''Buddy Holly is Alive and Well on Ganymede'' is a 1991 comedic

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

novel by

Bradley Denton Bradley Clayton Denton (born 1958) is an American science fiction author. He has also written other types of fiction, such as the black comedy of his novel ''Blackburn'', about a sympathetic serial killer. He was born in Towanda, Kansas, and atte ...

Plot

Oliver Vale was conceived on February 3, 1959, the day that iconic rock & roll singer Buddy Holly died. Exactly thirty years later, Buddy Holly appears on every television set in the world, on every channel. Holly states that he is being held on Ganymede, and that Oliver Vale is to be contacted for assistance. He then begins performing. As a result, Vale finds himself being pursued by agents of the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...

, by angry television watchers, and by still more mysterious forces.

Reception

''Buddy Holly Is Alive and Well on Ganymede'' won the 1992

John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel The John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, or Campbell Memorial Award, is an annual award presented by the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas to the author of the best science fiction no ...

.The John W. Campbell Award
at the Center for the Study of Science Fiction; retrieved November 23, 2023 '' Kirkus Reviews'' found it to be "illogical, uproarious, yet ultimately memorable", "riotous", and "gloriously mad", but noted that "(t)he plot doesn't add up, or even make much sense", stating that despite Denton being "an exceptionally promising new talent" (in 1991), "the parts (...) are greater than the whole".Buddy Holly Is Alive and Well on Ganymede
reviewed at '' Kirkus Reviews''; published July 15, 1991; posted online May 19, 2010; retrieved November 23, 2023 ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'', reviewing the audiobook, described it as "quirky" with a "cockamanie and action-packed plot" and "many laugh-out-loud moments".Buddy Holly Is Alive and Well on Ganymede
reviewed at ''

''; published April 27, 2015; retrieved November 23, 2023

Cory Doctorow Cory Efram Doctorow (; born July 17, 1971) is a Canadian-British blogger, journalist, and science fiction author who served as co-editor of the blog '' Boing Boing''. He is an activist in favour of liberalising copyright laws and a proponent of ...

called it "''the'' great American comic science fiction novel".Buddy Holly is Alive and Well on Ganymede, free download
by

, at

BoingBoing ''Boing Boing'' is a website, first established as a zine in 1988, later becoming a group blog. Common topics and themes include technology, futurism, science fiction, gadgets, intellectual property, Disney, and left-wing politics. It twic ...

; published August 14, 2009; retrieved November 23, 2023

Copyright

In 2009, Denton made the novel available under a

Creative Commons license A Creative Commons (CC) license is one of several public copyright licenses that enable the free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted "work".A "work" is any creative material made by a person. A painting, a graphic, a book, a song/lyric ...

Adaptation

In August 2009, a film version of the novel was announced. It is to be titled ''Alive and Well'' and star

Jon Heder Jonathan Joseph Heder (; born October 26, 1977) is an American actor, best known for his role as the title character of the 2004 comedy film ''Napoleon Dynamite''. He has also appeared in the films '' Just Like Heaven'', '' The Benchwarmers'', '' ...

. On April 11, 2011, a teaser trailer was released. The project was ultimately abandoned, primarily due to funding.

References

Notes

External links

*
Buddy Holly is Alive and Well on Ganymede
' at Manybooks.net
Text of first quarter of the novel
on Denton's official site
Second quarter of the novelThird quarter of the novelFourth quarter of the novel
1991 American novels American science fiction novels John W. Campbell Award for Best Science Fiction Novel-winning works Cultural depictions of Buddy Holly Fiction set on Ganymede (moon) Fiction set in 1989 Works by Bradley Denton {{1990s-sf-novel-stub