Shock Radio - Hardcover

Clark, Leigh

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312857241 ISBN 13: 9780312857240

Publisher: Forge, 1996

Synopsis

What are the limits of free speech?
As they skirt the line between protected speech and FCC violations, radio shock-jocks like Imus, Stern, and The Greaseman are pushing the boundaries of poor taste, forcing the public into two camps: those who hate them and those who love them.
Shock Radio takes us inside the world of this new breed of electronic madmen. Deejay Sunset Scott is as offensive as they come. He knows no limits, and with his all-out style he's climbed to the pinnacle of L.A.'s dog-eat-dog radio world as a verbal terrorist of the airwaves. Scott angers producers, blows off sponsors, and verbally abuses everyone who calls, even a "Mr. X," who claims to be a notorious serial killer who's been terrorizing the city.
In true shock-jock style, Scott treats the call as a put-on, making jokes about recent victims of "The Phantom" and asking who's next on the hit list. The listeners love it and flood the phone lines, begging for more.
Detectives from LAPD Homicide tune in, too. Especially after the caller's on-air predictions prove to be gruesomely accurate.
Suddenly, Scott finds himself a prime suspect, having to prove his own innocence by finding the real killer. But first, he must figure out why he's been chosen as the medium for publicizing the Phantom's reign of terror.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

In the vitriolic tradition of Howard Stern and Don Imus, Porsche-driving, Rolex-wearing Aaron "Sunset" Scott exults in berating those who call in to his L.A. radio talk show. One day, he gets a call from a man who purports to be The Phantom, a serial killer haunting the city. After the Phantom threatens Scott's mother, the shock jock and his companion, Pam, a TV field reporter, find their own lives in jeopardy as they pursue the killer through a succession of grim urban landscapes hemorrhaging with bloody victims. Slaughters at a movie theater, a strip club and Scott's radio station include acts of "torture, burning, and mutilation" that will test the nerves and perhaps stomachs of readers. Meanwhile, an important backstory about Scott's father and his employment in the defunct Panopticon Studios takes Scott, Pam and an entourage of pursuers and investigators to a ghost town/film location to dig out significant information about Scott's past. Clark (Evil Reincarnate, 1994) is particularly adept at re-creating the fog-shrouded atmosphere of Sunset Strip and its various denizens of the night. Astute readers may catch on quickly to the Phantom's identity, but even so they will be thrilled by the high-speed car chase in a driving rain that draws this nail-biting suspenser to its wicked conclusion.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal:

One would be hard pressed to find a more rude, obnoxious, and scurrilous individual, on or off the air, than Sunset Scott. An obscene serial killer called the Phantom has been terrorizing Los Angeles, and when he calls into Scott's morning radio show, Scott's life takes a bizarre turn. After several calls, the Phantom's grisly butcherings become increasingly personal, and he seems to have developed a kind of twisted relationship with Scott, who finds himself drawn into a nightmare of bloodshed and human mutilation. To complicate matters, Scott is looking for information about the father he never knew. As Scott becomes the Phantom's primary target, he strikes out on his own to bring an end to the reign of terror. The subject matter of this novel by Clark (Evil Reincarnate, Tor, 1994) is extremely offensive, the plot is run-of-the-mill, and the descriptions of the murders are downright revolting. Not recommended.?Maria A. Perez-Stable, Western Michigan Univ. Libs., Kalamazoo
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Forge
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0312857241
• ISBN 13: 9780312857240
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 381