A new review for Accidents Happen. Read the full text of the review here.

Review

Finishing Andrew Marx’s debut fiction novel, “Accidents Happen”, feels a lot like waking up after a really entertaining nightmare. The time line is a little sketchy, and you’re pretty sure there are demons involved although you can’t recall any in particular. The plot is both simple and excruciatingly complicated at the same time, and you’re hoping against hope that you’ll dream it again so that you can take notes the second time around. It’s a lot of fun, and a departure from the normal bevy of science fiction in the vein of “The Dresden Files” or the Anita Blake series. It carries the same other worldly overtones, but with a Quentin Tarantino vibe that tosses both the plot, genre, and a score of literary and pop culture references into a big bowl of story-salad.

The main story (and I mean “main” in the literal sense that the book is comprised of three separate stories, the titular story being the main one) is about Matt. The first thing you learn about Matt is that he’s dead. And apparently Hell is a job interview. Sounds about right. So Matt gets a job working for the Diabolus Corporation (Hell is also a major corporation. Again, sounds about right.) Matt’s job is to observe things, he’s the eyes and ears on the ground so to speak. This leaves him a lot of down time to go gambling in Las Vegas and contemplate his new situation. Of course, the situation gets stranger as the story goes on, throwing in two insane superheroes named Shiv and Spyderco, and dropping a 747 passenger plane onto the Las Vegas strip. This all leads to a much grander scheme, but nothing feels conclusive.

Read the full text of the review here.