Fuckin’ Lie Down Already
Tom Piccirilli
Crossroad Press & Macabre Ink
2010
Reviewed by Tim Potter
Tom Piccirilli’s stunning novella Fuckin’ Lie Down Already is a book that will leave readers thinking that it’s possible to hold one’s breath for the better part of 100 pages. The story is firmly rooted in revenge justice and includes strong elements of noir and horror. The prose is beautiful and vulgar, the dialogue is rapid-fire and rings authentic and the action is full of down-and-dirty violence and viscera.
The characters are relatable, and, without a doubt, brutal in thought and action. Clay, the protagonist of the tale is obsessed with revenge and extracting violent retribution from the men responsible for his family’s death and his being gut-shot. There is no doubt from the outset that Clay has received a mortal wound. It is clear he is going to die and it’s one of the strengths of the book that the reader knows where things will ultimately end but is still kept on the edge of their seat. The unknown element is whether or not Clay will get the revenge he seeks before his painful, festering wound kills him. It’s a situation that leaves the reader cheering for revenge and wanting those responsible for Clay’s upcoming death to suffer like he has.
It’s fair to say that all of the characters are living in a world of greed, hate and violence. In the case of Clay this holds true but is easily forgiven. Clay’s wife and son were no doubt good people with different motivations, but they start the book dead in Clay’s car and don’t have the chance to display their personalities. At various times the bodies of his family share the car ride with an annoying neighbor’s dead dog, roadkill, a dying junkie and other nightmarish characters.
Clay fights his way through the pain and deteriorating mental stability in an attempt to find and kill those who have killed him. Or will have killed him in short order. Clay’s condition is best described in an exchange between his actual killer and the man who ordered his killing.
“I thought you told me this cop was dead.”
“Look at him, he is.”
“Not enough!”
There is plenty of horror in the book in addition to the idea of a dying man in a car full of the dead on a road to revenge. Clay buys deodorizers and air fresheners to keep the smell of death in his car at bay. It’s behavior much like that of a junkie who keeps scoring a fix, each bigger than the last and none really working as well as it has in the past.
Fuckin’ Lie Down Already is a novella that the reader will not want to end, but, because of the major plot device it has too, and before it gets very long. The concept of starting the book with a man who is undeniably dying is bold and dynamic and the author makes it work perfectly. The wild ride that is the novella keeps going until the ending that is satisfying, naturally evolved and inevitable.
- Midian Unmade – Book Review - September 30, 2015
- Wolf Land – Book Review - September 16, 2015
- Convalescence – Book Review - September 7, 2015
- Rage Master – Book Review - September 3, 2015
- The Art of Horrible People – Book Review - August 28, 2015
- Greasepaint – Book Review - August 26, 2015
- Bonesy – Book Review - August 17, 2015
- Dark Screams: Volume Four – Book Review - August 13, 2015
- Trust No One – Book Review - August 10, 2015
- The Monstruous – Book Review - August 3, 2015
