Critical Mick

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Reviews by the Clown that All Other Critics Want to Strangle with a Black Turtleneck

Possession, Obsession and a Diesel Compression Engine
by Gerard Brennan
Baysgarth Publications, 2007

A Joyrider Tour through the Funhouses of Northern Ireland

Gerard-Brennan's first publication, Possession, Obsession and a Diesel Compression Engine, squashes the mad side of Belfast down into a pamphlet small enough to be hidden between the pages of almost any other book. Any snooty black turtlenecks will deduce you are engaged in superior contemplation of recondite criticism, when in fact your clever boots are kicked up on a joyrider tour through the funhouses of Northern Ireland. Possession, Obsession and a Diesel Compression Engine (henceforth abbreviated by its initials, PODCE) totals 43 pages. That's shorter than Mark Leslie's collection, One Hand Screaming. It's even slimmer than the issue of Spacesuits and Sixguns Magazine reviewed last May. Divided into six short stories, the collection is a fast read. "He lay in his bath of blood and sang O Fortuna at the top of his voice." A quirky opening line for the first tale in the collection, "Blood Bath." It is a sort of reflection on accountants. (Brennan is an accountant by day because it is the job least likely to cause a stir at dinner parties.) The overlap into second tale, "Steele Guitar" is legitimately funny. "Steele Guitar" concerns a young minister's daughter named Jessica Steele who is offered a Jackson Flying V guitar with a Floyd Rose tremolo system in trade at a road junction. (It's the closest thing to a crossroads available in Belfast.) I am not a fan over devil stories in general, but "Steele Guitar" does not take itself seriously. It's a bit of rock n' roll.

Author Gerard Brennan is the webmaster of Crime Scene NI, a blog devoted to highlighting modern crime novels and novelists set in Ulster. Interviews, reviews, lively discussions, and the occasional family picture!

The four remaining tales continue to interweave, with recurring characters and events. Zombies, imps, agents of the devil, cars made in that same forge as Stephen King's Christine: all are approached with the same energy and humor. If Robert Rankin was from Northern Ireland and had been reading a lot of R. Scott Taylor and Paulo Coelho, PODCE is the book he would write.

The best selection, "An Irish Possession," is a short first person account told in Norn Iron accent and attitude. It's got style. Of the six, this one shows the most promise. It is likely to stick. The others are fun writing, but are likely stepping stones in Brennan's journey toward greater work. Devil stories! To me, anyway, they all blend together after a while.

But Brennan's sure are more fun than some big dense book of pretentious literary hooey.

Critical Mick says: You don't need to sell your soul for a copy of PODCE, just pay a visit to the author's site and invest a few squid in young talent. I look forward to his future work.

Must be a devil between us

Read Critical Mick's April 2008 interview with Gerard Brennan

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This Page Was Last Updated On 30 March, 2008.