Reviews

Set in Thomas's non-Earth city of Paxton (aka Punktown), a futuristic dystopia introduced in the story collection Punktown (2000) that's equal parts H.P. Lovecraft's Arkham and Blade Runner's dark metropolis, the author's second noir horror novel (after 2003's Monstrocity) starts slowly, but the patient reader will be more than amply rewarded. On the last night of Punktown's annual carnival, the paths of several bizarre characters converge, including a former prostitute turned chanteuse who fears her lover is sexually obsessed with her conjoined twin, and a being who runs a cafe and claims to be one of the Roswell aliens. The results are alternately hilarious and terrifying. A black claw of an enormous monster is emerging from another dimension with such glacial slowness that it has already been tagged with gang graffiti. The anarchic yet organized violence resonates with that of our own society. For instance, because there are more bodies in the carnival's morgue than usual, the security chief worries about how to persuade the city's numerous gangs to check their firepower at the front gate. As in his earlier works, Thomas uses techniques and ideas pioneered by Lovecraft to make caustic social observations about humanity, in particular our exploitation of other species. (Nov.) FYI: A paperback edition is scheduled for release in January. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.