Anonymous Rex(Eric Garcia, 2000)
4 Stars
Some people go for Agatha Christie, others Ian McEwen, whilst some go for the traditional delights of Mr. Conan Doyle. For me though, a good detective yarn has got to be a little bit out of the ordinary. Actually, scrap that, it’s got to be as gosh-darned out there as it can get.
In the mood for some Jasper Fforde, and yet not fancying a re-read (or indeed his new book, simply because he somehow stole the name I had penned for my first album), I did a little research into Amazon’s “people who bought this bought…” and stumbled across the afore-to unheard of Mr. Eric Garcia, the young American author of the dinosaur detective drama Anonymous Rex.
Set in the modern world, where dinosaurs are still living secretly among us, taking on human guises and going about their business just like everyone else, the story follows the exploits of down and out veloceraptor PI Vincent Rubio as he struggles to pick up the pieces after the mysterious death of his carnotaur partner Ernie Watson.
When a night club owner (who just happens to be a veloceraptor) is killed under suspicious circumstances, Rubio finds himself embroiled in an underground world of murder, betrayal, herb-abuse and, as the author himself puts it, “the best interspecies sex ever”.
Anonymous Rex is not only a wonderful piece of fantasy writing, but it is also a truly gripping detective novel, keeping the reader on their toes at all times, piecing together a truly ingenious plot with twists and turns that few can rival. In Rubio, despite his reptilian heart, Garcia has created a perfectly human soul, for whom we empathise and connect with. Kudos to you, sir.
The moral of the story? Everybody’s hiding something; just hope it isn’t a tail.
No comments:
Post a Comment