BUDDY HOLLY IS ALIVE AND WELL ON GANYMEDE

From the most disparate elements imaginable, Denton fashions an illogical, uproarious, yet ultimately memorable hardcover debut whose narrator, video salesman Oliver Vale, finds all the channels on his TV preempted by a live broadcast of long-dead legendary rocker Buddy Holly. Between songs, Holly advises his audience to call Oliver Vale for assistance! Unfortunately, Oliver has no idea why—though his late mother's personal religion involved rock music, UFOlogy and other New Age practices. However, the Holly broadcast occupies all channels on all TVs worldwide, and originates on Ganymede, so Oliver suddenly finds himself in great demand. Hoping to make sense of it all, he decides to head for Holly's gravesite in Lubbock, Texas, aboard his old motorbike Peggy Sue—only to be accosted by his neighbors Cathy and Jeremy (they turn out to be aliens) and their huge, smart dog Ringo (a cyborg). Pursued by a sinister government operative, the Bald Avenger, Oliver flees toward a showdown with rabble-rousing televangelist William Willard and yet more alien complications. Riotous doings, with oddball characters too numerous to mention, anchored in a sensitive and absorbing exploration of Oliver's relationship with his mother. The plot doesn't add up, or even make much sense: the parts of this gloriously mad, serious- hearted outing from an exceptionally promising new talent, are greater than the whole.