Near future, United States. First novel. Dedicated to Geraldine, on All Fool's Day 1985.
"Not too far in the future, every American's home is, if not their castle, certainly their fortress. Outside the enclaves of decent, God-fearing folk the country is overrun by all kinds of untrustworthy ethnic minorities; and even inside the enclave walls, a strong defence is the only way to assure security.
"'Dad' Johnson prides himself on having the best-defended family on the block; and one of the most unusual and up-to-the-minute too, what with P.J., genetically engineered to be gay, and baby Erica, her digestive system adapted to consume nuclear waste. Imagine his chagrin when Jock Smith, across the street, becomes the first in the neighborhood to install his very own tactical nuclear missile in the back yard". [jacket blurb, UK hbk, 1986]
"Mark Laidlaw has constructed a delicious satire of scrupulous prose and unscrupulous wit. He's extrapolated the franchised, cable-fed, mall-stamped hell we're building for ourselves into its next logical step, wildly exaggerating where he pleases with stunning effect. This book is badly distributed, but find it and read it and recommend it because Dad's Nuke deserves to survive and flourish. Laidlaw may be SF's most Swiftian talent, and certainly one of the field's most versatile". --John Shirley (in Science Fiction Eye , Volume 1, Number 3, March 1988).
"Early cyberpunk novel. A strange, surreal and very funny book". --Henry W.Targowski (in Mark/Space , 1995).
Recommended.
