Bob Bridges: An Apocalyptic Fable

Synopsis

Bob Bridges is a hybrid novel -- combining philosophy, science, and ecology with slapstic comedy -- that explores the tension between technology and spirituality with humor and verve. The Story Bob Bridges, computer programmer extraordinaire, has just been fired from his consulting job because of his Cassandra-like predictions of nuclear doom. That same evening, Cock, a philosophizing cockroach from the future, verifies Bob's apocalyptic vision. Convinced of humanity's impending demise, Bob agrees to return with Cock to the future where roaches now rule a radiation-soaked Earth. Once, there Bob is enlisted to solve a gripping mystery about the long-extinct humans, but at the peril of his own safety and sanity. During his (mis)adventures -- which are punctuated with surreal memories of the world he left behind -- Bob and Cock discuss everything under the sun, including sunworshipping, the rise and fall of civilizations, the ecological devastation of the Earth, and why chocolate is the perfect food. First time novelist Penny Perkins uses the Y2K computer problem and the approaching millennium as jumping off points for a rousing meditation on humanity's place in the cosmos.