There's a great tradition of golf fiction, stretching from P.G. Wodehouse's Edwardian follies to John Updike's narrative birdies and chip shots. The Putt at the End of the World is a worthy addition to the canon, in spite of the fact (or because of the fact) that it's a team effort. Nine authors, including such worthies as Dave Barry, Tami Hoag, Tim O'Brien, Lee K. Abbott, and Les Standiford, have contributed chapters to this farcical thriller. The premise, which is less wacky than it initially seems, involves a software tycoon named Phillip Bates, who's built a deluxe golf course north of Edinburgh. To kick things off he convenes a celebrity invitational, and draws not only a clutch of world-class hackers but several terrorists, counterterrorists, and what appear to be counter-counterterrorists. Clearly there's more at stake here than a mere 18 holes.

Slapped together by one author after another, the crazy plot is surprisingly consistent. Yet the contributors have made no effort to disguise their individual styles, which range from Barry's potty-mouthed slapstick to Richard Bausch's tonier stuff to James Crumley's pulp fiction. Indeed, this shift in tone is one of the book's great pleasures. So is the sex and satire, if not necessarily in that order. Still, the ultimate reason to read The Putt at the End of the World is for its strange-but-true evocation of the game itself. Here's Tim O'Brien's take on a ball with a mind of its own: For the first thirty feet, the old Titlist did not touch the earth, heading for orbit, engines roaring, but then suddenly the rain and wind and fog forced a scrubbed mission. Gravity reasserted itself. By pure chance--a miracle, some would call it--the ball dropped heavily onto the green, not five feet from the cup.... It caught a sidehill slope. It wobbled off line for a second, then straightened out and continued its erratic pilgrimage toward destiny. Fictionally speaking, at least, that's what we call a hole in one. --William Davies


From Publishers Weekly
Regrouping a few of Standiford's Naked Came the Manatee gang, this outrageously funny, multi-authored novel by (in order of tee times) Standiford, Ridley Pearson, Tami Hoag, Lee K. Abbott, Tim O'Brien, Richard Bausch, Dave Barry, James W. Hall and James Crumley is a treasure. The world's richest man, computer czar Phillip Bates, invites three exceptional but going-downhill golfers to play a celebrity pro-am on his brand-new course at ancient Rathgarve castle in Scotland. Lured by the serious cash Bates delivers, aging, vision-impaired senior tour member Alfonso Zamora; the incorrigible Rita Shaughnessy, a debauched, long-driving amazon from the LPGA; and Billy Sprague, an amateur champ with a gambling problem all fly to Scotland. Joining the trio is an impressive assortment of world leaders, celebrities and hotshots, but only Bates knows the reason for the decadent, mysterious tournament. Add to the mix an FBI agent who joins operatives in London to stop a terrorist with 20 kilos of Semtex explosive, and all manner of zany things start to happen. The plot to save the world meshes with the plan to party like crazy at the Bates castle, where Fidel Castro, Augusto Pinochet, Tony Blair, Al Gore, Mu'ammar Qaddafi, Brad Pitt, Jane Fonda, Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw, Barbara Walters, Hugh Downs, Marlon Brando, Charlton Heston, Madonna, Bob Hope, the pope, Sean Connery, Dan Quayle and other celebs are on hand to witness an exhibition of carnal swing mechanics unrivaled since the orgy scene from Caligula. This droll, absurd fable is just mainstream enough to keep even the nongolfing masses, who don't know a mashie from a niblick, guffawing out loud. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
If nothing else, this book demonstrates that the authors--eight men and one woman--can keep nonsense spinning and accumulating as each piggybacks on chapters written by another (the inspiration is obviously Carl Hiaasen and others' Naked Came the Manatee). Stripped of its many involutions, the story is that of Phillip Bates, the world's richest man and owner of Macrodyne Software, who assembles, for reasons none of them understands, several golf pros and assorted political and entertainment celebrities to participate in a tournament on his enormous, newly constructed golf course in Scotland. Viewed as a whole, the book emerges as an unsteady entertainment with no very discernible intent, theme, or goal but with a modest fund of humor and suspense. This is a case of flimsy whimsy that will prove satisfactory to readers wanting offerings that do not tax their mental powers. In other words, it's a harmless way of killing time.---A.J. Anderson, GSLIS, Simmons Coll., Boston Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
Nine well-known authors collaborated on this farcical adventure about celebrities and famous golfers who converge on a golf tournament threatened by eco-terrorists. Their contributions are divided by spoken chapter titles, but you literally can't tell the writers without a scorecard, which is provided on the box. The story was a disappointment after Naked Came the Manatee, a previous collaboration involving three of the same authors: Dave Barry, Les Standiford, and James W. Hall. At times, this work seems to be propelled by profanity, not character or plot. Jeff Woodman's narration is competent, giving the many characters broadly done voices heavy on the Scottish, French, or other accents. J.A.S. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
Get a bunch of big-name writers to write a book, chapter by chapter, creating the plot on the fly. A publishing gimmick, certainly, but one that occasionally delivers an entertaining-enough product. This time an impressive gang of writers (including James Crumley, Tim O'Brien, and Dave Barry) have produced a slapstick thriller with a golf theme. The world's richest man, software wizard Phillip Bates, has built himself a golf course in Scotland and invited everybody who is anybody (from Madonna to the Pope) to his inaugural tournament. Also on hand is a terrorist aiming to blow up all the heads of state. A bumbling FBI agent and three down-on-their-luck golfers are left to save the world. It's a totally over-the-top farce--equal parts Caddyshack, The Pink Panther, and Airplanebut golfers with a silly streak will get a kick out of it. Remarkably, Crumley--the most unlikely of the nine authors to turn up anywhere near a golf course--delivers the funniest chapter. Bill Ott

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Sex. Money. International terrorism. And, of course, the ultimate question: Can a compact backswing save the world? Now, in the tradition of Naked Came the Stranger and Naked Came the Manatee, a clubhouseful of acclaimed authors pass the baton (or the six-iron) to create an ensemble tour de force of suspense, romance, and hilarity on the links. Golf is not a team sport. But who says fiction can't be? Get ready. The gallery is hushed-and the approach shot nears. The birdie has landed...

The Putt at the End of the World

Fore? No, nine! That's right. Nine literary grand masters each contribute a chapter and together bring you a full round-robin of characters, not to mention a blistering drive of a story line that beats par with every page.

Alfonzo Zamora is the venerable Mexican Senior player who's just discovered he's going blind. Billy Sprague is the country club pro with a swing as elegant as an eagle in flight-except when money's on the line. Rita Shaughnessy is the hard-drinking, hard-loving, hard-luck golfer on the women's pro tour.

All three receive an invitation from multibillionaire Phillip Bates, founder of Macrodyne Software. To inaugurate his dazzling new course in Scotland, Bates is spending millions to host a tournament starring the superpro trio. The gala will welcome world leaders in the name of global peace and the universal language of golf. Launching Bates's new, revolutionary computer operating system, the weekend volley will also attract a long scorecard of wild and unanticipated guests, including the world's most elusive environmental terrorist, a Spanish caddie named Humpy who inspires bogeys, a caddish pro who can't pass the Rorschach test, a sexy male-female counterterrorist team who keep driving into traps of their own making, a certain naked golfer making a bid for his hole in one, and enough plastique to end the world as we know it....

Will things get rough in the rough?

Will the green run red?

Where is the mysterious nineteenth hole?

And in an apocalyptic final play that will determine the fate of the world, ecoterrorists will converge on the course for an explosive putt to end all putts. The "Good Walk" has never been more fun!

FROM THE CRITICS

Barnes & Noble Guide to New Fiction

Nine authors take on the task of writing a single novel, with each author contributing a chapter and blindly passing it on. Promises to be unlike anything you've ever read before and to appeal to "golf fans, mystery lovers, and anyone in need of a good laugh." "Plenty of plot twists." Dissenters said, "I smell a bargain book!" "Tami, how could you?"

Publishers Weekly

Regrouping a few of Standiford's Naked Came the Manatee gang, this outrageously funny, multi-authored novel by (in order of tee times) Standiford, Ridley Pearson, Tami Hoag, Lee K. Abbott, Tim O'Brien, Richard Bausch, Dave Barry, James W. Hall and James Crumley is a treasure. The world's richest man, computer czar Phillip Bates, invites three exceptional but going-downhill golfers to play a celebrity pro-am on his brand-new course at ancient Rathgarve castle in Scotland. Lured by the serious cash Bates delivers, aging, vision-impaired senior tour member Alfonso Zamora; the incorrigible Rita Shaughnessy, a debauched, long-driving amazon from the LPGA; and Billy Sprague, an amateur champ with a gambling problem all fly to Scotland. Joining the trio is an impressive assortment of world leaders, celebrities and hotshots, but only Bates knows the reason for the decadent, mysterious tournament. Add to the mix an FBI agent who joins operatives in London to stop a terrorist with 20 kilos of Semtex explosive, and all manner of zany things start to happen. The plot to save the world meshes with the plan to party like crazy at the Bates castle, where Fidel Castro, Augusto Pinochet, Tony Blair, Al Gore, Mu'ammar Qaddafi, Brad Pitt, Jane Fonda, Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw, Barbara Walters, Hugh Downs, Marlon Brando, Charlton Heston, Madonna, Bob Hope, the pope, Sean Connery, Dan Quayle and other celebs are on hand to witness an exhibition of carnal swing mechanics unrivaled since the orgy scene from Caligula. This droll, absurd fable is just mainstream enough to keep even the nongolfing masses, who don't know a mashie from a niblick, guffawing out loud. (May) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

Library Journal

If nothing else, this book demonstrates that the authors--eight men and one woman--can keep nonsense spinning and accumulating as each piggybacks on chapters written by another (the inspiration is obviously Carl Hiaasen and others' Naked Came the Manatee). Stripped of its many involutions, the story is that of Phillip Bates, the world's richest man and owner of Macrodyne Software, who assembles, for reasons none of them understands, several golf pros and assorted political and entertainment celebrities to participate in a tournament on his enormous, newly constructed golf course in Scotland. Viewed as a whole, the book emerges as an unsteady entertainment with no very discernible intent, theme, or goal but with a modest fund of humor and suspense. This is a case of flimsy whimsy that will prove satisfactory to readers wanting offerings that do not tax their mental powers. In other words, it's a harmless way of killing time. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 2/1/00.]--A.J. Anderson, GSLIS, Simmons Coll., Boston Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\

AudioFile

Nine well-known authors collaborated on this farcical adventure about celebrities and famous golfers who converge on a golf tournament threatened by eco-terrorists. Their contributions are divided by spoken chapter titles, but you literally can't tell the writers without a scorecard, which is provided on the box. The story was a disappointment after Naked Came the Manatee, a previous collaboration involving three of the same authors: Dave Barry, Les Standiford, and James W. Hall. At times, this work seems to be propelled by profanity, not character or plot. Jeff Woodman's narration is competent, giving the many characters broadly done voices heavy on the Scottish, French, or other accents. J.A.S. ￯﾿ﾽ AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

A relentlessly unfunny comic novel about golf and Armageddon by Abbott and eight other writers, each of whom contribute a chapter (a la 1997's Naked Came the Manatee): Dave Barry, Richard Bausch, James Crumley, James W. Hall, Tami Hoag, Tim O'Brien, Ridley Pearson, and Standiford. To publicize his magnificent new course, billionaire Phillip Bates, CEO of Macrodyne Software, has decided to host the mother of all golf tournaments. The course is somewhere in Scotland. The list of those invited includes glitterati from every headline-worthy walk of life: politics, show biz, the media, even some golfers. Prominent among the latter are Billy Sprague, one of the world's sweetest swingers until there's money involved, at which point he turns hacker; gorgeous Rita Shaugnessy, who can outdrive many of the men on the tour and outdrink all of them; and Alfonso Zamora, `the Marvelous Mex"—earlier in his career a really nice guy but now a full-fledged crank. Among the uninvited, however, is a certain Francois LeTour, noted terrorist, and there's the rub. No drivers, putters, or innocent irons in LeTour's bag—uh-uh. He comes bearing 50 pounds of Semtex, enough to level `the House of Lords, any of the bridges, and Westminster Abbey,` an appalled British intelligence officer tells his FBI counterpart. Exactly why LeTour wants to bring his particular world view to the party is left on the murky side, but then motivation rates only a nudge and a wink here in general. The guests assemble, people sleep together, get killed, come to life again, kill others, and finally the stage is set for that fateful putt. It's Bates who lines it up. Will it drop, or will the world end not with a bangbut aflub? Further proof that both comedy and golf are hard and need to be taken seriously.