It dawned on me recently that there are a slew of authors that, though they were well read in my formative years, have since fallen out of favor. It happens, but when it does, we lose part of the rich landscape of our diverse literary heritage. This series is an attempt to bring overlooked authors to the attention of the reader. Authors whose vision has been squelched by the overburdening kipple of modern society. (For purposes of disclosure, the impetus for this series of posts is my bookshelf, nothing more.)
Ron Goulart is a prolific writer. While not locked into one genre, his style is unmistakable for those who adore his work. His science fiction is peppered with themes of technology gone horribly wrong, rampant sexiness, and wry humor. Instead of listing all his books I refer you to his summary bibliography at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database and just touch upon a few of the highlights (or as I like to call them, personal favorites)
One of the first books of his I ever read was After Things Fell Apart (1970), which was a part of his Fragmented America Series. While not truly dystopian as many other novels of that era were, it was a fast paced look at a possible not very distant future of the US. Combining elements of the familiar and the blatantly absurd, it is a prime example of Goulart as his best: fun, relaxing, disturbing and slightly erotic. The adventures of Jim Haley P.I. are both amusing and disturbing and the read is a crisp clear vision of the near future. Oh, he also has a thing for buxom militant females, not complaining, just sayin’.
Those of you aware of William Shatner’s TEK Series should no doubt also be aware that Goulart was the ghost writer for that series. What a lot of people, myself included, didn’t k now was that he also wrote a slew of murder mysteries with the very same style that I loved. 
What was even more fun for me was when I found that he had written a series of detective novel with Groucho Marks as the detective! These books are amazing! So is Ron.
I hope this will become a semi-regular feature here and I hope you, fair blog reader, will get a chance to sample the fun and out of control future that was the world of Ron Goulart.
This is Dome, sayin’: Read, damnit.
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