Mixing
horror and noir genres is a natural fit as both deal with the dark
side of human nature. The use of the noir genre is an excellent way
to ground a story and also have the reader positioned to relax their
critical preconceptions of reality. Normally a writer can then layer
in the more horrific elements so that the shift in tone is gradual
and almost undetectable by the reader.
Brett Alexander Savory eschews the subtle and merges the two genres in a big bang approach mixed with generous dallops of action and humour. It is a staple of noir stories that the personal hells of the characters provide the textures used to attach to the framework of the story. Again, subtle be damned, The Distance Travelled literally takes place in Hell.
To create any empathy with any of the main characters, who are in Hell for a reason, takes a talented writer. Mr. Savory proves that he is more than up to the task as he generates that needed empathy and has the additional chops to even elicit sympathy for several of them. The Distance Travelled continues the use of pigs, those of the pork chop variety, that Mr. Savory has displayed a peculiar porcine perversity for in earlier works.
And it is with a pig crashing through a kitchen window of protoganist, Stuart, that starts this tale. The thing is Stuart's house is in Hell by the Lake Of Sorrow. And it's hot. Very hot. Even with the air conditioning on max. In this Hell, Stuart tools around in a kick-ass El Camino, and attends regular torture sessions on the rack administered by Barnes and Salinger; penance for his sins on Earth. This is a Hell where the Big Red One, whom has adopted Canadian currency as the standard in Hell because of its pretty colours, is strangely absent or has mysteriously withdrawn from the public eye.
Stuart is full of self loathing and possesses a caustic wit that barely conceals an intense desire to make reparations. His chance comes as he and the proverbial motley party of friends set out on a quest. A quest that will take them through the circles of Hell to rescue a little girl kidnapped from earth. There are mysteries to solve, betrayals to overcome, and enemies that keep coming back at you because, well in Hell, no one can die again. That is unless you are beaten down to a pulp and spread out in little pieces. Otherwise one is subjected to a long, painful recovery process depending on how extensive your injuries are.
Throughout the tale, Mr. Savory deftly juggles humour and action with moments of poignancy composed of love, regret and loss. He shows that even in the darkest depths of Hell with the most unsavoury, sorry about that Brett, characters; acts of kindness and decency are possible. This is a roller coaster rocket fuelled ride full of satiric barbs at a wide spectrum of accepted social and religious conventions that is sure to impress even the most jaded of readers.
This is a book that entertains throughout. It is funny, it is gross, it is full of energy, and it will prove that even in Hell good things can happen.
The
Distance Travelled by Brett
Alexander Savory
Necro
Publications
Published July
30, 2006
270 pages
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