Buk And Jimmy Go West (2013)

Sex :
Violence :
Author Brett McBean Reviewer :
Publisher LegumeMan Books
Length 113 pages
Genre Psycho Killer
Blurb None Listed
Country

Review

"I said, I'm a cold-blooded murderer." - Buk

Buk is on a road trip to his High School re-union, but Buk really isn't the re-union type of guy, unless you count re-union with a favourite movie. Our guy is into movies in a big way, doesn't like people, but really enjoys killing them. So all in all the road trip is providing the perfect chance to head on out to movie central, Hollywood, and leave some mayhem and dead bodies in his wake. Life is looking up for Buk, considering he picks up a victim at the actual re-union and introduces her to most of the tools of his trade.

On a desert highway Buk drives right into something that shocks even him, a teenage is sprinting away from some tall cowboy looking dude who apparently has his own ideas on murdering innocents. Buk runs down the cowboy, more in shock than anything and surprisingly takes on the teenager as his apprentice. The teen, Jimmy, may not be a natural born killer but Buk is pretty sure he can toughen him up and get him over the hurdle of his first couple of kills. That's the first of Buk's mistakes as Jimmy proves to be something more than we initially think.

Hey two Brett McBean novels in a row, am I happy folks, oh hell yeah happier than Dexter working out his next victim did commit those murders. Even better Buk and Jimmy sees McBean moving back to his traditional stomping ground of serial killers and road trips. Well okay we're talking this novel being a direct descendant of The Last Motel and The Mother, but set in the U.S and featuring even more intensely drawn characters. While the previous novels perhaps showed more of a Brit approach to things, Buk and Jimmy is deep dish apple pie, and I'm going to say it rocked the house down like a particularly good rockabilly outfit.

The structure of the novel takes the Shakespearian concept of "all the world's a stage" and progresses it to the ultimate in modern storytelling, all the World's a film set and we're pretty much all just extras in Buk's movie. So if used to reading scripts then you'll be right at home with the chapter introductions and some of the framework McBean presents you with. If not, then you aren't left out in the cold either, the movie script framework is simply a device to externalise the inner workings of Buk's fragmented mind. He expounds on his theories to some length to the apparently receptive Jimmy, all the world is indeed Buk's stage, if for a moment we consider that stage is set in the slaughter house down your local meat works.

I should point out before we get much older that Buk is an out and out psychopath who McBean has leaving a trail of blood and gore in his wake. The Author is quite descriptive of the mayhem, so if squeamish then go rent Bambi instead. I should also point out any comparison's to Dexter aren't going to cut the meat, Buk doesn't have a code of conduct controlling his dark passenger, he absolutely revels in torturing and slaughtering his victims. Are we talking a sort of ultimate Anti-hero here? I leave that to the reader, but McBean is certainly not shying away from keeping things focused from Buk's, at most times, disturbing point of view.

However, like all good horror, there has to be a balance between the darkest depths of the pit and the highest point of the light, at its heart after stripping away the mayhem Buk and Jimmy Go West is a particularly fine morality play that Phillip Marlowe would have been proud of. Well okay if Marlowe had of dug serial killers and a tad of surrealism rather than overtly pious didactic religious writing. Yes I know I've probably shocked whole English Departments at various Universities, and I'm not proud of comparing McBean to Marlowe, I should be dragged out and horse whipped, McBean is clearly a far superior writer than Marlowe ever was. McBean doing morality plays, hang onto your knickers kids horror isn't ever going to be the same again Downunder!

You know how I've been banging on for like ever about how really good horror is subversive, it shines a light on the darkest secrets of society then if it's particularly good will drag those secrets screaming and howling out into the daylight so we can all poke and prod them. I might be reading a tad much into this one, but I get the feeling McBean is making a statement about the current Legal defence tactic of trying to use an abused childhood to justify the action of an adult.

I recently spent a day in court as a possible witness in a case, never got called up with was something of a disappointment, but got to see this sort of thing in case after case. Various miscreants were dragged up to the dock and in each case regardless of the violence involved or the long term damage done to the victims the defence Lawyer would immediately talk about a deprive childhood, drug dependence, or any other thing that came to mind that exonerated their client, at no stage did they mention anything as mundane as their client taking responsibility for their actions. Between you and me, I don't know how criminal Lawyers sleep at night, isn't there a duty to the court or something?

Anyways and sorry for the digression into personal stuff, McBean very distinctly eyes up the lifeboats of the deprived childhood defence and proceeds to strafe them leaving no survivors. Mr Bean we salute you Sir, and thanks for putting some of the biting edge back into horror. It's this reflection of society that raises Buk and Jimmy to the art all horror should, but very seldom does, aspire to.

Sorry out of room here, but just wanted to round out by mentioning Brett McBean once again deliveries value for money, Buk and Jimmy is a very solid piece of writing that doesn't waste a word, has a lot of nuance if you want to delve below the surface, and more importantly tells a story in a fairly unique and easy to read fashion. Hey you even get a comic in the middle of the book, wasn't expecting that, but gosh did I ever have a hoot with it.

Once again I had a really good time with a Brett McBean book and was left slightly depressed that there is no more McBean to read in the near future. What's the matter Big Guy, the word processor gone to the repair shop? I was expecting some psycho blood bath tale but got a whole lot more than I expected, including one mental imagine of a carpet of honking big spiders and scorpions that I could have done without! Brett McBean continues to fill the nightmares of readers with dark delights, full recommendation once again, a unique approach to a fully engrossing novel of destruction. Brett McBean has provided the script for a very dark movie indeed; just pray you are never an extra in that movie!

Buk And Jimmy Go West has been published by the team at LegumeMan Books, the villagers clearly haven't burnt down their castle yet. Sorry sans internet at the moment but know you can either hit up LegumeMan for a print copy or score an electronic copy off www.smashwords.com. Just do a Google for any sites y'all need.

Beyond Scary Rates this read as ...

  A very solid read that has a twist in the knife thrust.