Jakob Cayne, Blood on the Ground. Autoautopsy Press, 2009. Pp. 488. CAN$28.99.
"This is gritty and disturbing crime novel with obvious hints of Calder, a bouquet of Welsh and some Palahniuk in the swallow. The hapless protagonist, unhappy in a life of crime, flees from the clutches of the gangster cartel to which he is indentured, only to find that beneath the streets of the unnamed Canadian city is a bizarre underground world of urban fantasy monsters darker than he had imagined, and possibly more dangerous than the one he has left behind. Both the crime and the dark fantasy pats of this novel are well-written and entertaining, with faced-paced fight and chase scenes, an engaging protagonist, terrifying but believable villains, and an inevitable but thrilling dénouement in the tunnels beneath a sewage treatment works. The mechanics of the underworld perhaps stretch credibility in places, and to be honest the story is a bit too long, but there is no denying this is an excellent read.
"But.
"Billed as a début novel by 'acclaimed critic, poet and anthologist' Cayne, this work must be read within the context of the author's oeuvre. Cayne's poetry (as any web-search through the review sites will confirm) is derivative and turgid, borrowing a romantic style and Eighteenth Century diction and yet labelling itself avant garde because of the controversial and political subject matters he likes to address. With this in mind, the ostensibly readable crime novel, mixing genres and literary influences to disguise the lack of deep content, is guilty of the same sins. However entertaining this single volume might be, this is no Stieg Larsson in the making, but rather a derivative and degenerate writer with little to recommend him."
(reproduced by permission of the author)
