So far to the left it's right. Nimmo's pseudo-nihilism and unreserved gonzo stance of delving into the unique fractures of our society has produced a novella full of fun, controversial characters, and wild rides splattered with hidden meaning. The narrator, a cynical alcoholic named Blake, travels across a terminal American landscape with three friends from out of his past. If there is a search for meaning it is lost in the volatile dialogue and anarchical overtones of the main character. From Detroit to LA and back, Nimmo's Blake explores our country's socially-strained and decadent wasteland, a nation of spasms: "It's death. Our Manifest Destiny's death. It's a primordial fear of nothingness." Drinking constantly and criticizing everything imaginable, Blake takes on all comers, from Arabs to vegetarians. In him, Nimmo has combined America's scaly underbelly into a motif of bright awareness. "We learn absolutely nothing from history. We believe lies, distrust truth. We hate genius and celebrate mediocrity. We love our chains. We fear the unknown and act in accordance. We're doomed, fucked and doomed."--R.R. Lee Etzwiler
This review originally appeared in TapRoot Reviews #3,
Contact the editor, luigi-bob drake, at Burning Press
Copyright Burning Press 1993, 1995.