Read this book!!! THE QUICK is a remarkable book of war about a true philospher-warrior named Shaman and his one-man fight against, perhaps, war itself. Throughout the novel, you never know whether Shaman is playing both sides to further his own ends, or whether is true purpose is to simply fight the good fight, or if he in fact believes there is a "good fight" to be fought in this or any war. Owing much to L. Ron Hubbard's FINAL BLACKOUT, this novel of war and its themes has been much updated to reflect our modern world. Burt Cole is a phenomenal writer with a gift for dialogue, for wordplay, for swift pacing, and elegant prose. He also has a gift for the absurd, for political ironies, and for military stupidity. The climax (again, owing a lot to FINAL BLACKOUT) leaves the reader with not only a sense of satisfaction, but with a question that transcends the novel's main themes.

The Funco File somehow manages to be both light and dense at the same time, which is quite an accomplishment. It's also devilishly funny.

In a near-future, slightly madcap world four unique individuals have appeared with inexplicable powers: a middle-aged account gains the ability to write ectoplasmic blue fire with his nose, a backwoods boy who is a living poltergeist, an elite soldier with superhuman strength and the ability to go hours without breathing, and a sacred temple prostitute from the Far East who can levitate while performing. The stories of these four oddballs are each begun in four large sections of the novel, as they move towards each other without realizing it. Also unknown to them is the interest of The Machine, a massive self-aware computer which embodies much of the functions of the government and society.

The dialogue is clever and funny, the major and minor characters are likeable and unique, the plot has no dead spots, and there's plenty of love, action, and comedy. Mr. Cole keeps the pace lively throughout. He also provides several evocative and highly entertaining settings: a backwoods America that may not really exist (but is highly entertaining without descending into slapstick), a fictional Far Eastern monarchy with the most peculiar customs and surprisingly canny inhabitants, and the quirky world of secret elite government death squads, whose members are forced by conditioning to kill ANYONE who comes too close. The solider is one of the recipients of this conditioning, and as the back cover blurb notes, this makes things difficult between him and the temple prostitute...

At over 300 pages it's not a short book, but it never wears thin or gets boring. It's a pity there wasn't a sequel. In terms of sex and violence the book might rate PG-13, more for sex than for violence - it's really quite mild for both categories, but children might be confused by some sections. Parents may want to read it themselves, first.

Readers who enjoy The Funco File would probably also enjoy Superstoe by William Borden and A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole.