Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant Look At A Sinister Media Culture Future
Review: "Elvissey" is the first Jack Womack novel I have read; I eagerly look forward to reading the rest. Without a doubt, Womack is one of the most interesting writers to emerge out of science fiction since William Gibson hit the stage with his brilliant "Sprawl" short stories, culminating with his amazing "Cyberspace" trilogy of novels. He's certainly among the most bizarre stylists I've come across, echoing Anthony Burgess' "A Clockwork Orange" with his own poetic usage of Dryco's newspeak. "Elvissey" is a brilliant satire of our own obsession with rock and roll stars and other transient entertainment celebrities. It is also a fascinating look at how a psychologically troubled couple from 2054 meet a homicidal Elvis Presley in an alternative 1954. Equally appealing is how Elvis struggles to cope with his new found fame in 2054, after learning he is regarded as a saint by millions of adoring fans. I strongly emphasized with Isabel "Iz" Bonney's struggle to hold onto her sanity as her health and her relationship with John, her psychotic husband, dissolve through the course of the novel. Anyone expecting another excursion into William Gibson's "Cyberspace" future may be disappointed; Womack isn't quite as visionary as Gibson, though his prose is just as poetic. Instead, prepare yourself for a startling fresh, unique view of what a media-dominated future might look like.
Rating:
Summary: Unbeatable!
Review: "Elvissey" is a wacky, haunting (and occasionally terrifying) novel--one of most original and uniquely affecting novels I've ever read. Womack's vision is fresh, thoughtful and touched by an studious eye for the bizarre. The plot, in essence, is pretty straight-forward: members of a scheming, dystopian near-future travel back in time to kidnap Elvis Presley, who has achieved posthumous god-status. The protagonists try to present the future-shocked King to the people of the future to satiate their escalating craving for a messiah. But what does Elvis think of his role in this scheme? And is time-travel really as easy as a century's worth of science fiction would have us think? Womack's answers to these questions make "Elvissey" the delight it is. William Gibson has called this novel "a jarringly potent kick in the head." What else is there to say?
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant Look At A Sinister Media Culture Future
Review: "Elvissey" is the first Jack Womack novel I have read; I eagerly look forward to reading the rest. Without a doubt, Womack is one of the most interesting writers to emerge out of science fiction since William Gibson hit the stage with his brilliant "Sprawl" short stories, culminating with his amazing "Cyberspace" trilogy of novels. He's certainly among the most bizarre stylists I've come across, echoing Anthony Burgess' "A Clockwork Orange" with his own poetic usage of Dryco's newspeak. "Elvissey" is a brilliant satire of our own obsession with rock and roll stars and other transient entertainment celebrities. It is also a fascinating look at how a psychologically troubled couple from 2054 meet a homicidal Elvis Presley in an alternative 1954. Equally appealing is how Elvis struggles to cope with his new found fame in 2054, after learning he is regarded as a saint by millions of adoring fans. I strongly emphasized with Isabel "Iz" Bonney's struggle to hold onto her sanity as her health and her relationship with John, her psychotic husband, dissolve through the course of the novel. Anyone expecting another excursion into William Gibson's "Cyberspace" future may be disappointed; Womack isn't quite as visionary as Gibson, though his prose is just as poetic. Instead, prepare yourself for a startling fresh, unique view of what a media-dominated future might look like.
Rating: 
Summary: "The King" of kings...jumpsuit style
Review: After reading this book I was pretty suprised to see it on sale at Graceland, since Womack makes the pre-stardom Elvis look pretty bad. But still, Womack's conception of a future so starved for meaning and so controlled by consumerism, that "Elvis" has been put on a corporate pedestal and wholly deified makes for very interesting reading. This book isn't really about Elvis, however, it's about Isabel, a woman from the future who goes back in time to retrieve the "real" Elvis. Women in the future still have to deal unresposive husbands, the glass ceiling and body trauma and Womack's handling of female characters is extremely strong. He also does well with language, as the denziens of the future speak in an English hybrid similar to the Newspeak of 1984. Elvissey is a very interesting read which doesn't quite deliver what you expect it to
Rating:
Summary: SHOULDN'T BE YOUR FIRST WOMACK
Review: Elvissey is my second-least-favorite of the Dryco Chronicles series ( we'll see where it ranks after Going, Going, Gone hits my mailbox ), but not for the reasons you might expect. Allow me to explain. It was the first Jack Womack book I ever bought - the Gibson blurb on the back sold me - but I couldn't understand a word of it and shelved it. Somehow, a year later, I wound up with a used copy of Terraplane. I had to re-read the first chapter three times to make sense of the language, but eventually I put everything together; now it's probably my favorite. This led me to collect his other books from used bookstores, and then finally to tackle Elvissey. Elvissey is a remarkable achievement, particularly in its funhouse-mirror distortion of the the 1954 we knew on our planet. Having said that, it's also by far the most depressing of Womack's books. Which is saying something. The odyssey of pregnant security operative Isabel and her psychologically-unraveling husband John leads them to an American South where black people no longer exist and Elvis killed his mother. Their return to 2054, and subsequent attempted conversion of Elvis into a corporate messiah, is utterly heartbreaking. This is the Womack book which I've only re-read once. First-timers should read Womack's books in this order: Random Acts of Senseless Violence, Heathern, Ambient, Terraplane, Elvissey. You'll gradually come to understand everything about the strange future Womack paints, and recognize recurring characters. Enjoy the ride. You won't forget it.
Rating:
Summary: SHOULDN'T BE YOUR FIRST WOMACK
Review: Elvissey is my second-least-favorite of the Dryco Chronicles series ( we'll see where it ranks after Going, Going, Gone hits my mailbox ), but not for the reasons you might expect. Allow me to explain. It was the first Jack Womack book I ever bought - the Gibson blurb on the back sold me - but I couldn't understand a word of it and shelved it. Somehow, a year later, I wound up with a used copy of Terraplane. I had to re-read the first chapter three times to make sense of the language, but eventually I put everything together; now it's probably my favorite. This led me to collect his other books from used bookstores, and then finally to tackle Elvissey. Elvissey is a remarkable achievement, particularly in its funhouse-mirror distortion of the the 1954 we knew on our planet. Having said that, it's also by far the most depressing of Womack's books. Which is saying something. The odyssey of pregnant security operative Isabel and her psychologically-unraveling husband John leads them to an American South where black people no longer exist and Elvis killed his mother. Their return to 2054, and subsequent attempted conversion of Elvis into a corporate messiah, is utterly heartbreaking. This is the Womack book which I've only re-read once. First-timers should read Womack's books in this order: Random Acts of Senseless Violence, Heathern, Ambient, Terraplane, Elvissey. You'll gradually come to understand everything about the strange future Womack paints, and recognize recurring characters. Enjoy the ride. You won't forget it.
Rating: 
Summary: Thank god it was so cheap!!
Review: I found this paperback in the bargain box at a bookstore. Now I know why. I was intrigued by the premise of the book but from start to finish I couldn't get into it. The abbrieviated dialogue in this book was more painful than anything I've ever read. It was like reading Yoda's shorthand! Written normally this book may have been a good read as Womack has some interesting ideas about the future. For Womack fans maybe but not Elvis worshippers.
Rating: 
Summary: Elvissey Drowns In Words
Review: I only wish I had read more reviews. I read a review of this book in a magazine and search diligently to find a copy of it. You can imagine my delight when it was here at Amazon.com. My delight turned to a headache as I had to read over and over and over the first three chapters only to come away with a vague idea of what was occuring. As I lover of all William Gibson novels I can handle a future world and accompaning vocabulary. Mr Womack could I have a dictionary or something? Your expertise in a whole new language was skillful but I'd still like to know what happened. Sounded like a great idea. I loved A Clockwork Orange and it had a strange dialect as well. Don't buy this unless you have finished graduate study in Chinese and need something new to learn. Bummer.
Rating:
Summary: Elvissey Drowns In Words
Review: I only wish I had read more reviews. I read a review of this book in a magazine and search diligently to find a copy of it. You can imagine my delight when it was here at Amazon.com. My delight turned to a headache as I had to read over and over and over the first three chapters only to come away with a vague idea of what was occuring. As I lover of all William Gibson novels I can handle a future world and accompaning vocabulary. Mr Womack could I have a dictionary or something? Your expertise in a whole new language was skillful but I'd still like to know what happened. Sounded like a great idea. I loved A Clockwork Orange and it had a strange dialect as well. Don't buy this unless you have finished graduate study in Chinese and need something new to learn. Bummer.
Rating: 
Summary: Hard to Read, Yet Harder to Put Down
Review: In the future, Elvis Presley has become a religious figure. Like all events in history, certain details have become distorted over time. Agents time travel back to the Fifties to find the original Elvis in an alternate universe and kidnap him. Author Womack has done his homework, and he clearly is an Elvis fan. His details are based on real events found in any Elvis biography and his insights on Presley's behavior are accurate. Unfortunately, "Elvissey" is written in a style similar to "Clockwork Orange". How can you go to the next chapter when you can't be sure you understood what you just read? If the language had been simplified, this book would have been incredible. Most people will probably give up after the first chapter, but I had to find out what happened. If you like Elvis and Science Fiction, get this book.
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