Beats you into laughter and emotional response.

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	• Crooked Little Vein: A Novel Warren Ellis William Morrow, 2007 - 288 pages average customer review:based on 51 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Beats you into laughter and emotional response.

As a long-time Ellis fan, I was sure this book would contain the following:
- Swear Words
- Bizarre Concepts
- Sex
- Drugs
- Originality
Good grief, it not only delivers all of the above, but it does so in amounts I was wholly unprepared for.
I could wax rhapsodic over this book for paragraphs, but instead I'd like to focus on the most important aspect: the characters.
One of the main reasons the plot cooks your brain like an egg is that Ellis has created very, very believable characters. They'll remind you of someone you know. Their situations are ones you probably have been in, albeit with some added piss, crackheads and guns. It's truly easy to slide into McGill's head and feel his trepidation, disappointment, excitement and anger at the horrible situation he's been forced to swallow.
And the ending has to be read to be believed.
If you're a fan of Hunter S. Thompson, Ellis's graphic serieseses...es, or noir detective fiction, you CANNOT go wrong buying this book.

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Gibson is right

The best blurb on the rear cover is by the great William Gibson: "Stop it, you're scaring me." Which shouldn't surprise anyone who is familiar with Ellis's work - because this is pure Ellis from the very first page, in his decidedly twisted, viciously funny commentary on our world and ourselves disguised as detective fiction. Some may accuse Ellis of being a little blunt here, but they'd be missing the point.

Those who follow Internet Jesus's postings will find several familiar references in the novel, as it collects a hefty set of examples of our sick nature that have been frequently mentioned in his blogs, so reading the novel will be an adventure in the familiar but terrifying amusement park that is Warren Ellis. On the other hand, if you're new to Ellis, you're in for a ride. And if you end up liking it, do check out his graphic novel work, particularly Transmetropolitan and Fell.

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Ellis does it again

Crooked Little Vein is Warren Ellis' first published foray into the world of the novel, and he brings with him a vision of America that few would acknowledge, and fewer would enjoy. Fans of the series Transmetropolitan will find a familiar feel to the narrative, and may recognize the United States presented in Crooked Little Vein as a precursor to the world of Spider Jerusalem's City.

Ellis' first novel is a quick and easy read, packed tight with vivid and humorously disturbing imagery, and provides a casual first person narrative from the perspective of a relatively straight-laced private dick who finds himself chin-deep in tainted underbelly of American perversion. The novel was filed under "Mystery" at the local bookhopper's, but this is not a typical Whodunit by any measure. The wry wit and poor luck of the traditional private dick is compounded and expanded upon by Ellis' own perverse glee in delving into the extremes of humor and human behavior, and the end result is a stunning little work of fiction that is both compelling and laugh-out-loud funny.

I highly recommend this book to those who refuse to take life too seriously, those who have a dark sense of humor, and I also recommend that it be purchased as a Christmas gift for any straight-lacer you may not care for. Parents, if you're considering purchasing this for your teen children, be sure to read it yourself first. Finally, if you've read this and greatly enjoy it, pick up the Transmetropolitan series (Transmetropolitan Vol. 1: Back on the Street, Transmetropolitan Vol. 2: Lust for Life, Transmetropolitan Vol. 3: Year of the Bastard, etc.) to continue the story a few hundred years in the future, and to enjoy what I believe to be some of Ellis' best work to date.

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Loved it...

...though it is embarrassingly short. By god, I've had bowel movements that lasted longer than it took me to read this book. And I'm a ponderous reader with a mightily efficacious GI tract.

A moment for a major qualm: Ellis seems a little too eager to, you know, really "push the envelope" of taste & co., and this novel--strike that, this novella--is rife with "lurid" and "in-your-face" descriptions of "unnatural" or "perverse" acts. The majority of this material is too obviously endweighted for shock effect. And I don't think that the modern reader really can be shocked, inasmuch as s/he wants to be. Instead, there's this niggling sensation that one is supposed to be shocked, that the author wants this reaction, and thus the reader is kind of slapped in the face with the artifice of the story.

Then again, cultural approbation and acclimation are underlying themes of this novella, as is the supervening relationship between culture and technology. More here than in any of Ellis' other works, you get the sense of an emerging thesis--that we are all of us only catching on to the possibilities of an ever-emerging world for which we are never fully prepared, etc.

There are approximately two people and one human relationship in the novel; everything else is a glorious cartoon, and to be taken as such. The two main characters--Mike the protag and his galpal Trix--are real enough for as short a story as this is. And because the book's so short, their relationship seems a little too fast. Ellis gets us from zero to love in about 240 pages; that's slower than Harlequin, but almost double the speed of mainstream chick lit. But we're not reading it for the romance, are we?

No, we're reading it because it's funny. This book is hilarious, and it assaults you, buffets you, stones and maims you with its wit and easy humor. Ellis' metaphors and Mike's misfortunes will have you laughing so hard that anyone within earshot will begin edging uneasily away. And the banter--granted, it feels so damned *written*, but you'll forgive it anyhow--the banter will tickle your soft parts hard.

If you're a fan of Ellis, you should already own this book. But so should anyone else looking for something wildly comic. And anyway, even if you don't like it, you won't have wasted more than a few hours of your disposable luxury time.

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Unflinching, extremely funny book

Ok I nearly put this book down after reading the first page about a rat pissing in our hero's (anti-hero's?) coffee-I have a thing about rats- but I'm glad I didn't. I became so engrossed in the book I read it in one sitting. While a quick, funny read, this book also touches on some important issues about our country and culture. What is "underground" in a society where anyone has access to the internet can find information about anything no matter how disturbing to some? Shouldn't tolerance and diversity not conformity be considered our strength? If you have a weak stomach or closed mind stay away, otherwise I think you'll find this a thouroughly enjoyable and thought provoking book.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, page 8, 9, 10, 11

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