The Flaxen Femme Fatale
John Zakour
Daw, Dec 2008, $7.99
ISBN: 9780756405199
It is after 2070 on Earth and the only remaining independent private investigator is Zachary Nixon Johnson, a modern day Marlowe who has been shot many times, tangled with psychos containing psychic powers, and defied the political military power structure. Nothing surprises him so when he wakes up to the vision of a beautiful bimbo Natasha lying in his bed next to him he listens when she warns him “they” will want him to find her; she says “don’t”.
She appears at his office and repeats the same lines. Six androids grab Zach and take him to General Sandy who wants to hire him find and bring in Natasha. Natasha is a cyborg created by the military with super powers including the ability to kill thousands with her mind. Zach follows her trail across the United States and concludes she is not evil, but others want to use her mind as a weapon of mass destruction. Regardless of his beliefs and feelings, his task is to bring her back to the authorities.
John Zakour has written a serio-comic noir set six plus decades in the future and starring figuratively a Marlowe clone with the addition of HARV the computer in his head and a power weapon up his sleeve. HARV brings humor in a Jack Benny kind of way with his observations on the human condition while also insuring his host does not get them killed. The carrying out of the assignment is fun to follow as readers will enjoy the latest misadventures of the last private sleuth.
Harriet Klausner
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