Publishers Weekly
Skillful investigator Mike McGill has just been hired by the heroin-injecting chief of staffto reclaim a secret constitution, and his adventures lead him into a level of hell even Dante couldn't imagine. Eloquent and charming serial killers, genital-modifying policemen and reptilian porn fans challenge McGill's sanity as he seeks to retrieve the precious document. Ellis both mocks and pays tribute to the detective genre with this deliciously perverse tale of American fetishism. McLaren embodies McGill with all the investigator'swit and cynicism. His reading makes McGill's resigned disposition toward these events even more prescient through timing, tone and emphasis. Listeners can hear in McLaren's voice resistance clash against acquiescence as McGill contends with the more surreal aspects of life. Even the more exotic characters of the novel aren't turned into vocal caricatures but provided a quality and realistic voice that adds a deeper level of insanity to the individuals and the novel. Simultaneous release with the Morrow hardcover (Reviews, June 4). (Nov.)
Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information
Library Journal
Ellis is known to readers of comics as the writer behind, among other works, the DC Comics "Transmetropolitan" series. Now he debuts his first novel. Private Detective Michael McGill's gritty life takes a turn for the bizarre when a drug-addicted White House chief of staff enlists him to recover the Constitution. The real Constitution, of course, not the one in the National Archives. This one was handed to the Founding Fathers by aliens, lost in the 1950s, and since traded among the nation's sexual deviants. McGill hits the road with sexpot Trix to track down its current holder. It's a high-energy joyride through a collection of lecherous situations best left undescribed here and likely to appeal primarily to adolescent males. While Ellis incorporates an element of Hunter S. Thompson-inspired gonzo journalism, that style works only as a reflection of the real(ish) world. When taken to the fictional extremes of an extraterrestrial legal document in the hands of a sexual underworld, it begins to feel a little contrived. Add to that the predictable and juvenile relationship between McGill and Trix, and it's apparent that Ellis suffers from some growing pains as he moves from comics to novels. For larger public libraries and collections where Ellis's comics are popular. [See Prepub Alert, LJ5/15/07.]
Fred Baerkircher
From the Publisher
A heart-shredding work of scatological brilliance that gleefully annihilates private-eye tropes and pole-vaults over taste lines.” — Los Angeles Times Book Review
“[A] brilliantly nasty and weird detective novel.” — Entertainment Weekly, EW 100 Pick
“[C]ompletely compulsive, impossible to put down.” — Globe and Mail (Toronto)
“CROOKED LITTLE VEIN...is a book readers will not soon forget.” — Chicago Tribune
“Not for the faint of heart...surprisingly funny (with shades of Lamb author Christopher Moore).” — Entertainment Weekly
“[M]ay be destined to become one of the great underground classics of the 21st century.” — Lansing State Journal
“A relentlessly fascinating page-turner...brilliantly and effervescently subversive.” — The Gazette (Montreal)
“Ellis is a formidable talent whose wit and insight fit perfectly into the crime genre.” — Los Angeles Times
“[A] much-needed kick in the butt for a genre that may be more stagnant than its enthusiasts realize.” — Philadelphia Inquirer
“Packed with exciting, hilarious, and disturbing events...outrageously entertaining.” — Winnipeg Free Press
“So funny you may just laugh out loud.” — Toronto Star
“If you’re looking for an antidote to the stifling formulae of genre fiction, this could be your book.” — New York magazine
“Get ready for a wonderful kick in the teeth that’ll make you lick your bloody lip with masochistic joy. ” — Brad Meltzer, New York Times bestselling author of THE BOOK OF FATE and writer of The Justice League series
“Stop it. You’re frightening me.” — William Gibson, author of Spook Country
“[L]augh-out-loud funny...a deeply inventive look at the undercurrents beneath the mainstream popular culture.” — Charlotte Observer
“Funny, inventive and blithely appalling, this book is Dante on paint fumes.” — Joss Whedon, creator, writer and director of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series
“[S]omewhere between the noir of Frank Miller and dark comedy of Chuck Palahniuk.” — Forbes.com
“A high-energy joyride.” — Library Journal
“CROOKED LITTLE VEIN is a gem of a book angry, hilarious, and just plain weird...compulsively so.” — Kevin J. Anderson, New York Times bestselling co-author of HUNTERS OF DUNE
“Warren Ellis writes like a bi-polar Raymond Chandler.” — Kinky Friedman, author of Ten Little Indians
“There’s at least one surprise, laugh, and genius turn of phrase per page here. ” — Myspace Books
“Think Kurt Vonnegut having tea with William Burroughs and a bipolar Raymond Chandler...Ellis takes your breath away.” — Madison County Herald (Mississippi)
“[A] snappily paced homage to William Burroughs’ Naked Lunch.” — Publishers Weekly
“[A] fast-paced and funny read...unforgettable.” — Boise Weekly
“CROOKED LITTLE VEIN is a wild, rambling, funny look at the dark alleys of the American sexual landscape.” — Neal Bohl for Crimespree
“Rich, dark humor and biting look at the world.” — PopMatters.com
The Gazette (Montreal)
A relentlessly fascinating page-turner...brilliantly and effervescently subversive.
Globe and Mail (Toronto)
[C]ompletely compulsive, impossible to put down.
Entertainment Weekly
[A] brilliantly nasty and weird detective novel.
Philadelphia Inquirer
[A] much-needed kick in the butt for a genre that may be more stagnant than its enthusiasts realize.
Chicago Tribune
CROOKED LITTLE VEIN...is a book readers will not soon forget.
|Los Angeles Times
Ellis is a formidable talent whose wit and insight fit perfectly into the crime genre.
Lansing State Journal
[M]ay be destined to become one of the great underground classics of the 21st century.
Winnipeg Free Press
Packed with exciting, hilarious, and disturbing events...outrageously entertaining.
Los Angeles Times Book Review
A heart-shredding work of scatological brilliance that gleefully annihilates private-eye tropes and pole-vaults over taste lines.
Los Angeles Times
Ellis is a formidable talent whose wit and insight fit perfectly into the crime genre.
Chicago Tribune
CROOKED LITTLE VEIN...is a book readers will not soon forget.
William Gibson
Stop it. You’re frightening me.
Myspace Books
There’s at least one surprise, laugh, and genius turn of phrase per page here.
Boise Weekly
[A] fast-paced and funny read...unforgettable.
New York magazine
If you’re looking for an antidote to the stifling formulae of genre fiction, this could be your book.
PopMatters.com
Rich, dark humor and biting look at the world.
Joss Whedon
Funny, inventive and blithely appalling, this book is Dante on paint fumes.
Kevin J. Anderson
CROOKED LITTLE VEIN is a gem of a book angry, hilarious, and just plain weird...compulsively so.
Forbes.com
[S]omewhere between the noir of Frank Miller and dark comedy of Chuck Palahniuk.
Charlotte Observer
[L]augh-out-loud funny...a deeply inventive look at the undercurrents beneath the mainstream popular culture.
Madison County Herald (Mississippi)
Think Kurt Vonnegut having tea with William Burroughs and a bipolar Raymond Chandler...Ellis takes your breath away.
Brad Meltzer
Get ready for a wonderful kick in the teeth that’ll make you lick your bloody lip with masochistic joy.
Kinky Friedman
Warren Ellis writes like a bi-polar Raymond Chandler.
Toronto Star
So funny you may just laugh out loud.
Neal Bohl for Crimespree
CROOKED LITTLE VEIN is a wild, rambling, funny look at the dark alleys of the American sexual landscape.
Charlotte Observer
[L]augh-out-loud funny...a deeply inventive look at the undercurrents beneath the mainstream popular culture.
Los Angeles Times Book Review
A heart-shredding work of scatological brilliance that gleefully annihilates private-eye tropes and pole-vaults over taste lines.