FLASH

Max thinks he can turn into a kind of mini-Superman by uttering a charmed formula given to him by the mother of New York's suddenly defunct governor -- according to all reports, however, the lady's been dead for decades. Meanwhile it is Max's job as reporter for the National-Blast to discover whether the governor accidentally fell, committed suicide, or was pushed from the window of his hotel. The paper, reminiscent of the country's most popular daily is pushing for murder, and Max is an exemplary reporter, except for the fact that he doesn't know how to write. So he follows the story to the Hippocamp nightclub where he finally encounters in more ways than one the redheaded girl who lives in an apartment directly across from him after whom he has been lusting for years. If that isn't trouble enough, his right-wing rag is sponsoring a ""Support the War"" parade which gets Max in trouble with his regular left-wing publicist girlfriend. This is an odd, interesting first novel in which nightmare, fantasy, and paranoia form a melange that leads up to an ending that is truly ""out of this world.