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Damnation Alley

Hell Tanner isn t the sort of guy you d mistake for a hero he s a fast driving car thief a smuggler and a stone cold killer He s also expendable at least in the eyes of the Secretary of Traffic for the Nation of California Tanner doesn t care much for those eyes You d also never mistake Hell Tanner for a humanitarian Facing life in prison for his various crimes he s given a choice rot away his remaining years in a tiny jail cell or drive cross country and deliver a case of antiserum to the plague ridden people of Boston Massachusetts if anyone is still alive there to receive it that is The chance of a full pardon does wonders for getting his attention And don t mistake this mission of mercy for any kind of normal road trip not when there are radioactive storms hordes of carniverous beasts and giant mutated scorpions to be found along every deadly mile between Los Angeles and the East Coast But then this is no normal part of America you see This is DAMNATION ALLEY Roger Zelazny s post apocalypse novel predates the George Peppard Jan Michael Vincent movie vehicle by about a decade and represents the fine storytelling talents of one of science fiction and fantasy s most daring writers likely best remembered for his imaginative Amber series Speaking of vehicles the coolest part of the movie and likely thankfully the only part most people remember turns out to be even cooler in the book the flame spewing 50 caliber bullet belching grenade throwing gigantic all terrain vehicle that s responsible for getting a crucial antiserum shipment from Los Angeles to Boston to stop a deadly plague The driver a despicable lowlife named Hell Tanner has been given a not so difficult choice He can either get the drugs to the East Coast intact save humanity and receive a full pardon for his crimes or he can refuse and spend the rest of his life in a zebra suit So what s the catch Thanks to World War III Middle America is now an elect