I truly thought the world was gonna' end in this one ... Alas ...
HOT DAYS: Dealing with our current situation of global warming, what I thought to have been an "End of the World" type saga, I found to be a fanciful cat and mousebrain type thriller. "Mousebrain," refers to the *polymerized* rat brains known as "meat-ware" used as processors for Spinrad's computers of the future. While not necessarily SF, Greenhouse Summer weaves a tale surrounding our future Earth so very disturbing, yet mystically enchanting the reader gets a true sense of what might yet happen on our homeworld. We get a glimpse of the "Lands of the Lost:" areas already overtaken by flood waters due to the shifting of our polar ice caps, and 21st century Paris, in the summer. In Spinrad's telling, it's always summer in Paris. The dark side is the world hangs terribly close to the brink of "Condition Venus," the point at which we can no longer reverse the global warming effects we, ourselves, have created. Spinrad's humor dampens the final blow as Earth teeters precariously close to the proverbial "end is near." The United Nations had been trying to warn the Earth for years and now it may be too late.
EVEN HOTTER NIGHTS: Spinrad's comical style proves there are no real heroes in a work like this, only a form of disney--a term Spinrad uses throughout the work--meat puppet could react openly to the goings on throughout his endless descriptions of room decor, sexual liaisons and alligators in the Seine. Cardboard mockups of stereotypical displays of only the brackish type inhabit Spinrad's universe. In a world no longer "governed," Syndics seem to go on about their business with alarming effrontery, mostly, as every character in Greenhouse Summer works for one Syndic or another. So, what's the point? I thought, maybe, the world might come to an end. It may yet end due to global warming, however, I had fun getting myself right back to where I started. Greenhouse Summer was an enjoyable read. The originality of the humor kept a smile on my face throughout. Almost every overdescriptive point in the book, including a long arduous sexcapade aboard the "Queen of the River," has a punch line. I recommend this work to SF/Pulp aficionados and most anyone with a sense of humor.
-ras ;)