John Zakour and Lawrence Ganem The Radioactive Redhead

The Radioactive Redhead

John Zakour and Lawrence Ganem

Daw, Dec 2005, $6.99

ISBN: 0756402824

In 2060, feeling at times extinct, especially when he is on a case, Zachary Nixon Johnson is the last private eye on Earth. His assistant, Artificial Intelligence HARV, has been downloaded into his brain. Though helpful, HARV seems to find ways to irritate Zach, especially when he experiments on himself without warning the sleuth. However, this time his partner goes too far when HARV decides to find his feminine side and undergoes a sex change operation so that he is now the she HARA.

Zach goes to the Oakland Kabuki Palace Theater and Dinette to meet with a potential client. Kabuki Droid Assassins try to kill him as part of the production The Revenge of the Forty-Seven Samurai. He survives the onslaught and manages to save the life of teen superstar Sexy Sprockets, who the People Against Talentless Acts (PATA) want dead. Things turn worse when the beleaguered sleuth learns he is also the star of a new reality show Let's kill Zachm so he asks his psi "niece" Carol to help him, before realizing that she dyed her hair red, the same as Sexy and HARA; three redheads cannot be good for anyone's health, let alone the world's last private detective.

As always in a Zachary tale, zaniness rules, as the last living private eye struggles with three lethal scenarios. The network's reality show stars him in a death role; PATA efforts to kill Sexy, though he somewhat agrees with their cause; and finally dealing with three volatile redheads at the same time that could lead any male into suicide just to escape. The amusing science fiction mystery storyline is lighthearted fun, as the escapades keep coming at Zach.