So I asked A.I. for assistance remembering Snake Oil Wars.
Can you summarize the Snake Oil Wars?
"Absolutely, Gary. The Snake Oil Wars (1989), subtitled Scheherazade Ginsberg Strikes Again, is Parke Godwin’s irreverent sequel to Waiting for the Galactic Bus. It’s a satirical romp through religion, politics, and the afterlife—infused with absurdist humor and biting cultural critique."
"Core Premise
"The story picks up with Coyul, one of two alien beings who accidentally created humanity, now tasked with overseeing Earth’s spiritual evolution. He’s left behind while his partner Barion returns home to face trial. Coyul becomes a reluctant administrator of both Heaven ("Topside") and Hell ("Below Stairs"), navigating a bureaucratic and ideological mess."
"Plot Highlights
- Lance Candor, a fundamentalist hero who once saved the U.S. President, throws a bomb at Coyul, believing him to be the Devil.
- Coyul survives and orchestrates a surreal trial in the afterlife, featuring:
- Jesus Christ as a witness
- Marcus Aurelius as the judge
- Abraham Lincoln disguised as prosecutor Joshua Speed
- Dorothy Parker ghostwriting for a televangelist
- L. Ron Hubbard reincarnated as a telephone answering machine"
"The trial becomes a media circus, satirizing religious extremism, celebrity culture, and the intrusion of faith into governance."
"Themes & Tone
- Religious fanaticism vs. rational humanism
- Absurdity of organized belief systems
- Freedom of thought and speech
- The dangers of dogma in shaping public policy"
"Godwin’s style here is more Douglas Adams than Tolkien—sharp, witty, and unapologetically irreverent. It’s speculative fiction as philosophical stand-up comedy."
"If you're exploring symbolic resistance or narrative treatments of ideological rupture, this book offers a treasure trove of satirical archetypes and courtroom theater. Want to riff on how this could inform a speculative trial scene in one of your own treatments?"
That's what we're building up to.
