Hell's Half Acre

Rating:
Summary: Good review from a not-so-good reviewer
Review: As stated above, I'm generally not good at giving reviews. I try, but somehow I can never seem to do a story the justice it deserves.
This is one such example of my incompetence; but don't let that dissuade you from reading this book. It is worth every second of your life you choose to expend to reading it.

First of all, the storyline is strong and there aren't many distractions at all. Baer's first two contained scenes that may have been confusing, but this one is tight and straightforward without losing any of its poetic appeal. If you've read the other two, Kiss Me Judas and Penny Dreadful, you are well aware of Baer's fantastic prose. This book is not lacking.

It isn't as dark as the other two, but there are still many taboo subjects within these pages to keep someone who craves those things entertained. Snuff films. Sex. Amputation fetishes. A rape scene. And none of this, as per Will Christopher Baer's style, is gratuitous. Not like Bret Easton Ellis. I'd say this story is as good as it gets if you're looking for great story, elegant writing, dark content without being too graphic, pacing, and perfect climax/ending. This isn't one of those endings that leave you wondering what you missed. It will leave you wanting more.

Rating:
Summary: great end to the trilogy
Review: Being the third book of the Phineas Poe trilogy I was worried that Baer wouldn't be able to end such a great ongoing saga in a manner that pleased. Luckily I was wrong. This book is a perfect ending for the trilogy, which started with Kiss Me, Judas and moved on to Penny Dreadful. I would ahve to say this is my favorite of his three and definitely the msot exciting.

I read this book at work, a gas station job, and I read it in about 4 sittings. I remember in the first 25 pages I went "jesus christ this book is amazing" Then around page 50 I went "my god this book is so ####ed up" and those two seemed to repeat throughout the entire book.

All in all I loved this book and I would strongly reccomend it to anyone who enjoys writes like palahniuk, clevenger, bret easton ellis, stephen king, and neil gaiman.

Rating:
Summary: Burn Burn Burn
Review: Hell's Half Acre

Personally, when I started my read of the third, I felt that I had a better idea of how to more fully enjoy that particular writing, and that particular story. Reading it while low on sleep and thirsty for drink, I felt more of the edge of the writing. When I read Judas, I don't remember how I read it. When I read Penny, well, same thing. But when I started reading Hell's Half, I had decided it would be better if read later in the day, when my body was in rest-mode. An exhausted mind and body.

When I was too tired, I passed out-as opposed to going to bed. I woke on the couch, little dim-yellow arc on the floor under me. Later on, after night-early morning but before sleep-I picked it up and flew through the rest. All in all, eight hours or so and an entire pack of Newports. Mostly reading under a dim back-porch light.

With Chuck's books, I enjoy them fast or slow. No matter what, Palahniuk's humor is still there. So are his sense descriptions. I generally don't want to put them down for a while, but it's okay if I do. With Baer's novels, I read like I'm mad and burn, burn, burn. And if I put them down, consequences will be swift and powerful and I have to stay in the mad.

The writing is too fantastic to pass up. A knife's edge and brilliant. On each page is blood. Platelets. Bone marrow and bits of skull, and the tight flesh that holds you into place. This must be Baer's honesty. And a beautiful addition to fiction.


Kabol




Rating:
Summary: Best book I've read in years.
Review: I don't know how I should review this book. All I can say about it is, It's the best book I've ever read. Maybe I shoulden't say the best book, but It's pretty damn close.

Why it might have been so good, is because it brought back my long lost friend Phineas Poe. He more lovable in this book then the other two, and you just cant get enough of him.

Will Christopher Baer writes in a style that just wont let you put down the book. It's descriptive but never takes away from the plot or the flow of the story, wich results in making you read the book in one sitting.

Don't make the mistake of not buying this book.

Rating:
Summary: Baer is the new noir voice of the 21st century
Review: Where to begin... This is the third in a trilogy featuring Phineas Poe, an ex-cop who may or may not have murdered his wife, who may or may not love a feminine poison named Jude (one of the deadliest and sexiest characters ever written), and who may or may not be just a tad insane. Either way, Baer proves a master at writing compulsive and obsessive reading. If you have not read the first two in the series (Kiss Me, Judas and Penny Dreadful), don't let it stop you from picking up this addicting piece of literature. Be warned, however: Once you start reading about Phineas, you will not want to stop. For more insight into the strange universe of Will Christopher Baer, check out the his site at willchristopherbaer dot com.

Also highly recommended: The Contortionist's Handbook by Craig Clevenger.

Rating:
Summary: Phineas Poe returns
Review: Will Christopher Baer has created his best work yet with Hell's Half Acre. The hallucinatory quality which other reviewers of the book have talked about is indeed a strange and compelling theme that permeates Baer's work. The reader, like main character Phineas Poe, may find themselves wondering what is real and what is just another twisted part of a dream. Baer's quick pace writing makes the book a very fast read, and the twists and turns help to keep things flowing down the increasingly curvy road that Baer has created. The book is so well written that the previous two novels concerning Phineas Poe: Kiss Me, Judas and Penny Dreadful, are not required reading for enjoying Hell's Half Acre. However, I would recommend picking up all three books. I look forward to what Baer has in store for us in the future.

Rating:
Summary: Sex, lies and videotape
Review: Writing with the gritty realism of Andrew Vachss, Baer has aptly titled Hell's Half Acre, a descent into darkness that requires a strong constitution, but is worth the effort. In this world, killers appear unannounced and strange men mutilate their bodies for kicks, cash can buy anything, no matter how obscene and death is always a heartbeat away. It takes a fertile imagination to construct the layers of this elaborate, unpredictable nightmare.

Phineas Poe is on a strange trip, part psychological, part real. His first order of business is to track his girlfriend, the very tough Jude, trained by Special Forces and his former partner in crime-cum-romance. Jude and Poe's drug odyssey alone could cure a junkie. A violent act sundered their earlier cohabitation; since then, Poe's only mission is to find Jude. An ex-cop, Phineas Poe is an ambiguous character, following his more bizarre instincts, fueled by drugs but secretly nurturing a hopeful heart. Within the first couple of pages, Poe makes a fateful choice, when he notices the "thin shallow mouth of the alley my possible monster had come running from" and "I walked into that dark mouth". From that point on, the action only accelerates.

Meanwhile, the pathological John Ransom Miller is planning his snuff film, starring Jude, Phineas and assorted others. Jude has revenge on her mind and Phineas wants to be there for her, drug-hazed but willing. To that end they step into some very dark places, assuming an escape route that never quite materializes. Miller has a propensity for life and death games, ratcheting up the danger with the addition of more mayhem to expand the film's appeal, setting the actors up like pawns in a rigged chess game. To say that most of these characters are cynical would be an understatement; however, in a city's netherworld, survival dictates a certain perspective. But Poe doesn't want to play anymore, pushed to the edge of his fragmented integrity.

Reading this novel is like watching a triple X-rated movie, where all the X's are for violent acts. Pop culture seeps through the pages, images jumping out at random moments: Travis Bickle, the white rabbit. The novel is successful because it is never exploitative. Baer's dark journey of the soul, while tinged with excessive violence, is driven by an impressive imagination, as Poe masters the art of walking on the wild side, skirting the edge without tumbling into the abyss or accidentally slitting his own throat. Luan Gaines/2004.