Vampire Pulp Noir gets it's due in the "
Joe Pitt Casebook" series by
Charlie Huston. Comprised of five titles, the books tell the tale of Joe Pitt, a rogue Vampyre "living" in modern day Manhattan.
The tale behind the teeth: There's a virus that causes"Vampyrism". This virus necessitates victims to require at least a pint of blood a week, stay out of sunlight, etc. However, it's a very small demographic (about 4000 in Manhattan). Most victims die immediately (due to psychological or physical inabilities to deal with the virus). Vampyres are generally found in small regional "clans" and rarely are humans hunted. Generally, Vampyres will "tap" junkies or the homeless for a pint or two and leave them alive. It's an underground society, and there is a fear that should the non-infected discover them, genocide of all Vampyres would occur. Theirs very little supernatural cause to any of this, Huston does a good job of depicting the cause of Vampyrism as a disease with one of the characters providing exposition since she is a scientist., and it's not exactly glamorous.
Joe Pitt was infected at a Ramones show at CBGB's in the late 1977 or so. The books deal with his struggle to remain independent of the clans, and survive despite generally pissing off everyone around him. His own saviors want little to do with him, and he couldn't care less.
Complicating matters are his HIV positive girlfriend, the hippie social/anarchists downtown, the wealthy hoi polloi in midtown and the gangsta's uptown. And the other clans that are so weird that no one messes with them.The books are extremely violent and Huston stays firmly in the "pulp" field, with stereotypical dialogue for his characters and lots of blood and testosterone. Pitt isn't exactly the sharpest arrow in the quiver, and as you read the books, it's more than once where you wonder why he never takes the path of least resistance. Each time he is offered a helping hand, he spits in the face of his benefactor.
The books are a pretty quick and absorbing read, and the parallels to Raymond Chandler and Dashell Hammeit are obvious. Things continue to build up to what promises to be a very heinous finale in the fifth book, as some dark secrets are about to be disclosed.
I "drained" the first four with-in a weekend. Pitt is a great character, totally flawed but still sympathetic.
Highly recommended.
Last One To Die - Michael Essington: Mike E. is an old time West Coast (L.A.) punk and has written his "memoirs". Equal parts observations on family, the scene and his history in the maelstrom of el lay Punk, Mike's writing is thoughtful and even poignant. You come out of reading this book with the desire to know the guy personally. If only the East Coast and Left Coast woulda merged... I coulda called him friend. And you should be checking out his stuff on STRANGE REACTION too! Great articles on Punk and great stories about his past. Support your peers, ya scurvy dogs!
Speed-Speed-Speedfreak - Mick Farren: Of course you know who Mick Farren is. The guy has written more cool stuff than just about anyone this side of Terry Southern. Speed-Speed-Speedfreak is billed as a "Fast History Of The Amphetamine"; and it ties in Hitler, the military, JFK and the Hells Angels in telling the sordid and not so sordid history of Mother's Little Helper. Some of it veers into conspiracy history (but that's not unusual for Farren), but it's a fast paced treatise on a drug that has greatly influenced both cultural and political history. As a bonus, the book is shaped like a capsule! Click here for Mick Farren's website.
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