Man Against the Horses! Four Theater of the Absurd Novelettes

Four absurdist novelettes explore revolution, espionage, social strife, cars, motorcycles, and horses. In “Space, Time, and Tania,” bumbling ex-Texas Department of Public Death officer Marty Brimfeeler probes the death of a brainwashed terrorist. Traumatized by finding Tania’s cryptic notebook full of edgy metaphysical queries, Marty flees Houston on a dynamite-festooned motorcycle as World War III erupts. “Man Against the Horses!” describes how five horses in Paris, Texas have finally had enough. They break out of their corral, charge down the highway, and, imbued with fresh superpowers, reduce the city of Dallas to rubble. In “The Highland Park Cadillac Races,” hapless insurance executive Bobby Thompson, plagued by numerous philosophical qualms, proves his manhood on the mean streets of Dallas. Finally, “The 66,000 M.P.H. Bicycle” showcases special agent Atoka surveilling Houston on his nuclear-powered bicycle until software glitches trap him on a coastal freeway.