Everything is Broken

December 5, 2011
In this slim, grim, and powerful novel, Shirley lets his imagination loose on the frightening possibilities of a massive natural disaster striking a small American town. A tidal wave transforms Freedom, Calif., from seaside idyll into a broken and perilously unstable landscape. Survivors include some natural helpers like Drew Haver and his son, Russ, as well as psychopaths Dickie Rockwell, a gang leader and drug dealer, and Lon Ferrara, the town’s ultralibertarian mayor, who privatized emergency services and now refuses help from FEMA. Treating women like commodities and wielding a plethora of weapons, these men fight for survival and ownership of the ruins. Shirley’s vision is vivid and horrifying, and it’s a testament to his talent that he makes this very unlikely instant-collapse-of-civilization scenario seem almost plausible. Agent: Guran Literary Services.

February 15, 2012

Russ visits his father in Freedom, an independent-minded Northern California town with a mayor who doesn't believe in big government. When a tsunami reduces much of the town to rubble, Mayor Ferrara, backed by a gang of ruthless young men, decides to forego government help and institute a reign of terror. Russ, his father, and a few others decide to make a stand against the self-appointed administration--but a peaceful revolution is not in the cards. VERDICT Using the tsunami to unleash cosmic upheaval, Shirley (Bleak History; Black Glass; The Other End) creates a tale of natural violence and human cruelty that should appeal to fans of violent horror.

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