The Twist

About This Book

Condition & Size

The Twist

Richard Calder

Small Paperback


British author Richard Calder (Dead Girls, Cythera, Frenzetta, et al.) is at the forefront of a new wave of delectably bizarre science fiction authors -- like Paul Di Filippo, Cory Doctorow, Steve Aylett, Karen Michalson, and Allen M. Steele -- who appear to walk a tightrope between insanity and genius. This daredevilry is fully on display in Calder's The Twist, a dark love story set in an alternate Wild West that is a kind of cosmic bridge between Earth and the planet Venus.
Following a "psychogeographic event" that connected western America to Venus in the 1950s, lawless frontier towns like Tombstone are now inhabited by goth cowboys who wear black lipstick and eye-shadow, shape-shifting Venusians who hunger for freshly detached human souls, wild neo-Nazi youth, and cannibalistic changelings called zanies. Nine year-old Nicola Newton is traveling west with her parents when they are forced to share a stagecoach with a legendary gunslinger named John Twist and Viva Venera, a beautiful Venusian necrobabe, a "depraved cherub" waiting for him to die so that she can lovingly consume his soul. Nicola, a precocious prodigy who hates her parents and everything they stand for (she describes her mother as "a morbidly obese, cannibalistic pig-spider engorged on the meat of its offspring") runs away the first chance she gets and joins up with the gunslinger and his alien lover/executioner. She is soon guzzling whiskey, killing bounty hunters, and rescuing the world from utter annihilation.

About Readmatter Online Used Bookshop

Born from a dream during the COVID-19 pandemic, ReadMatter has grown into one of South Africa's premier online used bookstores. With two dedicated online depots and a by-appointment public store in Gauteng, we’re always ready to connect readers with the books they love. Our custom-built bookmobile brings the joy of reading to events and underserved communities across the region, offering access to hundreds of books on wheels.

At Readmatter, every title is hand-picked to meet our quality standards. We have over 10,000 unique books in stock, with an additional 100,000 titles available upon request. Our inventory evolves constantly, with approximately 250-300 new books added each week. It’s worth visiting our site often or signing up for stock updates to stay in the loop!

With a 100% user rating on Bobshop, a 5-star Google rating, and recognition as a finalist in Radio 702’s Gauteng’s Greatest Bookshop Competition, we are dedicated to quality, customer satisfaction, and sharing the magic of books with every corner of South Africa.