THE SNAKE

by John Godey ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 22, 1978

More nail gnawings about urban dangers from the author of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, the novel that justified subway paranoia. This time Godey unleashes a giant black mamba on Central Park. The mamba is brought to the park by a drunken sailor on a bender who gets mugged and killed by a Hispanic who in turn is bitten by the snake. The mamba is the biggest, fastest, deadliest snake in Africa, can move al about ten miles an hour, and as the bodies start dropping East Side and West Side and all around Delacorte Theatre, panic strikes the front pages. The mayor sends 500 police into the park to beat the snake out, but the wily reptile is snoozing in a burrow or wrapped around the high limbs of a tree. The novel's more-or-less main character is Mark Converse, a herpetologist (and a seducer of considerable powers), who ultimately fails in his mission to recapture the snake and give it to the zoo. Godey spends chapter after chapter drawing city stereotypes, from cops to deadbeats to Puries (read Moonies), and all are deeply unconvincing and speak in banalities that confirm Godey's tin ear. Between scenes adding fuel to the city's panic, he lards in snake lore and at last brings everything to a head with a big fire in the park and dancing Puries out to destroy ""Satan."" Low-grade burger meat.

Pub Date: Aug. 22, 1978

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1978

Categories: FICTION