Synopsis
“An outlandish, outrageous tour de force by the most innovative prose stylist in the field.”
–Robert J. Sawyer, author of Hominids
They’re Earth’s mightiest superteam–and dysfunctional as hell.
OMNIPOTENT MAN–a body with the density of steel, and a brain to match
THE FLYING SQUIRREL–aging playboy industrialist by day, avenging krypto-fascist by night
IRON LASS–mythology’s greatest warrior–but the world might be safer if she had a husband
X-MAN–formerly of the League of Angry Blackmen . . . but not formerly enough
THE BROTHERFLY–radioactively fly
POWER GRRRL–perpetually deciding between fighting crime or promoting her latest album, clothing line, or sex scandal
Having finally defeated all archenemies, the members of the Fantastic Order of Justice are reduced to engaging in toxic office politics that could very well lead to a superpowered civil war. Only one woman can save them from themselves: Dr. Eva Brain-Silverman, aka Dr. Brain, the world’s leading therapist for the extraordinarily abled.
“Faust has pretty much invented his own genre. He’s totally original, full of surprises.”
–Richard K. Morgan, author of Altered Carbon
“Samuel Delany, Harlan Ellison, and Ishmael Reed all rolled into one. Faust’s writing is biting, insightful, and hugely entertaining.”
–Ernest Dickerson, director
Reviews
Starred Review. Masquerading as a self-help book for superheroes, this sharp satire of caped crusaders hides a deeper critique of individual treatment versus social injustice. Faust (The Coyote Kings of the Space-Age Bachelor Pad) provides funny and knowing caricatures of the famous figures of American comic books via an extended therapy session by Dr. Eva Brain-Silverman. Analyzing their various mental hangups, Dr. Brain attempts to help heroes like irascible billionaire crime-fighter Festus Piltdown III ("Flying Squirrel") overcome the rejection of his foster ward, Tran Chi Hanh ("Chip Monk"). But African-American hero Philip Kareem Edgerton ("X-Man") resists, insisting that recent events in "sunny Los Ditkos" are signs of a coup within F*O*O*J ("Fantastic Order of Justice") and not RNPN ("Racialized Narcissistic Projection Neurosis"). Faust's well-aimed jabs spare no super sacred cows nor many pop idols and pychobabbling media stars. Underneath the humor, careful readers will find uncomfortable parallels to real-world urban tragedies in the novel's "July 16 Attacks," where Faust gives a double meaning to the "Crisis of Infinite Dearths." (Jan. 30)
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Faust's latest is a self-help book for superheroes struggling with a post-Gotterdammerung lack of supervillains to fight, based on psychiatrist Eva Brain-Silverman's case studies of six fractious members of the Fantastic Order of Justice, aka the F*O*O*J. As "Dr. Brain" takes her six patients through some fascinating therapeutic processes, secrets and hidden tensions come to light. In the midst of it all, Hawk King, an ancient Egyptian deity and the most respected superhero, dies. Immediate grave repercussions include accusations of murder and conspiracy by self-proclaimed world's greatest detective and former LAB (League of Angry Blackmen) member X-Man, and the resignation from F*O*O*J of Omnipotent Man, a 71-year-old refugee from the planet Argon. As the F*O*O*J descends into a maelstrom of recrimination, internal power struggles, and personal secrets brought to unforgiving light, the role of the superhero becomes less antisupervillain and more--for lack of a better word--preemptive. Faust's follow-up to The Coyote Kings of the Space-Age Bachelor Pad (2004) is an excellent superhero comedy as well as an unsettling satire. Regina Schroeder
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