It has to be said that this has an eye-catching cover.
Carlton Mellick III is somewhat of a legend in the world of bizarro fiction. On the strength of this book I completely understand why.
A flight from earth to a new planet passing close by in the solar system is attacked by strange creatures, causing it to crash into the ocean. The ocean is highly acidic and melts many of the survivors save for a small number who manage to float to "safety" on the acid-proof life rafts.
The survivors find themselves on an island with very few supplies. The air itself is toxic. the flora is poisonous and the fauna has a taste for human flesh. Survival may prove to be an issue for the steadily reducing cast. By the time they realise that no rescue is coming, the only source of nutrition they have is the flower like tumors growing on one of the castaways (see cover picture).
I had zero idea what was going to happen next in this book. Every page brought new surprises almost.
That can be a good or a bad thing, depending on the skill of the writer. A bad writer fails to keep any internal logic and the surprises are there for the sake of being shocking. However, Carlton Mellick III is apparently a pretty damned good writer as everything that happens feels right for the book. He creates an internal logic and flow to the narrative that allows all the weirdness to exist as an organic part of the story.
It's frequently laugh out loud funny. It's frequently gross. It's frequently in horribly bad taste. it's frequently all those things at the same time. It's always entertaining. and is surprisingly moving when it wants to be.
This was my first taste of Carlton Mellick's particular brand of lunacy, and I want more of it.
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