Valley of Day-Glo [Paperback]

Nick DiChario (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 14, 2008

John W. Campbell Memorial Award 2009 Finalist

Broadway Danny Rose is on the move!

In this brightly satiric, postapocalyptic novel of the far future, a young Indian brave named Broadway Danny Rose embarks upon a quest across the desolate planet Earth to find the mysterious Valley of Day-Glo, where plants and animals and large bodies of water are rumoured to still exist, and where, according to legend, "death becomes life."

Valley of Day-Glo is a brilliant blend of Douglas Adams' farcical humour and Kurt Vonnegut's droll absurdity. Hugo Award-nominee Nick DiChario delivers a witty and poignant story that deals with the power of myth, the search for truth, and the meaning of life and death.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"DiChario's well-imagined postapocalyptic world containing only the strangest remnants of our society is a bizarre and funny facade that belies the fascinating depths of thought the novel makes readers plumb while enjoying a charming coming-of-age story."
-- Booklist

"A hilarious and surreal quest. . . One of the most original and entertaining novels I've read so far this year. . . DiChario can be compared to Kurt Vonnegut or early Douglas Adams, but he's pretty much sui generis. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and look forward to his next one."
-- Sci-Fi Weekly

"Using Iroquois myth and tradition as a touchstone, DiChario skillfully roasts our materialistic and gluttonous society. Danny's journey from his homeland to the mythic Valley leads him to civil war, love and loss, hermitage and pyramid schemes. Science fiction is often called the genre of ideas, and Valley of Day-Glo is no exception."
-- McNally Robinson

"Nick DiChario's Valley of Day-Glo is an absurdist curiosity that should appeal to anyone whose sense of reality is a bit off center."
-- Analog Science Fiction And Fact Magazine

"If you enjoy humor along with your post-apocalyptic speculation, if you like Monty Python or Douglas Adams, or if you simply like science fiction or fantasy good enough to transcend the boundaries of genre, then do check out Nick DiChario's Valley of Day-Glo, then go find his previous and equally fine novel, A Small and Remarkable Life. You will be glad you did."
-- SciFiDimensions.com

About the Author

Nick DiChario's first novel, A Small and Remarkable Life, was a finalist for the John W. Campbell Memorial Award and received a Hugo Award honorable mention. His short fiction has appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, The Year's Best Science Fiction, The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, and The Best Alternate History Stories of the 20th Century. He lives in Rochester, New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 221 pages
• Publisher: Robert J. Sawyer Books; 1 edition (April 14, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0889954151
• ISBN-13: 978-0889954151
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 7.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,438,845 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lot of fun!, July 8, 2009

By 

BLK3333 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Valley of Day-Glo (Hardcover)

A back cover blurb that compares this story to Vonnegut mixed with Douglas Adams is right on target. I loved this book. It was page after page of funny, post modern satire poking fun at everything from popular film titles to multi-level marketing in a wacky post-apocalyptic romp.

Imaginative, bizarre and an absurdly unforgettable story.

I wish I hadn't read it so I could read it for the first time again!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great!, December 19, 2011

By 

ANS - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Valley of Day-Glo (Paperback)

I received this item fast and in condition described. I love this writer. All of his books are so unique. He surely has a way of writing.

4.0 out of 5 stars Cheer for a sufferer of doofus protagonitis, August 13, 2010

By 

Mark A. Rayner "Release your inner monkey!" (London, Ontario, CANADA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Valley of Day-Glo (Hardcover)

Valley of Day-Glo is the story of Broadway Danny Rose, a member of a confused Iroquois nation that has forgone traditional names for names ripped off IMBD. Except, they're not getting them off IMDB, because that doesn't exist anymore, you know, with the bizarre ecological apocalypse that has destroyed Western civilization and all. (Purportedly a nuclear war, but I don't know, the landscape seems unlikely.)

Apart from living in a wasteland, Broadway Danny Rose suffers from erectile dysfunction, an overbearing mother (appropriately named Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe) and that age old problem, doofus protagonitis.

You may have missed the lecture on doofus protagonitis in your survey of English literature. It is the syndrome suffered by protagonists in satires. Think Don Quixote, think Gulliver, think Yosarian. You see, they tend to be unable to control what is happening to them, though they may be able to demonstrate their humanity to the reader as the author messes with him. Danny is one of the latter kinds of doofusi, and this is one of the things that will keep you turning the page -- you just want to see how this whole thing is going to turn out for Danny. You really hope it's going to be okay.

Nick DiChario is a talented writer, and he deftly takes us through his apocalyptic satire, which is at times absurd (the jacket cover claims it is in the tradition of Douglas Adams and Kurt Vonnegut, but I think more of the latter), bizarre and entertaining.

Recommended!

A warning: don't waste valuable time trying to decipher the traditional Iroquois names. They're not all puns. If they ever do a second edition, they should put the author's note at the front, and save us all headaches, eyestrain, and the suspicion that we're idiots for not being able to figure it out.