"Them or Us" (book 3 of the Hater Trilogy) by David Moody

"Them or Us" (book 3 of the Hater Trilogy)
by David Moody
published by Thomas Dunne Books
354 pages

David Moody has a way of creating books about zombies without having zombies.  In his series "Autumn" the "Z" word is never mentioned but there are reanimated corpses.  In the Hater Trilogy he has created a bunch of mindless fighters who never eat the flesh of their victims but go into uncontrollable rages until the victim is dead.  So while they may not be be zombie books, they still create the same horror of a zombie book, but without the gore. 

In the Hater trilogy, it turns out that some switch is thrown in the human brain where about half of the poulation become Haters.  The Haters see an Unchanged and that flipped switch causes the Hater to attack fight and not stop until the Unchanged is destroyed.  Even when a Hater has all his limbs incapacitated they will still fight until one of them is dead.  With this aspect Moody is able to explore the darker side of a zombie apocalypse.  The darker side being how do you survive when all is gone, every aspect of civilization breaks down and no longer is there a means for food to be obtained by just going to the corner market.

In the first book, "Hater" the switch was flipped and all the population began a war that would leave the world scarred forever.  In this book we were introduced to Danny McCoyne who became a Hater but first watched the world collapse, losing is family.  In the Second book, "Dog Blood," the world was at war Haters vs. the Unchanged.  Danny sought to find his daughter who he knew was like himself, a Hater.  The problem was, though, his wife and two sons were Unchanged.  Danny had to fight the Hate inside to sneak into Unchanged refugee camps to find his daughter without being discovered.  All this while a major world war was going on between the Haters and Unchanged.  When he found his daughter one side, whether it was Hater or Unchanged or both is never really known, launched nuclear weapons destroying all of the major cities.  Danny lost his daughter as they were trying to escape one of the blasts, when she went running back into the explosion.

Now we come to the third book, "Them or Us."  The world is torn apart and there are very few Unchanged left, what few there are are hunted down and slaughtered.  A small community of Haters is gathered that is ruled by a man who gained his position by killing the man in charge and putting up all the toughest fighters up in a higher social class.  So the haters now rule by might.  Danny is discovered to be able to hold in the hate and Hinchcliffe, the leader of the community, uses him to inifiltrate nests of the Unchanged so the Haters can slaughter them.  Danny becomes a sort of confidant for Hinchcliffe and learns all his secrets.  The big problem is that once all the Unchanged are gone who is left to fight, each other?  That answer seems to be yes when another community is discovered and Danny is sent to infiltrate and find out any logistical info so Hinchcliffe can attack. 

With the last of humanity struggling for survival Danny begins to question whether mankind should continue or just kill itself off.  The question of all time, do we really deserve to exist?  If so How? And what does war prove?

This book is full of philosophic wonderings and some interesting action thrown in to keep the brain pumped.  I'll warn you once you start reading this book or any book in the trilogy you can't stop until the last page, even then you'll want more.

"A Lion Among Men" by Gregory Maguire

"A Lion Among Men"
by Gregory Maguire
read by John McDonough
Published by Harper Audio (2008)
Approx 12 hours

Well I just finished listening to the third installment in Gregory Maguire's take on the Land of Oz. "Wicked" took the world by storm, and has been a hugely successful Broadway production. "Son of a Witch" told of Liir, the son of the Wicked Witch, Elphaba, who was melted by Dorothy, as he hunted for his half-sister Nor. It seems as though Maguire has closed up his version of Oz, but has left himself some room in case he wants to revisit this land. This time around we learn more about the Cowardly Lion, Brr and even more on how Elphaba became what she was.

Before we get into the story, I have to say that John McDonough does a superb job narrating this book, giving voice to all the characters. I was so happy to hear that he didn't try to give the lion the same voice Bert Lahr did. In all of Maguire's books all the characters have a bit of a darker side to them and the Bert Lahr Cowardly Lion just would not have worked. While still able to show some of the cowardly, lacking of nerve aspect to the lion he also gave him a bit of a scholarly sound in his voice. After all when the book opens the Lion is seeking information on behalf of the Emperor of Oz. McDonough does a great job representing the voice of Yackle who has been trying to die and failing and therefore holds a bit of snarkiness in her voice.

As the book opens the armies of the Emerald City and Munchkinland are marching toward each other in what will be the battle of battles. In the middle is the Mauntery, which has been the epicenter for Elphaba, Yackle, Liir, and Candle. Yackle still lives despite losing her eyesight and longing for death. At her request, the Maunts bury her in their crypt alive with only a few candles and some wine. She's eventually forgotten, but not by all. The Lion arrives wanting to question her regarding Elphaba, and eventually we find out also the Grimoire, in which the power of all powers could be attained. One of the sisters at the Mauntery is explaining that Yackle is dead just as Yackle comes walking into the room. The sister faints at the sight of the dead Yackle, who is now blind and very very old.

Yackle and Brr begin a bit of bartering to tell stories so Brr can gather the information he's seeking. In this we learn more of Brr's beginnings, how he was abandoned and alone in the forest and taught himself to talk while listening in on humans (he had the ability but no one to teach him). In his early years he comes across one of the Wizard's soldiers caught in a trap that was meant for an Animal like himself. He is too cowardly or maybe just excited about making his first friend and cannot find himself leaving the soldier alone. Brr stays with the man until he dies and sets out with the soldier's medal of courage and some books to tell his family.

By the end of the book the Clockwork Dragon Oracle makes its return and reveals all to the players involved just before the war comes to them. Allowing each to make a decision about their pasts and futures.

Maguire could end his Oz saga here, but he did leave the door open for further exploration. This book really allows you to emphathize with all the characters, even the ones who seem bad/evil and is a great addition to Maguire's stories.

Naked Lunch: The Restored Text by William S. Burroughs

Naked Lunch: The Restored Text
by William S. Burroughs
Read by Mark Bramhall
Produced by Blackstone Audio, Inc. (2009)
Approx 10.5 hours

Every so often I have to go back and revisit a classic novel, this time around I was going to listen to “Naked Lunch” by William S. Burroughs, but I found that there had been a restored text version released which contains sections that were thought to be lost as well as some additional essays by Burroughs. I remember last time I tried to read this I couldn't quite get through the whole book. There were and still are parts that are extremely disturbing. Burroughs wrote the better part of this book while addicted to heroin and living in Tangiers. The stories/segments really display the torn state of consciousness he must have been experiencing.

The book starts out fairly straight forward in which a junkie (Burroughs) runs from the police in New York City and heads off across the country to escape and score more drugs. His adventures take us to Mexico City, Tangiers and into a alternate reality location referred to as “the Interzone.” Once he arrives in Mexico things get really weird when he meets up with Dr. Benway. By weird I mean really blow your mind type of weird. The descriptions of junkies using drugs in the not so “normal” way and even taking drugs that are way beyond the norm border on the disgusting. The weirdness hits when the author takes the reader/listener overseas and sexual deviancy becomes extremely disturbing. I did have to stop listening to this book at times just to clear my mind of the vivid imagery created by Burroughs.

At this point I would like to talk about the reader/Narrator, Mark Bramhall. Bramhall delivers this audiobook with absolute vocal perfection. His raspy voice is strangely soothing and yet some of the stuff he describes are over the top. His ability to do separate voices for each of the characters is worthy of applause not only because of the vocal gymnastics needed but also because of the ability to expose the characters through his voice alone. I'm gonna be looking for more audiobooks voiced by Bramhall, because he is just that good.

This novel presents a glimpse into the emerging counter cultures of the 1950s and gives interesting insights into how these forces effect the ongoing development of modern society. In one of the essays that Burroughs wrote in the early 60s, Burroughs continues this glimpse by further exploring the idea of treating addicts. His essay should be read by anyone involved in today's “War on Drugs.” The book was written in a non-linear fashion, in that the reader could pick up and start reading any chapter in the book and not lose the form of the storyline. I found it very interesting that the book ends exactly where it starts with the junkie running away from the cops. The story was brought full circle and at no point did I realize it was headed this way.

As for the historical significance of the book here is some of the information I found. The book is extremely controversial in both its subject matter and its use of obscene language (something Burroughs recognized and intended), the book was banned in Boston and Los Angeles in the United States, and several European publishers were harassed. It was one of the most recent American books over which an obscenity trial was held. The book was banned in Boston in 1962 due to obscenity, but that decision was reversed in 1966 by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. The Appeals Court found the book did not violate obscenity statutes, as it was found to have some social value. The hearing included testimony in support of the work by Allen Ginsberg and Norman Mailer.

Sections of the manuscript were published in the spring, 1958 number of Robert Creeley's Black Mountain Review and in the spring 1958 University of Chicago student-run publication The Chicago Review. The student edition was not well received, and caused the university administration to discuss the future censorship of the Winter 1959 edition of the publication, resulting in the resignation of all but one of the editors. When the editor Paul Carroll published BIG TABLE Magazine alongside former Chicago Review editor Irving Rosenthal, he was found guilty of sending obscene material through the U.S. mail for including "Ten Episodes from Naked Lunch," a piece of writing the Judicial Officer for the United States Postal Service deemed "undisciplined prose, far more akin to the early work of experimental adolescents than to anything of literary merit" and initially judged it as non-mailable.

If you do chose to pick up this book I will warn you, reality will be altered and no matter who you are you will be disturbed.

"Autumn" by David Moody

"Autumn"
by David Moody
Published 2010 by Thomas Dunne books
308 pages

Before I start into this book I have to clarify some of the history behind this book. First of all it was written as web series online and developed into a book. The original printing of the book went out of print but after the success of Moody's books "Hater" and "Dog Blood" the book and the other 3 in the series get a new life. This is the first book in a series of zombie thrillers written by Moody.

It seems David Moody has a talent when it comes to writing zombie stories but not your regular zombie stories. In the books "Hater" and "Dog Blood," Moody wrote about a disease or disorder that caused a percentage of the population to attack with unbridled rage. These "haters" were zombie like in their action but not really. In this book the zombies are walking dead bodies, but they don't seem to attack and eat flesh.

To start things off in this zombie book, the world is suddenly torn apart by a disease that within a few hours leaves people suddenly dead. There seem to be a few that are immune and they face the horrors of their friends and loved ones suddenly choking up blood and dying where they stand. The sudden deaths leave several vehicles wrecked and bodies lying in the way.

A couple of people find they aren't the only ones that survived and set up a vehicle with a stereo playing and light a bon fire. The few survivors around hear the music and see the fire and begin moving toward the sound and light in a quiet dead world. A group of people gather in a small town community center, all in shock and all not knowing what has happened or what to do next. They all simply huddle together in the community center seeking the comfort of the living. Before anyone can work out what to do next the contagion takes a turn toward horror.

Some of the dead bodies lying around the community center begin walking around. At first a couple of the living think they may be coming back to life but after bringing in one of the walking corpses they realize that the dead are still dead and the reanimation is only a physical thing, the body is still decomposing, and there is no life or spark in the eyes of the walking dead. The bodies are all simply walking until something gets in the way then they change direction. Carl, Michael and Emma decide they don't want to just stay put and wait to see what happens, they want to leave the community center and find shelter where there are less walking dead. Out in the country sounds logical, less population means less bodies. The others in the center reject the proposal after one of the walking dead begins to try to get into the center.

After acquiring a van and some essential food items the 3 venture out and find just outside a small town a farm house. The house seems to be perfect, ought of site, hard to find, and with a generator. They begin setting up house after removing the corpse in the living room and begin working on the generator and soon get it running. The noise of the generator begins to attract the walking dead so they have to limit their time running it. The walking dead now seem to be developing into something more than just motor skills, they seem to be able to react to sound. After going into town for more supplies, the trio realize the danger of the masses of undead when they are attacked at the supermarket. The attack is not a typical zombie attack from other zombie stories where the undead attack and rip off flesh and begin eating the living. Instead the danger is in the masses. Several dozen walking dead can create a force much like a tsunami.

David Moody writes this zombie story with what at first seems like a peaceful story where the living have to learn how to adjust to a new world, but when the masses of walking dead begin to herd together the danger is not in being eaten by the undead but by trying to survive flood. Moody has written this story with a major creep factor that will keep you reading. I had a hard time putting this book down and when I did, I made sure all my doors were shut and would peek out the curtains to make sure nothing was moving around that shouldn't be.

I know I can't wait for the next book in this series, mainly because of the cliffhanger at the end but also because Moody can scare you without the violence of a typical zombie thriller.

"Under the Dome: A Novel" by Stephen King Published 2009 by Scribner

"Under the Dome: A Novel"
by Stephen King
Published 2009 by Scribner

When it comes to horror Stephen King is the master, but he doesn't always write about horror, sometimes Stephen King writes about the human condition and how human beings treat other human beings, and when looked at under the Stephen King magnifying glass that can be pretty horrific.

When I first picked up this huge book, I thought, "When am I going to find the time to read a 1,500+ page book?" Well, I did find the time and am I glad I did. During the reading of this book I felt as though I were hovering above the microcosm of the town of Chester's Mill, Maine and observing the trapped insects within. Stephen King has taken the faithful reader on many adventures which are epic sagas, for example; "The Stand," The Dark Tower series, "The Shining," "It," and others. These books not only tell a story but they tell a story on a grand scale that would astonish Tolkien or Herbert. "Under the Dome" definitely falls into this grand scale, not only because of the length of 1,500+ pages, but because of the depth the reader gets to know the characters involved.

The premise of the story is pretty much, "What would happen if all of a sudden a town was covered in a dome?" The answer to that is, "It depends on who lives in that town." That's what happens to the small town of Chester's Mill. A dome of unknown material and origin surrounds and covers the town all of a sudden on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Being a typical Stephen King novel the initial affects are pretty gruesome; a woodchuck gets sliced in half with one side on the dome and one on the other, a plane flying in the dome hits the dome itself, crashes, and sends body parts flying, a woman gardening at the edge of where the dome materializes gets her hands cut off, and many birds flying nonchalantly smash into the dome and die. All of this within the first 50 pages!

What happens next is where the true epoch begins. The U.S. government tries to bust the dome from the outside with missiles and learns the strange phenomenon is impermeable. Inside the dome is a former soldier, Dale Barbara, who after Afghanistan wants to simply blend in and not be noticed. But the President jumps him up to Colonel and says he's in charge until the threat is gone.

The problem with that is a greedy politician and religious zealot, "Big Jim" Renfield. Rennie, to his friends, is the second selectman in this town and uses the dome to try and become a dictator. The issue with Big Jim is that he has also used the town, his church and the local Christian radio station to become the world's largest manufacturer and distributor of meth-amphetamine. He was under investigation by the state's attorney general and the local sheriff but since the dome happened he sees himself as exonerated and in charge.

Rennie soon starts recruiting the town's bullies as police officers and declares his own form of Marshall law. He closes down the grocery stores, ceases all sales of liquor and even starts a food riot to show how he knows best. Rennie sees Barbara as a threat to his power and soon pins 4 murders (which were committed by Rennie and his son) on now Colonel Barbara and arrests him. Rennie then begins to brainwash the public into thinking the government sent Barbara into the town to create the dome and conduct an experiment on the little town.

This book takes the reader in depth into the struggle for power and shows just how corruptible people can be. I will admit that the explanation of the dome's creation lacks a little umph but that is not really the main ideal behind the story so I'll let that one slide, although it did seem a bit of a juvenile way to end the book. No matter how it ends, the total consumption of this book is a great adventure.

"Angel Time" by Anne Rice

"Angel Time"
by Anne Rice
read by Paul Michael
produced by Random House Audio
Approx. 9 hours


Anne Rice is best known for her vampire chronicles, including the most popular "Interview with the Vampire," but any Anne Rice fan knows she's written more than just tales of vampires. She's written about witches and mummies, as well. Okay, all kidding aside, Anne Rice has written romance novels and even some stories about Jesus, so don't be surprised to hear this latest novel is about angels. Angels, hit men and Jews of the 13th century are the focus of this novel. To be a little more forthcoming about the subject matter a hit man is "hired" by an angel of God to defend the Jews of Norwich, England.

The story is told first person through the voice of Toby O'Dare, a hit man that is known as "Lucky the Fox" by his boss who Lucky calls "The Right Man." Lucky knows "The Right Man" just enough to know that he is favored and loved by him. "The Right Man" insists that Lucky knows that he is working for the "good guys." Lucky doesn't want to know who "the good guys" are. A fascinating aspect of Toby/Lucky is that he is a expert lutist.

The story is told first by Toby as he is to perform a "hit" on a Swiss Banker in the Mission Inn, in San Juan. The Mission Inn is Toby's sanctuary, where he goes to escape his hitman life. So actually performing a hit in the sanctuary rattles the soul of this soulless man. This first section of the book seems at first drawn out and, to be honest, boring at first, but once the story gets rolling this section starts to pay off and by the end of the book the listener is glad to have heard this section in full. After Toby pulls off the hit, a stranger walks into the room where the murder was committed and begins to tell Toby an almost unreal story. This person is an angel of God and was sent to recruit Toby for a redeeming mission.

Before the mission can begin the angel tells the second part of the book. In this section the listener learns all about Toby's life and what led him to become a hit man. From Toby's dark past where growing up the son of alcoholic parents, he is forced to care for and raise his younger brother and sister, while at the same time learning to play the lute and excel at all scholarly tasks. Toby's father, a crooked police officer is sent to prison and knifed within three days of being sent up. Toby's mom devolves into a drunken, mostly incoherent, person that most of the time Toby buys her liquor just to shut her up. When Toby comes home to find his brother and sister drowned in the bathtub and his mother bleeding from her wrists, he leaves everything behind, his scholarship to study music, his girlfriend, everything. He goes to New York where an Italian restaurateur is impressed with his musical abilities and hires him to entertain in the restaurant. Soon the Russian Mafia threatens to take the restaurant, the house of ill repute (also run by the Restaurant) and any other properties. Before anyone dies Toby kills off all the Russian mafia involved and soon is recruited by "The Right Man."

Once this story is told by the angel, Toby realizes he is who he says he is, and asks why God would need him. The angel only remarks that God forgives him.

The mission now can be performed. Traversing through "angel time" Toby and the angel are taken to 13th Century England. There Toby becomes what he has most desired in life, a Dominican Friar.
As the friar, Toby is to save the lives of the King's Jewry in Norwich England.

A Jewish mother's daughter has disappeared after the young girl attended the Christmas Pageants at the encouragement of her Christian friends. She then takes ill and disappears. The Christians, seeking a Saint, like Little Saint William of Norwich, accuse the Jews of poisoning the girl and demand the Jews all be killed and the girls clothing be produced so all can be healed by the touch of the garments. The actual story is that the girl died of a burst appendix and the truth would not be accepted by the Christians in search of another Saint killed by Jews.

In an amazing story set in 13th Century England, Anne Rice proves again she's more than just a vampire novelist. This intriguing and thrilling story with many twists and turns is sure to appeal to any fiction lover.

The reader of this audio book, Paul Michael does an excellent job of voice characterization, including the subtlest of accents in the characters to establish who is speaking at the moment. His low soft voice definitely kept my ear tuned-in to the story.

"Wigfield: The Can Do Town That Just May Not" By Amy Sedaris, Paul Dinello & Stephen Colbert

"Wigfield: The Can Do Town That Just May Not"
By Amy Sedaris, Paul Dinello & Stephen Colbert
Read by the Authors
Produced by Highbridge Audio
4 hours 47 minutes

An out of work highway line painter, Russell Hokes, decides that he already knows how to draw lines, why not add curves to those lines and form words and become a writer. After a shady meeting with the editors at Hyperion books Hokes decides to tell the story of disappearing small town America. He receives a large sum for an advance on the book and gets prepared to write that book.

After blowing all the money on the beaches of Mexico and annoying calls from the publisher, Russell Hokes lets panic set in and tries to find small town America and find out why it's dissappearing. That's when his car breaks down outside the small town, or squatter village, of Wigfield. Here is the small town he's been looking for. Wigfield is a small town, sorta, that consists mainly of strip clubs and used auto parts stores. It seems Wigfield is on the brink of destruction, due to the local Congressional representative wanting to destroy a dam and unleash the waters to flood out. Wigfield. Okay actually the people are really only squatters that found out the dam was going to be destroyed and settled there hoping to get relocation money from the government.

Russell Hokes wants to save this town and writes his book using the towns characters/citizens to tell their story. Wigfield has it's resident arsonist/maniac/chief of police. Three mayors (due to a mysterious fire at the fire station / polling place on election night) who all vie for control except one who really likes his fudge, a coven of 2 lesbian witches, a strange taxidermist/mortuary manager, 2 women in their late 40s who both claim to be the oldest living resident of Wigfield, numerous strippers and a "Doctor" who practices medicine out of his van (mainly performing enhancements for the strippers.)

The best part of the audiobook is that you get to hear the extreme acting and vocal talents of the authors portraying all the citizens. Stephen Colbert plays the part of Russell Hokes and several other characters. Amy Sedaris' and Paul Dinello's characterizations are just too hilarious.

This entire book including the explosive conclusion is one that will have you laughing out loud.

Doctor Who – The Evil of The Daleks

Doctor Who – The Evil of The Daleks

Written by David Whitaker

Multicast performance starring Frazer Hines

Published by BBC Audiobooks America

Running time 2 hours 51 minutes

Published 2007

One of the many things that got me on the path to loving science fiction was my exposure to “Doctor Who” every Saturday night on PBS (at least in my hometown). Doctor Who was a time and space traveler with many dimensions to his character. He also had many incarnations through the years, which provided a plausible explanation when different actors portrayed him. Although all of the doctors were unique and well-worth watching, I will have to admit my favorite was Tom Baker. He’s the one who portrayed the doctor with the long scarf and the frizzy hair.

The series was set up as somewhat of a sci-fi soap opera, or better yet, a television serial, with a cliffhanger at the end of every episode. One unique aspect of older programs is the “cheap” special effects, which, by today’s standards, are completely unbelievable. Fortunately, they really didn’t drive the story so viewers forgave them and sometimes got a good giggle. Now, if you were to take away the visual effects, every episode is brilliant storytelling. With writers such as David Whitaker the concepts in the world of the Doctor make for some dramatic science fiction. So, what happens if you take the visuals away from the series? A very interesting and fun audiobook from BBC Audio, that’s what.

This production is more than a single narrator reading a TV script adaptation – it’s an audio performance that lets you experience the broadcast using the recording of the original soundtrack (combining the voices from the TV show with the music and sound effects) along with added narration that describes scenes and provides the set-up for action sequences. The narrator, Frazer Hines, should feel right at home because a much younger Hines is the actor who portrays the Doctor’s assistant in this particular TV episode. Using the original soundtrack, the listener is treated to the voice of the second incarnation of the Doctor, portrayed by Patrick Troughton. Also experienced is the full effect of the loud dischordant voice of the Daleks, a treat in itself. So, with the story narrated and the voices of the original actors, it becomes pretty much a radio play, which makes for some fun sci-fi listening. As a side note, the original copy of this television broadcast was destroyed in the 60s but, due to fan efforts, the audio was saved, which allowed the creation of this audiobook.

The episode begins with the Doctor and Jamie trying to track down thieves who stole the TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space – it is a time machine and spacecraft used by the Doctor). After some mysterious and “too convenient” clues the Doctor and Jamie track down an antiques dealer whose antiques are authentic but new. This leads the Doctor and Jamie to be captured by the dealer and the Daleks and taken back in time to 1866. During their stay in 1866, the Doctor is forced to trick Jamie into passing some tests for the Daleks so the “human factor” can be extracted by the Dalek’s to use in their plans to conquer humankind.

With clever twists and deceptions, the performance finally leads to the Dalek home planet of Skaro, where the Doctor intends to defeat the Daleks once and for all. Can he do it? Ahh… I will not give that away, Enjoy this audiobook and you will find out. This audiobook will bring back some great memories for Doctor Who fans of all ages and could create some new ones with a great science-fiction time traveling adventure with Doctor Who.

Listen to the audio review below.



Click here to get the MP3 podcast file from sfsite.com

Or click on the graphic below for other sci-fi audiobook reviews...some by me..some not.

"Diary: A Novel" Chuck Palahniuk (pub. 2003)

I'm not sure what I really expected out of this book, but I got a really good read, that much is certain. Many people know Chuck Palahniuk as the author of "Fight Club" and "Choke" and expect some really interesting social commentary and this book provides more views of society through the cynical eyes of Chuck Palahniuk. Keep in mind though, he has also written some good horror like "Lullaby" and "Haunted." When he does write the horror it also contains some social commentary/satire, and this book contains all that with what starts out as in interesting view of society through the eyes of a failed artist to a horror novel of a woman held hostage by a community.

Before I run through the gist of the book, I would like to point out that this is book is told through the view of a woman, this is rare for a Palahniuk novel (in fact, it is the only one I've read so far) and he pulls it off well. Another aspect is that this book is not the typical non-linear storytelling Palahniuk uses, but there are some aspects of the non-linear through some flashback sequences.

The book begins as a "coma diary," in which Misty Wilmot is keeping because her mother-in-law, Grace Wilmot, insists on her keeping because Misty's husband, Peter Wilmot, is in a coma after a failed suicide attempt. As the book progresses more is learned about the community of Waytensea Island where Peter calls home and he and Misty moved back to after Peter's father's death.

Waytensea Island is a tourist based community that has fallen on some hard times. The hard times though, are part of a 4 generation cycle in which every 4th generation a famous artist creates art on the island and draws tourists and the money is back. The catch is that this artist is a reincarnation of the previous artist that brought fame and fortune to the Island. Misty learns all about this from clues left behind by her husband, Peter.

Peter and Misty met at art school when Peter found she was "attracted" to the cheap costume jewelry he would wear and that the paintings by Misty were of landmarks on Waytensea Island, which Misty had never seen. After Peter's father's death they move back to the Island to help his mother. Peter becomes a contractor and remodels peoples homes and Misty becomes a waitress at the Island's hotel/restaurant. Peter however leaves clues in the form of "missing rooms" from the summer tourists homes he's remodeled. Some of the summer homes are missing closets, kitchens, dining rooms. Peter has sealed up the rooms but before sealing up the rooms he paints graffiti on the walls warning Misty, "You will die, when they are done with you."

The people return to their homes and discover the missing rooms, one Angel Delaporte has an interest in graphology (handwriting analysis) has a missing kitchen and upon discovery of the warnings and rantings of Peter he goes with Misty to try to solve the mystery of the warning. It is later discovered that Angel is more than he lets on to be as are many of the characters in this book.

Misty is soon held captive by her mother-in-law, Grace Wilmot, and forced to paint. Misty becomes bed-ridden thanks to the drugs from the island's doctor and is fitted with a catheter and has her eyes taped shut. The paintings then flow out of Misty like automatic writing and after she has completed 100 paintings the full story of the island's dark secret kept by all the families on the island.

In a haunting story of reincarnation, betrayal and greed Chuck Palahniuk has created a very intriguing novel that is very hard to put down. Each chapter ends with something new revealed and a new puzzle to solve.