When it’s not done right, cyberpunk ranges from laughably bad to horrendously awful. So when I received Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat, I wasn’t sure how a cyberpunk novel with such a bizarre title would turn out. Early in the novel, though, I did figure out one thing. This would be different from any cyberpunk novel I’ve read.

For starters, this isn’t in your usual cyberpunk setting such as Japan, Los Angeles, or even Britain. Rather, it takes place in Melbourne, Australia. And not just any kind of cyberpunk future, but an apocalyptic future as well. Making it not just a cyberpunk novel, but a cyberpunk, Mad Max, and Philip K. Dick kind of novel.

But the differences go far beyond the setting and aesthetics. The main thing here, is that TSMG doesn’t take itself seriously. Quite the opposite. Floyd Maquina has a more humorous (whether knowingly or unknowingly) approach to his narration. Even his actions are humorous. He’s very skilled and yet incompetent much of the time.

On a whole, Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat is a fun and refreshing read. It’s a novel that’s both an homage and one of a kind… All in an offbeat way.

READ THE REVIEW HERE.

“Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat is a retro pop culturalist’s dream come true – and entertaining to boot.

“If you’re a fan of the series Department S (and why wouldn’t you be?), the chapter entitled ‘jack your kitsch up’ will delight you no end. Our hero, Floyd and his partner Hank, are preparing to go into Richmond area – which is now a no-go zone – to track down five heavily armed Devs. Along for the ride are a television crew, to film the incursion. The television network covering this incursion is ITC. The reporter on the scene is a man named Montgomery Berman, the camera operator is Stew Sullivan and their assistant is a young girl called Anabelle. For those who don’t remember, Monty Berman was one of the creators of Department S (he was also a co-producer of The Saint, with Roger Moore). And in the series Department S, Stewart Sullivan was the name of the character played by Joel Fabiani, and Anabelle Hurst was played by Rosemary Nicols. You’re forgiven for not remembering Sullivan or Rosemary, as they were overshadowed by Peter Wyngarde as the flamboyant Jason King.”

READ MORE @ PERMISSION TO KILL

“Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat is sci-fi-lite, at least according to one of my mates — which surprised me since I believed it safely slotted into the sci-fi genre and I didn’t know there was a style called sci-fi-lite. Probably he was making it up.

“Most people are now telling that TSMG is far more oriented toward noir than science fiction, which I guess is attributable to the heavy influences of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett as much as other writers like Philip K. Dick and Graham Greene. Does that actually tell you anything about the book? I hope it does. I’m terrible at snap-synopses.”

READ MORE @ JULIE’S WEBSITE.

“Bergen has great affection for film noir, gangsters and cool broads with a shady past. Jokes and references zip past and clobber the reader, so many that an encyclopaedia, glossary and film/reading list are included should you want to check those you have missed. The atmosphere is similar in style to the movie Blade Runner whilst the structure is from The Maltese Falcon.

“Witty and literate, the book skips along at a lively pace… Floyd is a likeable character, the low down gumshoe in need of a quick buck and a shot of whisky is a familiar trope, and Bergen gets the voice and accent just right. The story does go a little off kilter at times, meandering rather than setting out any true destination, but it is the ride rather than the finishing line that makes this a fun read. It’s certainly no worse than trying to understand the plot holes in many of the best Bogart movies.”

READ MORE @ The British Fantasy Society

“With one foot planted firmly in a futuristic world where Seekers routinely undergo Matrix-like virtual reality “tests” to ensure they are still in the fold and capable of carrying out company orders, TSMG manages to simultaneously have its other foot rooted in an authentic, throwback, hardboiled detective vibe. And it is in that fuzzy blending of post-apocalyptic and old-school noir that TSMG carves out what is one of the most wonderfully unique books I’ve had the pleasure to read… I can say without qualification that not only is Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat one of my Top 5 reads of 2011, it is one of the most creative and engaging books I’ve ever read. Period.”

READ MORE @ ELIZABETH’S BOOK REVIEWS WEBSITE

“The dystopian Melbourne of TSMG, pitched at some distance into the future, has the unique distinction of being the only city left in the world. Unfortunately, things are not going terribly well in terms of civil liberties, the political climate or the environment. In fact, things are comprehensively fucked up on all fronts, and the portrait painted is of an overcrowded, polluted metropolis groaning under the control of a government vested in corporate interests and busy herding non-conformists and misfits into extramural death camps styled as ‘hospitals’…

“Oh, and on a final note, you will thoroughly enjoy the company of the protagonist, Floyd Maquina – he is ruggedly handsome and generally ruined; witty, self destructive and self-effacing with his air of gracious defeat. He has a weary charm that is impossible to resist. If only he were real…”

READ MORE HERE:
http://theflawedmind.com/2011/10/19/tobacco-stained-mountain-goat-a-bleak-but-entertaining-melbourne/

“When I went to Detroit in 2004 to DJ, the people putting on the party took me for a spin through the inner city. That was a riveting eye-opener for me; there’s nothing like that in contemporary Australia or Japan. Although the recent earthquake and tsunami left a similar legacy, that was after I finished the novel. I remember seeing these ruined, grand old buildings and derelict car factories in Detroit, like the huge Packard plant, and thinking that this was what the novel’s no man’s land, Richmond District, would be like – with the added bonus of constant rain.”
READ MORE HERE.

So I’m now back in Tokyo, after a two week sojourn in Melbourne – the more prominent Melbourne in Australia rather than its silly namesake in Florida, which is 32 years younger. I get parochial about this because the Melbourne in Australia is my hometown, and also the setting for my novel Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat – where, on 10 August, we finally did the book launch thing.

An expatriate Melburnian, Andrez Bergen’s passion for writing has led to his debut novel Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat. Radhika Chopra spoke with him before his much-anticipated return to Melbourne.

Perhaps the book industry isn’t doing so well, but that hasn’t stopped Andrez Bergen from writing.

The Australian-born expat recently added the title of novelist to his extensive list of achievements. And in true Aussie fashion he says that to be a writer ‘you have to love the written word and the way it interacts with its little mates on the page.’

Living in Tokyo, Japan for the last ten years, this self-described ‘idiosyncratic’ released the book Tobacco Stained Mountain Goat in April, and has achieved what some others may only ever dream.

READ MORE OF THIS EXTENSIVE INTERVIEW HERE:
UPSTART INTERVIEW

Excerpt: “Tobacco Stained Mountain Goat is an incredible novel, completely unexpected and with such a wonderfully rich and unique style that is simply mesmerising, unmissable..”

Read more…