The Steel Breakfast Era: The Decadent Return of the Hi-Fi Queen and Her Embryonic Reptile Infection (Eraserhead Double #3)

By Carlton Mellick III

THE STEEL BREAKFAST ERA by Carlton Mellick III (w/ tattoos by Pooch) A nightmarishly absurd story that is like Re-Animator meets Naked Lunch during the zombie apocalypse. The living dead conquered the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0972959874
• ISBN13: 9780972959872
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Eraserhead Pr
• Length: 172 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 0.5" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

Interesting Take on Zombies

Unlike other zombie fiction where the dead suddenly rise from the ground and people are forced to figure out what's going on and deal with it, "The Steel Breakfast Era" begins in a future where the zombies have already taken over and people have been forced to live in remote areas and cramped bunkers. Most of society has adapted to this lifestyle and are resigned to continue with it, but one man has had enough. He constructs a woman from body parts and joins up with a gang of warriors to fight the zombies and try to take back a part of humanity that has died long ago. The book is filled with Mellick's usual blend of surrealistic imagery and graphic horror violence. Comprised of short chapters and fast paced narratives, this is one of the better additions to the zombie genre in recent years. This is the first of two Mellick books I've found to be comparable to "On the Far Side of Cadillac Desert With Dead Folks" (a western/zombie/postapocolyptic story by Joe R. Lansdale), the second being "Sex and Death in Television Town." I would recommend this to any fan of cross genre horror/SF fiction, as it draws from so many influences and yet remains completely original. The Simon Logan story is also pretty good. It is also set in a bleak future, and pokes fun at the corporate world. Truthfully, I don't remember as much from it as I did from the Mellick book. I do remember that it was a fast read and interesting idea, but I have yet to pick up any more by this author.

Another cool double

This was a cool book. I read the Simon Logan half first and really enjoyed the satire on corporate marketing, set in a cool industrial world. I especially enjoyed the idea that every gang's ultimate goal was to get on television. I hope one day he decides to continue this story. The Mellick story was cool as well. I love zombies. I love the idea of people being trapped in a building in a world overrun by zombies. I loved the inventiveness on top of this subgenre. It was one of his most visual stories and I liked the strange innocence of the main characters which added an almost aesthetic quality to the feel of the book. Imagry is one of his strong points and he used it well. What a cool story. I hope Eraserhead keeps putting out these doubles I really like them.

she takes on a new personality and MO

In The Steel Breakfast Era by CM3, we are presented with a gripping novel about the survival of the human race, as flesh is mutated into machines by tiny parasites. Ideas such as self mutilation, art form, society, and creation ethics are all subtle subtexts to this novel, which add depth and character to this bleak outlook on life itself. A very enjoyable novel, fast paced enough to keep you turning the page, but with enough raw emotional energy to make you think. The interesting plot twist at the end will have you wondering about humanity and begging to read more of CM3's works.The Decadent Return of the Hi-Fi Queen takes place in the ruins of society, where gang warfare has taken to the airwaves in hopes of gaining power over the masses. After her first brush with death, the Queen is transformed into a brand new creation by her marketing firm, where she takes on a new personality and MO. An interesting commentary about the state of electronic media and materialism plays a deep undercurrent throughout the text, and the evolution twist at the end of the story makes for a delightfully terrifying, yet tactfully refreshing read. A must read for any fan of the surreal/science fiction genre.

The Best In Bizarre Literature

This is quite possibly one of my favorite books of all time. The Steel Breakfast Era is like... Dawn of the Dead meets Naked Lunch meets A Clockwork Orange, it's very funny, interesting, existential, scary, and bizarre at the same time.Basically, if you enjoy: zombies, torture, sex, violence, post-modernism, true punk culture, good books, anything bizarre or crazy, buy this book. I swear, you will not regret it.I'm really looking forward to this guy's next book. Five stars.

Conjoined Twins of Terror

This flip book, containing THE STEEL BREAKFAST era by Carlton Mellick III on one side and THE DECADENT RETURN OF THE HI-FI QUEEN AND HER EMBRYONIC REPTILE INFECTION (whew!) by Simon Logan on the other, is a double-barrel shotgun blast of futuristic insanity. Both novellas are a delight, and suck you entirely into their respective unsettling universes. Mellick's is the more surreal, a cross between the mechanized horror of the Japanese film TETSUO (IRONMAN) and the apocalyptic zombie-fest DAWN OF THE DEAD. He makes it work, and his main characters - however weird - are moving and oddly innocent. Simon Logan, the author of the stunning short-story collection I-O, delivers a blackly humorous, campy-fun tale that still takes some very biting swipes at corporate mentality. In his future world, even street gangs need PR agents and fashion consultants, and the ultimate aspiration is to make it into television - in a weirdly literal fashion. One (or two?) of the most enjoyable books I've read in some time! Raw, exciting imagination run wild.