"The bigger picture, Matthew? That what you did to her?" - Detective Palmer

Bad Power contains five interlocking tales that can either be read as a whole or individually, readers call on that one. However if taking the holistic approach, and you will get a better payoff there, the stories should be read in sequence to get the full impact. Stories range in size from short to novella, but in each case don't out live their welcome. If you are thinking this collection is about superhuman dudes wearing their underdaks over the top of their leotards then you are going to be sadly mistaken, Bad Power is all about ordinary people with powers, and the people in their orbits. Whether or not anyone is actually doing anything to fight evil or better the situation of the human race is pretty much moot, and not really the focus here.

The collection kicks off with Shades of Grey, a story that focuses on a Mr Grey, a man who has discovered that he cannot die of injury. Pretty cool superpower to have, sort of like Wolverine but without the gnarly metal structure. Anyways Grey has driven off the top of a multi storey building under construction and has smashed down in a busy streetscape. Naturally Grey walks away from the crash, but with his cynicism enhanced and an underlying belief that he sort of should be punished for his good fortune. The immediate thing to note here is that Grey is one selfish son of a bitch, he didn't give a toss for anyone who might just be unlucky enough to be in the landing zone of his failed suicide attempt. Biancotti even in her first story isn't exactly writing sympathetic characters, her "superheroes", for want of a better word, are all pretty self-adsorbed with their own situations. The first story introduces us to Detective Palmer, who due to circumstances beyond her control is being given all the weird cases in a sort of "your past will leap up to bite you on the bum" fashion.

Palming The Lady sees Palmer, wonder if that's a pun I'm missing? - presented with the strange case of young medical student Matthew Webb being stalked by a bag lady with the power to see the future. Without going into too much detail here, Author Biancotti drives downtown into the horror district with a tale that has a nasty ending. If the whole medical autopsy thing isn't your cup of tea then avoid this story, Biancotti demonstrates she can construct a good scalpel incision with the best of them. I'll take the chance to reiterate here, you can read this story as a standalone, and it wouldn't be out of place in one of those Pan Horror anthologies, or you can groove to the linkage with the other stories. Once again the Author demonstrates that superhuman powers don't necessary translate to a guiding light for humanity.

Please note I'm trying to avoid spoilers here, Biancotti makes this a hardship as her collection is an intricate dance macabre that should suit most readers.

Okay for sure Deborah Biancotti is pulling some puns out of the bag, got to love that and if you don't then continue with your Accounting duties, story three Web of Lies centers around the funeral of Matthew Webb's father and the immediate consequences post wake. We learn that things that we had supposed are not correct, and possibly more importantly even the most nondescript person may harbour their own power, using it to manipulate the situation. While Matthew Webb is a thoroughly unlikeable character, he makes a teenage emo seem like a ray of sunshine, you ain't seen anything till you meet Mom. For sure this is a slick piece of writing as the Author turns the table on our perceptions of what has gone down, one of the twists for the ages.

Proving once and for all that she can get down into the dark genre trenches, Author Biancotti almost hits the post-apocalyptic vibe with titular tale Bad Power. There's a nasty streak to this tale featuring a narrator that has a strong power and the almost fanatical hatred it breeds in local townsfolk. The story, while having some backwoods massacre styling, mixes in a sort of The Road aesthetic with, and I'm going to stick my head out here, a strong North American Western setting. We're talking frontier meets apocalyptic chaos. I would urge anyone reading this rambling review to get themself a copy of the book for this story alone. One of the best I've read from 2011.

Rounding out the collection is Cross That Bridge, a lighter story that brings a number of the plot arcs together in an almost whimsical fashion. Ponti is a Police Officer with the power to find lost children, finally someone getting the whole "with great power comes great responsibility" thing. Naturally he'll end up partnered with Detective Palmer, in a sort of Downunder X-Files we're both partners believe. When a young girl goes missing Ponti has to follow her beyond the borders of the Country via a power the girl has to be where ever she wants to be. While the story is more your light approach, I still dug it for the squaring away of what I had been reading previously, it's a nice finish to a book in a genre not noted for its general good thoughts at end of story.

So I had a good time with this collection, though it ranges far and wide from the dark genre. Deborah Biancotti has a real nice style with her writing that will submerge the reader in the text. Strangely I'm not going to call this book a page turner, though you will find you pretty much have to keep reading as you becoming entranced by the prose. There's something about the word flow that transcends the simple plot driven reading frenzy that page turners normally equate to. If I had to make a comparison, batten down the hatches kids, then I'm going with John Irving, Biancotti has the same ability to introduce the strange into the mundane without missing the beat. While a Stephen King story patently couldn't happen, oh come on you know it, both Irving and Biancotti have the ability to make you believe. This really is superb writing that ranks Biancotti with the best the Country has to offer. So yes recommended, what you still reading this, go and buy the freaking book already!

Bad Power is available from the usual suspects. The paperback edition has a cover price of $18.00, we're actually talking literature here so that's worth the price of admission, there are also both ebook and Kindle options available for $5.95. For further details hit the Twelfth Planet website.