''The Garbage Chronicles - Being an Account of the Adventures of Tom Javik and Wizzy Malloy in the Faraway Land of Catapulted Garbage'' is a

science fiction comedy Science fiction comedy (sci-fi comedy) or comic science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction or science fantasy that exploits the science fiction genre's conventions for comedic effect. The genre often mocks or satirizes standard science fic ...

novel written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, first published on January 1, 1985 by

Berkley Books Berkley Books is an American imprint founded in 1955 by Charles Byrne and Frederic Klein owned by the Penguin Group unit of Penguin Random House. History Berkley Books began as an independent company in 1955. It was founded as "Chic News Compa ...

Plot summary

In the consumer society of the future, in order to cope with economic problems,

recycling Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. This concept often includes the recovery of energy from waste materials. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the propert ...

and repairing is made illegal, and all damaged goods and garbage are launched into outer space. The protagonist gets a job of tracking criminals who collect garbage on another planet.''Space Voyager'' #17, Oct/Nov 1985
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History

The author wrote that a dramatic scene in the novel originated in a part of his then unpublished satirical science fiction short story "Earth Games" which was set in an alien world where earthling prisoners were forced to take part in mortal competitions in hotrod fighter cars called "Road Rage", "based on an ancient Earth highway ritual". "Earth Games" was published a year later in his collection ''Dangerous Worlds''.Brian Herbert, ''Dangerous Worlds'', 1986
Introduction
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Reception

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (; born Neil Richard Gaiman; 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic series ''The Sandman (comic book), The Sandma ...

reviewed ''The Garbage Chronicles'' for '' Imagine'' magazine, and stated that "one of the worst books I've read in years - it may have been meant to be funny, but I could well be wrong - and should be avoided as you would a rabid dog with a Cruise missile." A reviewer noticed an insider joke: among the trash depicted on the book dust cover there is a catalog of the Andromeda Books, a sci-fi bookstore.

References

1985 American novels {{1980s-novel-stub