Country: USA
Genre: Pulp Fiction
Pages: 256
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"They are coming for you, cowboy." The hellcat's whisper was so low, I thought maybe it was a voice in my head.
I first heard of Victor Gischler reading the short, punchy novella he wrote with Anthony Neil Smith, TO THE DEVIL, MY REGARDS. Much shame to me, apparently, because Gischler is a household name in pulp fiction, a bit like Duane Swierczynski. He too, has been writing for Marvel Comics for a long time now and has been releasing novels that are reminiscent of the golden age of pulp. With titles like GUN MONKEYS, SHOTGUN OPERA, SUICIDE SQUEEZE and GO-GO GIRLS OF THE APOCALYPSE, Gischler coudn't keep flying under my radar for very long. But of all his books, it's THE DEPUTY that I chose to read first, following a heartfelt recommendation from a friend of mine. Plus, it's always the book with the least striking title that hits the hardest, like it's the most unassuming kid in the schoolyard that turns up being a savage when under pressure.
Part-time Deputy Toby Sawyer is working in little Oklahoma town of Coyote Crossing. It doesn't matter that he's undertrained or has self-esteem issues, because Chief of Police Frank Krueger gives him small tasks only. Things he can handle. Baby-Sitting the dead body of Luke Jordan for example. The local thug was found dead in the street at midnight. Small town boy Toby doesn't think much of the task. Where can a dead body go, right? Luke Jordan's body doesn't like being taken for granted apparently, because as Toby steps out for a few minutes, it disappears. Freaked out and scared for his job, Luke goes out into the night, trying to find out where can a dead body can possibly hide. But doing so, he open a Pandora's box of issues that will hit him very close to home.
The events of THE DEPUTY all happen over one night, which is a cool idea. It's a restriction for sure, but it forces the action to come out in a different way. The characters have to surf the events and not the opposite. It's a hard balance to keep. Many books that prioritize action end up pushing their characters in a corner. Gischler finds a clever solution to the problem. It's sure that Toby, the first person narrator, is better developed than the rest of the crew but the small town setting makes for that everybody know each other and that Toby already had a relationship to most of the other characters in the novel. So it works just fine. It's not the deepest novel I've ever read, because the emergency of the situation doesn't exactly asks for deep introspection. Wasn't too crazy about the family issues backstory. It felt tacked on the narrative for additional emotion, but it's kept under control. It's never complacent. It's just not necessary, in my opinion.
I'll never forget the look on Jason's face, his eyes so calm, yet at the same time blazing with some cold fire, a man or an animal about the devil's business. And that's how I thought of the Jordans now, a while family of them going about the devil's business.
Some books have to be read in particular situations to be enjoyed for what they are. THE DEPUTY isn't exactly something you have to labor over. It's a beach read or an airport read that beats whatever you can buy at the overpriced bookstore in your local airport, hands down. It's hard to draw parallels with other books, because it has so much more in common with cinematographic culture. It reminded me of those against-all-odds movies like Ernest Dickerson's SURVIVING THE GAME. Read THE DEPUTY will a grain of salt and it will change a boring afternoon into a thrilling ride or make you forget that you're lying on a beach. THE DEPUTY's biggest strength is that it's a book that covers a genre that's overlooked by literary establishment. It's an action book for men. There is no pretension or misplaced pride here, just a really cool story that aims at a precise public. Read it for its a lost art.
THREE STARS
THREE STARS