PSYCHOBOYS

Psychoboys, Bertie Marshall's debut novel, is set in the cities of Moscow and Berlin. It tells the story of Rez, a rent boy living on the streets, and his fight for survival in a world of bizarre strangers. He meets a riot of characters -- Ms Thing, a transvestite sugar mummy, who educates him in the art of coprophilia and barbiturate abuse and leads him into sex and death trips; Countess Handover, a drag-queen genetic engineer who offers Rez the 'gift' of a lifetime; and The Lost Sailor, Rez's nemesis, who delivers an apocalyptic warning.Psychoboys is about shifting geographical boundaries and identities. It explores the belief in the power of fantasy as a means of survival. It is queer science fiction, the text assembling such icons as Nico, Patti Smith and the film-maker Pasolini.