle.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It's 1945, and the army is working on a top secret, superweapon project to force Japan to surrender. No, not that one - this one involves creating enormous, fire breathing lizards and setting them loose to destroy Nipponese cities. B movie horror star Syms Thorley (Revenge of Corpuscula, Curse of Kha-Ton-Ra, etc.) is recruited to don a lizard suit and demolish a minitaure city as a demonstration to Japanese officials, in hopes that this will persuade them to surrender and aviod the real giant behemoths...or that other superweapon lurking in the background. Not particulary effective as a satire, especially in the last pages where Morrow tries to give the tale some weight by describing the real horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - the preceeding story is too flimsy/silly to support such a moral load - the book works best as a sort of goofy, Ed Woodesque tall tale. And I have to give at least some approval to a book that manages to mention Roger Corman, Bela Lugosi, and Lionel Atwill.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By S. Duke
Format:Paperback
Syms Thorley is a B-movie actor and writer renowned for his award-winning portrayals of monsters in 1940s Hollywood. Things are going well for Thorley: he's got the admiration of his fans, a steady work stream, and a brilliant script he and his girlfriend cooked up that could change the face of monster movies forever. But then the government shows up asking for his help: they need him for a top secret project to get the Japanese to surrender. What Thorley doesn't understand is why the need him. What good can a B-list monster movie actor do for the government? With this question looming overhead, Thorley soon discoveries that sometimes monsters aren't only in the movies...
Morrow's novel is a short one, but it sure packs a punch. A merger of the edginess of pulp fiction (the literary form, not the movie) and popular media drawn into reality, Shambling Towards Hiroshima sends us on what might be the ultimate top secret adventure. This isn't a novel that wants you to take it too seriously, though; it's a novel that is aware of the absurdity of its speculative claim and is all too prepared to capitalize on that in Morrow's writing style and characters. There is something both subtle and outrageous about the idea of the U.S. government using real-life monsters against the Japanese, particularly now that we think of Japan in terms of Godzilla jokes or production quality.
And I think this is Shambling Towards Hiroshima's strong point. Because it didn't take itself to seriously, I was able to set aside the little parts of me that wanted to call B.S. throughout the story. After all, this is an alternative history, of sorts, and it proposes something that is not only outlandish, but appropriately nostalgic. It works, too, because Thorley is an interesting character surrounded by a band of comical stereotypes who constantly add conflict to the main character's secret mission.
Morrow's style is clear and precise, with just enough comedic flare to keep things interesting. Even though Shambling Towards Hiroshima is a short novel, I found it incredibly enjoyable from start to finish, following the exploits of Thorley as he processed everything that was going on around him and attempted to put on a damn good show. There's something fascinating in being pulled back to the "good ole days" of science fiction television and film. From the start, I was immediately reminded on the Sci Fi Channel back when it used to run old Japanese monster movies practically on a loop. Those were the days, and being reminded of those nostalgic moments in childhood turned this novel into more than just another read, but something I could connect to my youth.
If you like the occasional pulp fiction novel, or even want to read about giant monsters tearing down cities and what not, then this is certainly a novel for you. You can find it at Tachyon Publications, a small press located in San Francisco, or pretty much anywhere you can order books from. Give it a look!
Morrow's novel is a short one, but it sure packs a punch. A merger of the edginess of pulp fiction (the literary form, not the movie) and popular media drawn into reality, Shambling Towards Hiroshima sends us on what might be the ultimate top secret adventure. This isn't a novel that wants you to take it too seriously, though; it's a novel that is aware of the absurdity of its speculative claim and is all too prepared to capitalize on that in Morrow's writing style and characters. There is something both subtle and outrageous about the idea of the U.S. government using real-life monsters against the Japanese, particularly now that we think of Japan in terms of Godzilla jokes or production quality.
And I think this is Shambling Towards Hiroshima's strong point. Because it didn't take itself to seriously, I was able to set aside the little parts of me that wanted to call B.S. throughout the story. After all, this is an alternative history, of sorts, and it proposes something that is not only outlandish, but appropriately nostalgic. It works, too, because Thorley is an interesting character surrounded by a band of comical stereotypes who constantly add conflict to the main character's secret mission.
Morrow's style is clear and precise, with just enough comedic flare to keep things interesting. Even though Shambling Towards Hiroshima is a short novel, I found it incredibly enjoyable from start to finish, following the exploits of Thorley as he processed everything that was going on around him and attempted to put on a damn good show. There's something fascinating in being pulled back to the "good ole days" of science fiction television and film. From the start, I was immediately reminded on the Sci Fi Channel back when it used to run old Japanese monster movies practically on a loop. Those were the days, and being reminded of those nostalgic moments in childhood turned this novel into more than just another read, but something I could connect to my youth.
If you like the occasional pulp fiction novel, or even want to read about giant monsters tearing down cities and what not, then this is certainly a novel for you. You can find it at Tachyon Publications, a small press located in San Francisco, or pretty much anywhere you can order books from. Give it a look!
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I enjoy Morrow's off-beat humor and his method of twisting reality. This book is a noir-ish, fantasy-ish take on the good old armed forces oxymoron ... (you've probably already said it to yourself - if not, think MI). It also spoofs Japanese monster movies. Lizards have a prominent role.
If you click on "See all Editorial Reviews" above you can read the description of the story. This is a very short/quick read (there are only 170 numbered pages) and in his acknowledgments Morrow calls it a novella. It's too short for me to give it five stars, but it was enjoyable.
If you like satire and tongue-in-cheek humor, give this book a try.
If you click on "See all Editorial Reviews" above you can read the description of the story. This is a very short/quick read (there are only 170 numbered pages) and in his acknowledgments Morrow calls it a novella. It's too short for me to give it five stars, but it was enjoyable.
If you like satire and tongue-in-cheek humor, give this book a try.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Those poor citizens of Tokyo
It's a terrific, if ridiculous premise: A B-movie horror star gets recruited by the US government to stage a fake monster invasion in order to convince the Japanese to surrender... Read more
Published 24 days ago by B. Frey
2.0 out of 5 stars
Couldn't get into it....
While I was reading it, I felt like the author tried to use a bunch of big fancy words to make himself sound smart when they weren't necessary to make the book enjoyable. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Karl Johnson
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Must for the Kaiju Fan Out There
If you are a lover of monster movies of any type you will love this book. It takes place in that transitory time of the mid-ninety forties when classic monsters and their progeny... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Lungbarrow
4.0 out of 5 stars
1 part Dr Strangelove 2 parts Mystery Science Theater 3000
If your a fan of the above you'll enjoy this book as I did. I will dispense with plot summaries as there are enough here already. Read more
Published on March 17, 2011 by Terry Barham
4.0 out of 5 stars
Monster Mash
In a slightly alternate-reality, the Manhattan Project isn't working out too well so Plan B is to mutate some lizards and let them rampage Japan Godzilla-style. Read more
Published on June 8, 2010 by Matthew Farrell
4.0 out of 5 stars
Almost Fantastic
I think this is a wonderful book. I think that anyone interested in cheesy horror, vintage hollywood, or the end of ww2 should read it. Read more
Published on May 20, 2010 by Gully Foyle
5.0 out of 5 stars
James Morrow--Shamblin Towards Hirosima
James Morrow, is an author who does his homework and research very well and provides delicious stories with quirky angles but because of his meticulous research, he gets just about... Read more
Published on April 5, 2010 by R. Gene Turchin
4.0 out of 5 stars
Just Got Back Into Reading
I recently began reading books and this was the second one I'd picked up. I originally heard about it on a sci-fi forum and as a fan of Godzilla I thought it might be able to keep... Read more
Published on November 21, 2009 by R. Gamboa
2.0 out of 5 stars
This book was not good
Perhaps I am not the target audience for the book; it is the first James Morrow book I have read.
I did read the entire book, and it had moments that I liked. Read more
I did read the entire book, and it had moments that I liked. Read more
Published on July 26, 2009 by J. Parrish
5.0 out of 5 stars
Godzilla on the Half-Shell
Once again, another bitingly funny, moving and sharp-edged subversion from James Morrow. With a tip of the hat to the Godzilla movies that mean something quite different to the... Read more
Published on May 3, 2009 by Bruce Chrumka
