04-22-2010, 11:22 AM
Houston is part of the nouvelle noire group of authors (Yes, I just made that term up) He writes gritty detective fiction and gritty vampire detective fiction. Both groups are highly stylized with his hallmark being how does dialogue without quotation marks. But that's beside the point. His books are well written and interesting.
His latest book moves into an almost science fiction genre. It's about the onset of the sleepless plague in Los Angeles. It's one of those feel good end of the world stories in the vein of Soylent Green, The Earth Abides and The Road. But what's unique about his book is the timeframe. Rather than talking about what the characters do after everybody dies, Houston depicts what is happening while everybody is dying. The sleepless plague is a slow march to death. Everybody sees it coming and the best they can do is ride it out and hope for the best. But everybody can see there is no hope which lends fatalism to every action.
Park is a drug dealer on the hunt for one of the few ways to find comfort in the last days of the disease.It's a drug called Dreamer. It's not a cure. It just takes away the suffering. Javier is a hitman on the hunt for Park because has come across a hard drive with information on it that Park can't have. The whole book takes place in Los Angeles. You are surrounded by the landmarks of the city twisted by the plague. Streets are permanently impassable due to explosions. The Staple Center is now a 24 hour freak show. Gun Turrets scan the Santa Monica Beaches to keep people from coming illegally ashore. The Rich enclaves are now armed camps where the wealthy still struggle to maintain a semblance of their old lives.
It's a good book. It's just not a happy one.
His latest book moves into an almost science fiction genre. It's about the onset of the sleepless plague in Los Angeles. It's one of those feel good end of the world stories in the vein of Soylent Green, The Earth Abides and The Road. But what's unique about his book is the timeframe. Rather than talking about what the characters do after everybody dies, Houston depicts what is happening while everybody is dying. The sleepless plague is a slow march to death. Everybody sees it coming and the best they can do is ride it out and hope for the best. But everybody can see there is no hope which lends fatalism to every action.
Park is a drug dealer on the hunt for one of the few ways to find comfort in the last days of the disease.It's a drug called Dreamer. It's not a cure. It just takes away the suffering. Javier is a hitman on the hunt for Park because has come across a hard drive with information on it that Park can't have. The whole book takes place in Los Angeles. You are surrounded by the landmarks of the city twisted by the plague. Streets are permanently impassable due to explosions. The Staple Center is now a 24 hour freak show. Gun Turrets scan the Santa Monica Beaches to keep people from coming illegally ashore. The Rich enclaves are now armed camps where the wealthy still struggle to maintain a semblance of their old lives.
It's a good book. It's just not a happy one.
So much for the flickr badge idea. Dammit