Rick Wayne (1)

Amazing short story/novella by Rick Wayne here that's both horrific and yet impossible to put down.

It contains both things that repulse me AND a few scenes that appealed to the foodie in me. And THAT takes some doing for me as a reader, yet Wayne makes it seem effortless and inevitable with his characters.

Looking forward to reading more of these fascinating (yet terrifying) characters soon!

Rare that I queue up a story/book on my Kindle and finish it in one sitting.

This story grabbed me and didn't let go from the first sentence until the last.

Then I screamed at Rick for hooking me so thoroughly that I now have to track down Episode Two ASAP.

it's what I'd call neopulp and what most bookstores would shelf among the sf/f books, but it's also a superheroic book without capes or masks (or at least that's the vibe I got from it).

Hope Rick Wayne writes fast, as this story's a show more crackling good roller-coaster of a story that you'll want to ride through the end...and then go again. show less

I'm tempted to call Rick Wayne's Fantasmagoria a spiritual cousin to Starbreaker. They both came from the same love of weird pop culture and pastiche, but where I tried to tone down the gonzo and create a serious narrative, Rick Wayne cranked the gonzo up to 11, stuck it in the driver's seat of a souped up muscle car with a stereo stuck repeating "Balls to the Wall" by Accept at max volume, and turned it loose. Believe it or not, it works. Check it out.

This book kept me turning the pages from start to finish. It starts as we meet Captain John Regent, a horribly disfigured veteran. His body is trapped in a wheelchair but his consciousness wanders, giving him the superheroic power to hitch a ride in other people’s bodies for a time. As we learn more about John and the shadowy forces that are after him, the pace of the story never lets up. But more than a simple thriller-meets-comic book plot, Wayne gives his characters a realism, depth, show more and heart that makes you care for all of them.
My only complaint: I wish I could read the whole story now rather than have to wait for it in serialized doses. show less