''Good News'' is a 1980

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

Edward Abbey Edward Paul Abbey (January 29, 1927 – March 14, 1989) was an American author and essayist noted for his advocacy of environmental issues, criticism of public land policies, and anarchist political views. His best-known works include the nov ...

. It is his only work of

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

and can be considered a distant sequel to '' The Brave Cowboy''.

Summary

The book is set in a

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

of the near future after the economy and government have collapsed. Small bands of people (including Jack Burns, previously from '' The Brave Cowboy'') are trying to live freely, but a would-be

military dictator A military dictatorship, or a military regime, is a type of dictatorship in which power is held by one or more military officers. Military dictatorships are led by either a single military dictator, known as a strongman, or by a council of mili ...

has other plans and is trying to set up a

dictatorship A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, who hold governmental powers with few to no Limited government, limitations. Politics in a dictatorship are controlled by a dictator, ...

using Phoenix as his base.

Publication history

The book was first published in October 1980 with 242 pages and later reissued in January 1991 with 256 pages by Plume.

References

Novels by Edward Abbey 1980 American novels 1980 science fiction novels Dystopian novels Novels set in Phoenix, Arizona E. P. Dutton books {{1980s-ah-novel-stub