Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Very Mercenary -- Rayo Casablanca

To begin with, I think we can all agree that Rayo Casablanca is a great name.  So the question is, can the novel live up to it?  My answer?  Oh, yeah!  You want edgy?  This book's over the edge.  It's Wile E. Coyote, except that old Wile E. wound up in a puff of dust on the canyon floor, whereas Casablanca manages a 264-page air dance.

Leigh Tiller is an heiress who's kidnapped by a bunch of escapees from a mental institution dressed in raggedy-ass animal costumes.  (The escapees are in the costumes, not the institution.)  She's rescued by Laser Mechanic, asthmatic ninja and the leader of the Strategic Art Collective, and his merry band.  She's pursued by the Serologist, a terribly disfigured hitman who enjoys dismembering people so much that if no one else is handy, he'll go to work on his henchman.  She's also pursued by other assorted gangs of killers as S. A. D. makes its way to Las Vegas and its biggest guerilla art event ever.  There are several nice plot twists before it's all over, and pretty much nonstop action all the way.  Not to mention art.

And that's about all I have to say.  There's so much going on in the book that I couldn't begin to capture the manic energy being unleashed.  I wish I could tell you about the final vehicle S. A. D. uses, but I don't want to spoil the fun.  It's great, though.  Trust me. 

Very Mercenary is one wild,crazy, outrageous, and preposterous ride, and I enjoyed every minute of the trip.

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