"The Hazmat Diary" is a sci-fi novel written by Gorman Bechard.
The only version I've seen of this book is online at http://www.hazmatdiary.com
. Aside from it being a very well-written tale, I strongly urge people to check
out the site because of its unique form of publishing (plus, it's free).
You see, or maybe you don't yet, The Hazmat Diary was published online using
Macromedia's Flash technology. Very nifty stuff, Flash is. Music, animation,
pictures, sound and text can be wrapped up all in one, tight bundle and posted
on the web. Gorman Bechard's book is a fine example of where the future of
Flash might lead.
It's the story of a bartender who ends up getting a fairly shady job for some
even shadier people who aren't too keen on getting into the limelight. They
decide to hire Doc, the bartender, as the club's manager with one very special
directive: do whatever you want, but make it spectacular enough to drive
people there in droves. No holds barred, anything goes. Budget? No problem,
sky's the limit. Just make it pay off.
Which is exactly what Doc does. And, BOY, does he do it!
A new directive comes to his attention: get the club built before the Moon
is destroyed. Oh, didn't I tell you? The destruction of the moon is the backdrop
for this entire novel. Turns out there's some sort of problem the Moon is causing
in the environment, so the government is going to snuff that big-ass candle
out once and for all. Supposed to be a really big party when it goes up.
Through the course of the book Doc ends up running into Marlena, one of his
new waitresses for Hazmat (the name of the new club). Due to some legal problems
regarding manager/employee sexual relations and punishable-by-death laws,
Doc can't touch Marlena- even though she haunts his dreams. Another problem
for Doc is that he already has a woman with whom he's in love- Kali. Doc must
build a hot, new night club AND juggle a budding and illegal relationship with
one of his employees- all while the Moon awaits her terminal date with destiny.
Believe me, it's a good yarn