The Children of Hamelin
A novel about the fast-lane life in the publishing world, by the award-winning Norman Spinrad.
It's fiction... but with a twist... it's autobiographical! A must read for all Spinrad fans.
Meet Tom Hollander, an ex-junkie who earns his living as a fee reader at a
literary agency — "the big game," as he refers to it. The hook is that
Tom's best friends, Ted and Doris, are heavily into therapy and
something called The Foundation for Total Consciousness, which Tom, ever manifesting an ex-junkie's cynicism and paranoia, sees as just another
scam.
The conflicts in Tom's world are personified by his two love interests. Acid-dealing Robin is as free (or as flighty) as her name implies, while Arlene Cooper, hooked on therapy, is as uptight as her name signifies.
Norman Spinrad
Norman Spinrad (born 1940) is a science fiction icon and the author of more than twenty novels which have been translated into over a dozen languages. His 1969 novel, Bug Jack Barron, was nominated for the Hugo and Nebula Awards and his short fiction collection, The Star-Spangled Future, was a National Book Award finalist. He has also written screenplays for American television series, including the original Star Trek. He lives in New York.