Years ago, Jeff wrote about the time his Uncle Thad mailed him a copy of the hard-to-find pulp novel Interstate 10. The book's cover art is as madcap as the novel itself is purported to be, and at the time I wondered if the back cover blurb might be as crazy as the ones found on the works of Howard Rheingold. Alas, Jeff's blog post didn't include a photo of the back cover, so I took it upon myself to write my own version. Jeff never told me how close I came to matching the real copy for Interstate 10, so I figure enough years have passed that he won't mind if I share it here.
First came BILLY JACK...!
Then DIRTY HARRY...!
Now comes the toughest, slickest urban vigilante with or without a badge…`
JAKE CALIFORNIA…! In his first bloody-knuckled road rampage of hot wheels and hard justice.
Once he rode supercycles through flaming hoops and leapt from crashing cars for Hollywood’s big-budget spectaculars. But then came that mysterious note in the Classifieds: “WANTED – TEST DRIVER. Daytona Beach to New York via Interstate 10 in one-of-a-kind set of wheels. Serious inquiries only.”
With stunt work drying up and his stash of dough drying up even faster, Jake takes the job and sets out on the most blistering, red-hot romantic road trip ever, juggling the washed-up love for his old flame with the chance of all-new, all-intriguing encounters with an exotic Oriental flower who’s as quick with a blade as Jake is behind a steering wheel. And this time the steering wheel belongs to OS-CAR*, a souped-up VW Beetle with a lust for the road and street justice rivaling Jake’s own lusty passions. Herbie has nothing on OS-CAR!
Lose yourself in Jake California’s world – a world of simmering blacktop mirages, sudden death meted out by gorillas with guns, kinky action between the sheets and in back seats – and where every mile offers new thrills…and new dangers.
*OPerating System--CAR
2 comments:
Gosh, that's almost ten years old! Considering how fast and accurately an AI could do all of that now...
... But yes, the back cover blurb is quite close. Here's a synopsis, such as it is: America is on the verge of dystopia, and while there is a definite law-and-order crackdown in the cities, the countryside has become anarchic. Washington relies heavily on Hollywood to support the Presidency and the war effort overseas, and Jake California is at work on one of these films (on-set is where most of the lurid action occurs, as part of the script).
Jake completes the final stunt for the film, and the wild wrap party gets way out of hand as the police arrive in force to arrest everybody. Jake makes a daring escape, but smashes his head and takes a concussion. Unfortunately, he is framed for a murder as the guests flee. His ex-wife, who was working as a pyrotechnican at the party, helps him get away, and links him to an underground group that has information that can bring down the Presidency.
Jake and his ex must courier this evidence, hidden in a rare art piece, across the country to Florida. With the help of a drug-addicted art dealer, he journeys down Interstate 10, coming to to terms with the tragedy that broke up his marriage.
Tangling with devious art forgers, desert-dwelling thugs, and a particularly corrupt US Marshal, Jake becomes mixed up with a shadowy para-governmental service that offers him the ride of his life: the mysterious OS-CAR... as well as the identity of the murderer and the location of his missing son...
As far as I recall, that was the basic plot. I gave up on it when America got far weirder than I could write.
Sounds like a true lost classic! Thanks to Uncle Thad, wherever he may be now.
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