October Revolution

With a humorous touch that fumbles its action scenes, LaMarr's debut will evoke nostalgia in baby boomers no matter what their allegiances during the 1960s political wars. Roderick Huxley, infamous author of a revolutionary ""cookbook"" (actually the work of his cynical capitalist editor), is recalled from his disillusioned, hermit-like existence to meet with a hostage-holding terrorist in a D.C. Burger King who insists on seeing only him. As FBI agent Fenwick and his Keystone Kops colleagues attempt to shepherd Huxley to Washington, the old radical frequently wanders off on his own. During his rambles, well-executed flashbacks tell of his youthful folly, his overzealous contemporaries, his romances and the narrow tyranny of his family and his school (the Iowa Writers' Workshop). Less effective are action scenes, especially the eventual flight from the Burger King, as attempts at humor shatter both tension and credibility. Indeed, once Huxley arrives at the hostage site, the book loses steam. The ironic tone with which LaMarr portrays the past also limits the book's engagement with the present. And, after all the jokes, the peregrinations and the confrontations with the past, the protagonist's renewed interest in the world at the novel's conclusion just doesn't ring true. (Nov.)