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So many big catfish were coming out of the river every day, it was like there was a catfish-filled cavity in the center of the Earth, and someone had pulled the plug, unleashing the horde.
Nostalgia can be a powerful thing. See, a bygone era is just like a recently departed person: once they're over, they're sealed in the past and always appear better than they really were. Harvesting good memories sells, but it is hardly a testament of quality. So, the quest for quality throwback art has been somewhat of a quest for the Holy Grail to me (to be honest, I turn everything I can into a quest for the Holy Grail), and yet the best stuff just keeps finding me somehow. Adam Cesare and Cameron Pierce's collaborative effort BOTTOM FEEDERS manages to hit the right notes, stay within itself and deliver an effort worthy of the golden era of drive-in movies.
Businessman Jed Wilkes is building a casino on the Mississippi river, and there's nothing that's going to stand between him and his projected fortune. Not even is wife Gail, soundly banging a fishing tour guide named Chase and howling for divorce. Not even the mysterious death of a contractor, who disappeared in the waters of the river during construction. The rumor of a sea monster, coming back to life to claim her rightful place in the food chain, starts spreading like wildfire all over town. Could there really be a giant catfish, claiming dominion over the Mississippi? Of course there is, the goddamn thing's on the cover of the book, and it's out for blood.
I'll tell you what BOTTOM FEEDERS isn't. It's not an emotional journey. It's not a literary masterpiece that connect the dots between alienated human beings. If you picked up this book hoping to find the next Gatsby, you are either a moron or seriously uninformed about the drive-in age and fishing myths both. BOTTOM FEEDERS is an accessible novella, with a strong identity stemming from its deceptively complex cast of characters and its Hemingwayesque dialogue.
The obvious object of comparison here is iconic movie JAWS, but I'd say BOTTOM FEEDERS through its use of a fishing legend in order to create a strong (and interesting) dynamics between the characters. The book has its share of sea monsters, but it's not a man vs nature thing. It's not about catching or slaying the monster. It's about how the world would be like if there was a sea monster in the Mississippi river. I cared as much about Jed and Gail's nasty divorce than I care about the giant catfish. They were equally awesome and that's what makes BOTTOM FEEDERS successful.
The model got Jed Wilkes hot and bothered. He did not mean the girl, currently doing her best to service him. Skinny and jaundiced, the girl was no model, not by anyone's standards. But the detailed foam board miniature on the desk, a scale representation of what the Ole Dixie was going to look like when the construction was completed. That was the stuff. It got him hard, engorged.
If BOTTOM FEEDERS is such an efficient throwback monster story, it's because it shows restraint in its prose. Most works of the genre are aggressively trying to transport you into a bygone era by highlighting ironic details like mullets, neon colored clothing and bands that don't exist anymore. BOTTOM FEEDERS is just earnestly trying to tell a monsters story and leaves plenty of gaps for the readers to fill out. I would lie if I say I didn't imagine Jed Wilkes to look like a 1980s porn actor, but it's not written anywhere in the book, I've made up this detail myself and through this kind of calculated restraint, BOTTOM FEEDERS offers a richness that most works of the genre just can't match.
I am so not a nostalgia guy, but you don't need to be one in order to enjoy Adam Cesare and Cameron Pierce's BOTTOM FEEDERS. Its clarity of purpose and the precision of its prose will remind experienced genre readers of the great Joe R. Lansdale on his best day. Sure, it might make you feel like you were at the drive-in again, watching a ludicrous movie about sea monsters, but don't let your emotions overwhelm you and leave it to Cesare and Pierce to write this kind of stories, because they have the necessary poise and the cerebral approach to make it successful. BOTTOM FEEDERS is short, fuel-efficient and it packs a better story than whatever you might think the genre can deliver. Consider me a new fan of both writers.
I am so not a nostalgia guy, but you don't need to be one in order to enjoy Adam Cesare and Cameron Pierce's BOTTOM FEEDERS. Its clarity of purpose and the precision of its prose will remind experienced genre readers of the great Joe R. Lansdale on his best day. Sure, it might make you feel like you were at the drive-in again, watching a ludicrous movie about sea monsters, but don't let your emotions overwhelm you and leave it to Cesare and Pierce to write this kind of stories, because they have the necessary poise and the cerebral approach to make it successful. BOTTOM FEEDERS is short, fuel-efficient and it packs a better story than whatever you might think the genre can deliver. Consider me a new fan of both writers.