 | In some distant galaxy, there is probably a planet like Earth. Whether it's home to a country like the United States of Atlantis is another matter--but this is the premise of Morgan's outstanding comic debut, Let There Be Lite. Atlantis has all the absurdity of our world and plenty more. There's power-hungry Vice-President Summerday, who cuts a deal with software sultan John Lockes to purchase the controversial Rectag--a little invention set to cut crime and make criminal eyes water. There's gentle George Bailey, bank clerk, who finds himself persuading armed robbers to open savings accounts. Then there's jaded journalist Macauley Connor, whose quest to find the "real" John Lockes lands him, and potentially the planet, in deep water. Fans of Kurt Vonnegut and Douglas Adams will adore this dazzling satire on the digital age, but it is startlingly original from its side-splitting first lines to the thoughtful conclusion. From the computer program that can reduce the Bible to the single phrase: "Because I say so, that's why!" to the immobilised Hell's Angels who have opened an exclusive restaurant, it is packed with fresh comic touches. And if you never thought cheeseburgers might be an instrument of state oppression, you need to read this book now. --Matthew Baylis |
