*REVIEW & AUTHOR INTERVIEW* Dead Man's Drive by: Michael Panush + Giveaway!

Title: Dead Man's Drive (Rot Rods, #1)
Author: Michael Panush
ASIN: B00IJH8ZEO
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban-fantasy/paranormal
Length: 242 pgs
Binding: E-book, Paperback
Published: 20 February 2014; Curiosity Quills Press
Buy: Amazon, Amazon UK, B&N, KOBO

Synopsis:

La Cruz looks like an average Southern California small town, but it has some dark secrets – and it has its guardians. They are the supernaturally adept drivers of Donovan Motors, including zombie greaser Roscoe. With the help of former Okie bank robber Wooster Stokes, Zoot Suiter and part time shaman Angel Rey, college girl and burgeoning sorceress Betty Bright, the drivers stand between La Cruz and chaos with only their wits and some fast hot rods to help them hold back the darkness. But an onslaught of demonic attacks heralds a new danger. Reed Strickland, a ruthless tycoon with unholy assistance, seems intent on making La Cruz his. Only Roscoe and the drivers can stop him.

But Strickland's allies stir painful memories in Roscoe - and even an undead gearhead is no match for his own past. Roscoe will need to overcome his memories, stand with his friends and keep his motor as the battle for La Cruz begins in a tale of white hot vehicular action, arcane Noir, and Hollywood horror that reveals the rotten heart of California's Golden Age.

My Rating:

Dead Man's Drive by Michael Panush is perhaps one of the most originally entertaining novels I've ever had the pleasure of reading. Set in La Cruz, California in the 1950's, it was a time of hot rods, zoot suits, cool music, zombies, demons, werewolves, yetis---yes, you read that right! The book definitely has a magical realism feel-- the author pays such close attention to details-- the clothing, cars, even the language of the characters read authentic. And at the heart of the story is Roscoe, a zombie driver and mechanic at Donovan Motors. But that's more of a disguise, for his real job, along with his team of eccentric misfits, is to protect and defend the town of La Cruz from evil entities and things that go bump in the night.

There is so much to love about Dead Man's Drive, but the lively, colorful characters were what drove this story. There's Angel, Roscoe's loyal Mexican best friend. Wooster, the gruff ex-bank robber who has one explosive secret. Betty Bright who serves as a kind of mother figure to the rough bunch. Let's not forget Basil Barrow, the undertaker at the local cemetery that helps the drivers at Donovan Motors dispose of bodies. With any novel, you always have your favorite character. In this case, I absolutely loved the Deadbeat, a DJ that uses his radio show as a way to inform Roscoe and the others of any suspicious occult activities.

The Deadbeat's voice oozed back across the airwaves."Evening, cool kids and ghoul kids. That was Zap Telford and the Boo Babies with a real hot number called My Phantom Girl. Now here's your La Cruz news update." He cleared his throat. "Dig it--there's a new power coming to our little town and his name is Strickland.'"

I also found Eldgridge Swann, the Negro crime lord who controlled Butcher's row, very interesting. There have been a few reviewers that complained at the author's use of the word "negro" when describing Eldgridge Swann. I find that annoying because in the 50's that is EXACTLY what they called African Americans. I'm half black and didn't find it the least bit offensive. I think people need to stop being so sensitive and focus on the literature, the setting, etc. I appreciate that Panush stayed true to the time period in which he was writing about.

Michael Panush is not only great with creating charismatic characters that seem to come off the pages, but it is quite clear he knows how to write. His use of figurative language really helped create images in my mind as I read along. Here are a few of my favorites:

"He remembered speed, the sensation of zooming down an open highway with an engine roaring and the wind battering your face like the flailing strikes of a boxer about to be defeated."

"He kept it hot, boiling enough so that the steam billowed out of the pot like an impatient ghost."

"His tie was loud, with geometric designs, and he had a fat, golden ring."

Dead Man's Drive is also filled with humor which was a pleasant surprise. It's been a long time since I've read a novel that has made me laugh out loud. There are two scenes that I thought were hilarious. The first one is when Roscoe cuts off his ear and throws it at a table full of villains, hoping it will help him "hear" their conversation:

"I thought hearing comes from those holes on the side of your head--not the ear itself." [Angel says]

"It's called magic." Roscoe wiggled the severed ear in Angel's direction. "It doesn't have to make sense."

Then he tossed the ear across the bar. It was a light, underhanded throw. The ear landed under the table where Torrance and Mr. Roach were talking. Nobody noticed. Roscoe sat back up, covered the ear remaining on his head and did his best to listen.

You know it's the 50's when the boys are fighting in suits:

"You okay?" Roscoe called to him.

"Yeah." Angel glanced down at his zoot suit, now splotched with black marks from dead gore. "Ah, no," he muttered. "Got my threads dirty. Brains-- they never come out in the wash. He grabbed one of his pistols and started shooting again.

The most unique aspect of this novel is Panush's ability to weave in other historical milestones, such as Hitler and the Crusades. I'm not going to get into detail here to stay away from spoilers, but I was blown away that the author was able to add in all of these elements without making it feel too busy or confusing.

The only issue I had was with the vague zombie mythology. Roscoe is a walking dead, but nothing like what we have been taught to believe. I am absolutely okay if an author wants to switch things up and Roscoe was a breath of fresh air. But it felt like Panush didn't address the why and the how. How did he luck out and not turn into the zombies that were in Strickland/Roach's army? Is there more zombies like Roscoe out there? He can eat anything, so zombies eating raw meat is just a myth in the world of the story?  Does he smell? I just wish the author had spent a little more time on this.

Dead Man's Drive is an action packed, thrill ride that keeps you in a constant state of suspense until the very last page. With plenty of humor and a colorful cast of characters, I can totally see this book being turned into a tv series. But don't let the funny parts fool you. Roscoe is quite a complex character, plagued with amnesia and spends the majority of the story struggling to remember his past and the reason for his reanimation. If you are looking for some thrills and chills, I highly recommend this unique zombie tale!

best wishes,mia

Author Interview

1. Dead Man's Drive's has an interesting assemblage of characters, but at the heart is a zombie named Roscoe. What inspired you to write a zombie tale/character?

I've always been interested in zombies and they seem like a pretty good goon to get hurled at the hero en masse. Zombie apocalypse stories are fun and popular, but also a little played out, so I wanted to try something else. Zombie hero stories are a little less popular, but they do exist (Hessius Mann is one I became familiar with after writing Dead Man's Drive), so that seemed like a good way to go. Taking a zombie hero, making him drive hot rods and heals himself with fast food seemed much more unique, so that's the route I ended up taking. A lot of characters in my stories are sort of human, but not quite. They're isolated from the world around them and in a world as obsessed with conformity as the 1950s, that's a big deal. I wanted Roscoe to be isolated by his condition of being a zombie as well as his personality. He's a greaser, with a love of black leather jackets and rock and roll, and that alone makes sets him apart. The zombie stuff is just a bonus.


2. Your novel is set in the 1950's which seems like a daunting task alone, but then you touch upon Hitler and even The Crusades. What kind of research did you do in order to help the reader feel like they were taking a walk in history?

I didn't really need to do too much research, as I already knew a lot about that time and place from reading period fiction. I'm a huge James Ellroy fan, and reading his entire catalogue gives you a good idea about how nasty Golden Age Hollywood was. I try to work as much history into the Rot Rods series as possible (a lot more pops up in the sequels) by making characters distorted versions of historic people. For instance, the villain in Dead Man's Drive, Red Strickland is a mix of Howard Hughes (in that he has a goon doing his dirty work and is weird), and Henry Ford (in that he was best pals to the Nazis). The Nazi stuff also came together pretty easily. Nazis and the occult go together like peanut butter and chocolate, so it was just a small leap. And the Crusades came in when I was looking for an origin to La Cruz. All in all, it felt very organic and natural and I hope the reader feels that way too.


3. I originally thought that Dead Man's Drive was a stand alone novel, but I read somewhere that there was a plan for a series. True? Not true? If the rumor is true, what can we expect in book 2? Will there be a new central character or will Roscoe reprise his role?

The rumors are true! Dead Man's Drive is part one of a four part series. Books two and three are already written (and book two will be out soon) and I'm just about to start part four. They all follow Roscoe but there are major changes to the line-up of his friends. Here's the lowdown – part two is Detour to Apocalypse and is about aliens, the atomic bomb, Area 51, and Las Vegas. Part three is Southern California Gothic and is about a Black Dahlia-esque murder in Hollywood, mad science in Tijuana, and a gang war. Part four is called Ghosts of Camelot, and is about the Kennedy Administration, the Civil Rights movement, Santeria and Voodoo, and more.

About the Author

Twenty-Four years old, Michael Panush has distinguished himself as one of Sacramento’s most promising young writers. Michael has published numerous short stories in a variety of e-zines including: AuroraWolf, Demon Minds, Fantastic Horror, Dark Fire Fiction, Aphelion, Horrorbound, Fantasy Gazetteer, Demonic Tome, Tiny Globule, and Defenestration.

He is the author of Clark Reeper Tales, his first novel. Michael began telling stories when he was only nine years old. He won first place in the Sacramento Storyteller’s Guild “Liar’s Contest” in 2002 and was a finalist in the National Youth Storytelling Olympics in in 2003. In 2005, Michael’s short story entitled, Adventures in Algebra, won first place in the annual MISFITS Writing Contest.

In 2007, Michael was selected as a California Art’s Scholar and attended the Innerspark Summer Writing Program at the CalArts Institute. He graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in 2008 and has recently graduated from UC Santa Cruz.

Connect With Michael

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Google+

Giveaway

Enter for a chance to win 1 paperback AND 1 e-book copy of Dead Man's Drive! Worldwide Giveaway! Ends 6/26. a Rafflecopter giveaway

good luck,mia

Movie Review: DRIVE

Title: Drive
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Actor(s): Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan
Language: English
Rated: R
Genre: Action/Drama
Theme: heist-gone-wrong, stunt/getaway driver
Runtime: 100 mins
DVD Release Date: 31 January 2012
Website: drive-movie.com
Buy: Amazon.com
My Rating: 3 1/2 stars


Synopsis: Ryan Gosling stars as a Hollywood stunt driver for movies by day and moonlights as a wheelman for criminals by night. Though a loner by nature, “Driver” can’t help falling in love with his beautiful neighbor Irene (Carey Mulligan), a young mother dragged into a dangerous underworld by the return of her ex-convict husband. After a heist goes wrong, Driver finds himself driving defense for the girl he loves, tailgated by a syndicate of deadly serious criminals (Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman). Soon he realizes the gangsters are after more than the bag of cash and is forced to shift gears and go on the offense.

**The Following Review May Contain SPOILERS**

My Review: I had no plans to review this movie because I had very low expectations going into watching it. It was sort of a Ryan Gosling weekend-- I had just watched Crazy Stupid Love with a girlfriend of mine (which is a great romantic comedy that I highly recommend). The next night I popped in Ides of March (also starring George Clooney) which was not a bad movie, but I'm not big into politics so it was one of those films that was good but not enough to add to my collection. I was supposed to watch In Time next (still plan to) but Drive was just sitting there and I thought to myself, Mia, if you don't watch it now, it will just sit there until you're forced to return it. Why not finish the weekend with Ryan Gosling and get it over with?

Drive completely caught me by surprise. Based upon the trailer and plot summaries such as the one above, I went into the movie thinking it was going to be just another typical action film along the lines of Fast and the Furious and The Transporter. I couldn't have been more wrong. Ryan Gosling plays a character only known as "Driver". By day he is a stuntman driver in movies and works on cars at a shop owned by his only/older friend named Shannon. At night he offers his services as a getaway driver to clients who need speedy exits after unsavory activities (such as robbing places). The opening sequence is set up by Driver's simple rules:

"There's a hundred streets in this city. You don't need to know the route. You give me a time and a place, I give you a five minute window. Anything happens in that five minutes and I'm yours. No matter what. Anything happens a minute either side of that and you're on your own. Do you understand?"

The chase scene that follows is unlike anything I've ever experienced before in an action car film. As the driver starts to navigate his clients through the dark streets with the police following behind, I was sitting there waiting for Ryan Gosling to start spewing cheesy one liners that Vin Diesel or Jason Statham and other action stars have become famous for. I was waiting for the suspenseful music to start pumping. I was waiting for---SOMETHING familiar to happen on the screen. Instead, the scene was done in almost complete silence, except for the sound of the police through his scanner and his own car radio. This technique built suspense way more than the normal high speed chases we see in movies. I found myself holding my breath at every turn. Talk about intense!

While the opening sequence was an amazing chase scene, the rest of the movie plays out more like a drama with the main focal point on characterization. Driver is a lonely, introverted man that seems to only feel alive when he is doing dare devil stunts on movie sets or taking the risk of getting caught every time he accepts a "getaway" side job at night. The feelings he develops for Irene and her son are foreign to him--driver's background is never really revealed in the movie, but you get the impression that he had an unhappy childhood or rough upbringing that has molded him into the man we see onscreen.

Although many people think the elevator scene is the turning point in the film (and in many ways it is) for me it's the motel scene with Christina Hendricks' character, Blanche. Up until then we know him as a lonely, under-the-radar type character. But this new development shows that he is an angry man, that under that cool exterior is suppressed rage just waiting to be unleashed.

There were a few things going on in this film that had me a bit confused. However, I eventually made peace with these issues once I connected the dots. Driver had a distinct jacket with a scorpion emblem on the back. He rarely takes it off, even when it's covered in blood and he walks onto one of the movie sets in front of people. I at first thought that was a bit unrealistic but after watching this movie a 2nd time, I realize that Driver is not your normal man. I'm not saying he is supernatural or anything like that, but he definitely has some hero-esque qualities about him. Like Superman with his cape, Driver has his jacket.

The music and font chosen for the credits were two other oddities that had me scratching my head at first. There was a lot of pop songs in the movie done in the style of the 80's or early 90's-- definitely not something you would expect out of an action film. The font at the beginning and end credits is done in cursive and is a hot pink color. Again, let me remind you, this is not your typical action movie.

I originally gave Drive a 4 star rating but after watching it a 2nd time with my boyfriend and father, I knocked it down to a 3.5. Here's why. My only major gripe with this film is the very long periods of silence. I know this sounds weird and it's hard to describe what I mean but there are many scenes where Driver and Irene just stare at each other-- or Irene would ask him a question and it would take him forever to answer back. This goes on a lot during the film and may be annoying for some viewers who have short attention spans. I won't lie, it even annoyed me the first time around because I put the movie on real late at night and had trouble with keeping my eyes open during those scenes. BUT, I do GET it. I know this was purposely done by the director. There are moments of awkward silence and just when you think nothing is going on and let your guard down, all hell breaks loose. Someone is shot, or stabbed-- you get the point. So in a way, you are rewarded for your patience. This works for me but others may find this annoying.

My other issue is more of some errors that my boyfriend and father pointed out because they are car men. In the beginning, Driver uses a Chevy Impala which are automatics. During the chase scene, my father pointed out that the car was shifting gears as if it was a stick shift and Driver had his hands on the wheel the whole time. This may sound trivial, but now I find it annoying since my boyfriend has a stick shift and I know what a car sounds like when it's shifting gears. Also, there was a scene where Driver hits another car head on TWICE and his headlights are completely fine and intact. Again, I never noticed it before, but now that I know it's there, it's annoying!

If you are looking for an action/drama that doesn't quite follow the normal Hollywood formula, then give Drive a chance. If you like art house films, then this is DEFINITELY a film you need to see!



Other Thoughts: I'm not a huge fan of movie tie-in books, but apparently the one for Drive by Dave Sallis is pretty good. Also, there is this really cool interview with the director of Drive that gives you details on how he even came up with the idea to make this film-- which Ryan Gosling had a big part of. You can read the interview HERE.