It seems too good to be true.
When Pete McFadden invents his own system of fortune-telling, he doesn’t really expect anyone to take it seriously. He can’t imagine that it will become Hollywood’s next spiritual fad. And he certainly never dreams that “Horokinetics” could make him famous.
But it does. And when his creation becomes the battleground between a manipulative cult leader and an unscrupulous corporation, Pete learns a simple truth.
| If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. |
Stunt Road evolved from a very cynical conversation about astrology at a New Age restaurant in Los Angeles. I had suggested rather glibly that anyone could produce a system of divination and personality typing just as convincing as astrology as long as they had a spiritual-sounding pretext and a basic understanding of how to tell people what they want to hear. Stunt Road takes a step back and asks how society would react to such an endeavor. In the end, it became a satire on corporate greed, gullibility and the quest for meaning. It's Frankenstein for the Age of Aquarius.
Arthur C. Clark once remarked, “I don’t believe in astrology; I’m a Sagittarius and we’re sceptical.”
Stunt Road, the debut novel of local author Gregory Mose, is a story for Sagittarians. Pete McFadden, the novel’s narrator and protagonist, is certainly an arch-sceptic, and his project – to discredit astrology by fabricating a spurious system that appears to work just as well – is unlikely to appeal to anyone with an enthusiasm for the supernatural.
Pete’s ambitions ultimately entangle him with an aspiring cult leader and a ruthless marketing executive, and as Pete’s wry account of the disastrous results unfolds, Stunt Road begins to take shape as a modern reworking of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Pete’s creation is a monster cobbled together from bits of corporate marketing strategy and occult hocus-pocus, brought to life by the growing sense of isolation and emptiness that characterize life in the internet age. The satire here is ultimately aimed not at astrologers or corporations or cults, but at our own eagerness to believe those who offer us easy solutions to our problems. The fault is not in our stars, but in ourselves.
At once thought-provoking, incendiary and wickedly funny, Stunt Road manages to challenge the intellect without challenging the reader’s attention span. As a result, Mose has crafted a thoroughly enjoyable novel.
JP's Books, in Le Forty Six
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