Jack Fish: A Novel

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From Publishers Weekly Milligan's debut novel, a wacky sci-fi satire, sets an amphibian secret agent adrift in New York City. Aquaman Jack Fish is an assassin on a mission from the Elders of Atlantis (the fabled lost city actually lies under the sea off the coast of New Jersey) to find a man named Victor Sargasso and kill him. Jack washes up on the beach at Coney Island (wearing a blue mankini swimsuit), where he must learn to respire the Topworld air ("he was breathing like an asthmatic with a bong stuck in his trachea"). Pretty soon he's wandering around New York City, looking for other Atlantean contacts while avoiding Atlantis's deadly enemies, the Maltese. Poor Jack: it's his first assignment and he's about as smart as a goldfish. Tricked by everyone, he stumbles into one mess after another—he even lets Sargasso talk him out of the assassination. Though chased by Maltese soldiers who want to harpoon him, and worried that other Atlantean spies will kill him for failing to complete his mission, Jack still has time to discover the delights of sex and tasty hamburgers. When Jack finally discovers why Sargasso must be killed, he knuckles down—but will he succeed? Zany, bouncy, endlessly droll, Milligan's story is filled with oddball characters and cheeky irreverence, and through the eyes of a true foreigner New York seems more grimy, eccentric and alive than ever. (Jan.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Read more From School Library Journal Adult/High School–A comedic, sci-fi, satirical look into New York City, Milligan's first novel brings an operative of the Elders of Atlantis to the "Topworld" to find their enemy and spear him. It's Jack Fish's first mission topside and he is given three objectives: learn to breathe; find Victor Sargasso; kill him. Washing ashore at Coney Island, he starts hacking as he realizes that breathing smog is a whole lot different from breathing water. Jack must remain on his webbed toes as the Maltese, the enemies of the Atlanteans, are aware of his presence and will do anything they can with a harpoon to stop him. The problem is that Jack is not exactly the smartest fish in the sea. As if that weren't enough, he flounders into one mess after another; he stumbles across the truth by pure luck. Every detail is specific, and everything has a reason, down to the "monthly bulletin" that is printed on the back of a pack of Trident chewing gum. Milligan weaves together a zany, hip, and funny story. New York has never seemed more grimy, crazy, and alive.–Erin Dennington, Fairfax County Public Library, Chantilly, VA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Read more From Booklist Remember the late-1970s television series The Man from Atlantis? In it, a fellow from the allegedly lost city joins up with an American research group to explore the undersea world, battling various aquatic villains in the process. The series didn't last, mostly because it drifted toward camp and unintended comedy. For those who might wonder what the show could have been like if it had been played deliberately for laughs, here's your answer. This imaginative, funny novel features a man from Atlantis, a spy to be precise, sent into New York to find and assassinate a rogue agent. Along the way, he has to deal with an assortment of problems, mostly connected with making the adjustment to breathing air and passing as a Topworlder. The difficulties he encounters will have readers chuckling the whole way. This traditional noir mystery recast as a (literal) fish-out-of-water comedy is a pure pleasure. David PittCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Read more About the Author J Milligan is the co-author, along with Caroll Spinney, of a nonfiction book, The Wisdom of Big Bird and the Dark Genius of Oscar the Grouch (Villard 2003). For five years he was the creative director and head writer at Sesame Workshop's Interactive Media department and he continues to consult on new media projects. Milligan has had work published in The New Yorker and XXL magazine and on word.com and currently he is completing a collection of "awkward stories." He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, the artist Amy Yang. They have three cats and a dog. Read more