The Skull Cage Key: A Novel

By Michel Marriott

Chinese New Year, 2042. Armstrong, an upwardly mobile Harlem resident, is out celebrating with his boss (and lover) when they re assaulted in her hotel room. She ends up in the Jacuzzi minus her head; the cops are convinced he s to blame. Armstrong goes on the lam, dodging the cops while trying to figure out exactly what happened that night. Answers come in the form of Oona, a sultry sex worker with an unexpectedly deep reservoir of information. As Armstrong digs for the whole story, a disgraced ex-cop is invited back to the force to combat a powerful designer drug that s all the rage with the young, rich, and bored. As the two men s paths draw inexorably together, the story behind the new drug becomes clearer and far more sinister. This absorbing debut novel is a dark, erotic thriller with a powerful sci-fi kick."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 193284130X
• ISBN13: 9781932841305
• Release Date: March 2008
• Publisher: Agate Bolden
• Length: 350 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.8" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Terrific Sci Fic!

This book was a great read that kept my attention until the end! Very well written and very believable futuristic outlook. I am very interested in seeing what this author does next!

"LORD OF THE DIGI-DOT"

Wow, how do I start this? Mr.Marriott's creativity explodes like a paint-ball gun on paper!!! Who else could come up with cleaver futuristic inventions such as a paper digi-dot that allows you to listen to music via body electricity and then dispose of it? Or how about the "Screamer's" movement and the new twist on watching movies in the year 2041? The drug "Hedz" which allows you to experience someone else's memories? Unbelieveable. Or is it? This brillant story is so well thought out and written. And who better to write this novel than a New York Times technology journalist? Bravo. The characters are well developed within a gumbo of drama, twists, turns, danger and everything else I can't mention as to not spoil the ride. Read this book as your own personal pychic reading into what the future holds for 2041.

A "Not to Distant" Reality?

Michel Marriott's debut in the written word of techo-mystery is a stunning, well crafted look at the hedonistic future of our society and, specifically, the world of Harlem in 2041. In his novel he describes the unending, drug seeking cravings of an Alpha/Omega generation, those that would profit from that need and the oversight of a government armed with technology but little or any insight into the basic needs of its citizens. Trotting out an overweight, forced to retire early cop, he describes in sometimes morbid detail, the "harvesting" of human brains used to produce a fast acting drug, Hedz, that transports the user to greater "highs" than those provided by previously produced non-organic,substances. In a world of "pleasurists," "Lights and Darks" and just ordinary folks, a classic struggle between good and evil, right and wrong, coupled with just enough technology, emerges. Mr. Marriott provides an insightful view into a rather bleak future but, thankfully, one not void of the basic goodness of humankind as evidenced by several sub plots and characters whose journey's end as they gratefully do. When not reading, I found myself speculating about the next "turn in the road" and my inclination to assign real actors to the characters I saw revealed on the printed page. My only disappointment was, a personal prejudice, that STARBUCK's still exists in 2041! I highly recommend this novel.