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A review by wyrmdog
Imperial Valley by Johnny Shaw
3.0
I love Johnny Shaw's Veeder books. I really do. And I liked this one a lot. Veeder fiascos are something I discovered almost on accident and I've begun to really look forward to them.
Jimmy and his found-family are crude and crass and loyal to a fault and they're great. They're all the best bits of the myths of the rural American turned up to 11 with the bad bits reduced to funny quirks. In that sense, it's fantasy, but it's fantasy that makes you feel good. It's fantasy for those that like a rollicking good adventure yarn that doesn't involve wizards or robots or superheroes.
The violence is couched in near-apocalyptic and yet personal terms but the sense of true danger to our heroes is virtually non-existent. At this point - if you've read this far in the series - you know that nothing will intrude to break the dynamic. Jimmy and co. will prevail in dramatic fashion with minimal hurt.
But they are hurt, make no mistake. Not everyone in Jimmy's orbit survives to the last page. Yet Jimmy and co. feel more like they did in Dove Season than Plaster City. Yes, they've grown and changed, but the story itself feels a tiny bit regressive, taking shelter in its roots and retreating from the edge it picked up in Plaster City.
To borrow an element from the book itself: Imperial Valley kept its panties on.
Jimmy and his found-family are crude and crass and loyal to a fault and they're great. They're all the best bits of the myths of the rural American turned up to 11 with the bad bits reduced to funny quirks. In that sense, it's fantasy, but it's fantasy that makes you feel good. It's fantasy for those that like a rollicking good adventure yarn that doesn't involve wizards or robots or superheroes.
The violence is couched in near-apocalyptic and yet personal terms but the sense of true danger to our heroes is virtually non-existent. At this point - if you've read this far in the series - you know that nothing will intrude to break the dynamic. Jimmy and co. will prevail in dramatic fashion with minimal hurt.
But they are hurt, make no mistake. Not everyone in Jimmy's orbit survives to the last page. Yet Jimmy and co. feel more like they did in Dove Season than Plaster City. Yes, they've grown and changed, but the story itself feels a tiny bit regressive, taking shelter in its roots and retreating from the edge it picked up in Plaster City.
To borrow an element from the book itself: Imperial Valley kept its panties on.