Mantids is an update on the world's oldest novel--Petronius's Satyricon--with a twist. In Satyricon, the hero can't get an erection; in Mantids, the narrator can't get rid of one. Combine his Viagra overdose with an invasion by mutant female praying mantises and a suzzed-out, speed-tweaker Astoria, Oregon locale; add biting comedy and a warrior heroine and stir into a B-movie plot stew and you have a classic Dakron novel, chock full of sardonic prose and more fun than a barrel of junkies.