Pariah on the Web

I'm just back from a quick but great trip to New York. I spent the afternoon with my publicists touring bookstores and signing stock. Later the reading in the lower village at the Telephone Bar and Grill was a lot of fun. The place was packed, lots of good energy, kind of Bohemian atmosphere. And I enjoyed meeting Tim O'Mara who runs the literary reading program there, even though he is a Yankees and NY Giants fan. Hey, no one's perfect.

Okay, now for more Pariah on the WEB.

Hard Feelings is picking Pariah for their crime novel of the year.

Jack Quick over at BookBitch also has good things to say: Its noir, its satire, and its Boston that you don’t see on Cheers. Nicely done follow-up to SMALL CRIMES.

Pariah in New York, Monday Night, Oct. 26

Tonight in Waltham at Back Page Books

I'll be reading and signing copies of Pariah tonight from 7:30-8:30 at Back Page Books, 289 Moody Street Waltham. And since Waltham is also the location for my upcoming book, Killer (May 2010), I'll also be reading a few pages from that one.

Bad Karma contest

I received my author copies of Bad Karma today, which is my followup to Bad Thoughts. Now here's the deal. This book is not the noir journey of Small Crimes or the explosive and subversive thrill ride of Pariah, or even the grim horror and crime mix of Bad Thoughts. It's more of a fun hardboiled PI novel set in Boulder, Colorado with new age sentiments. It also features a guest appearance from one of my Fast Lane cast members. While this is far lighter fare than my other books and meant to be more traditional, so far the reaction from most of the early readers has been very positive, and I'll be including quotes from some of these below. Now the publisher for this one is Five Star/Cengage, and their business model is to focus their sales to libraries, so while the book will show up on amazon and bn.com and other online stores, unlike Small Crimes, Pariah, and my upcoming books, it won't be in many bookstores (if any).

If you're a Pariah fan and live in the US and would like to win one of 3 signed copies of Bad Karma (and these 3 might be the only hardcover copies I end up signing), play movie producer and email me at dave.zeltserman (at) gmail.com by Nov. 20th your cast choice for Pariah. I'll pick the three that I like best, and each winner will receive a signed copy of Bad Karma.

"Detective Bill Shannon, introduced in Bad Thoughts (2007), is back, and a welcome return it is. Relocated from Boston to Boulder, Shannon has fled the Boston PD for a low-stress lifestyle, picking up a little work on the side as a private eye. But despite his efforts to find psychic and psychological peace of mind after his horrific encounter with Herbert Winters, the demonic serial killer from the earlier novel, Shannon discovers that putting distance between himself and the old evils doesn’t help him escape the new evils. Zeltserman weaves together elements of both mystery and horror genres, as Shannon again finds himself confronting the darkness that roams the boundary beyond one’s physical senses. It’s as though Zeltserman has aimed a 12-gauge sawed-off at smarmy New Age sensitivities and fired off both barrels. Irony abounds, as Shannon unmasks deviant gurus, evil yoga studios, Russian gangsters, and guys who use their baseball implements in socially unacceptable ways. If you liked the first novel in this series, you’ll love this one."
— Thomas Gaughan, Booklist

"The violence in this book is more subdued than that in Bad Thoughts, but it's certainly there. The story is also a pretty straightforward p.i. tale, though not without some horror and New Age elements, which once again proves Zeltserman's versatility (he's doing noir novels and Nero Wolfe pastiches in EQMM, among other things). If you haven't read Zeltserman's work, it's time to start. He's making quite a name for himself these days."
Bill Crider

"The novel works on three levels. It’s part clever murder mystery and part personal spiritual journey as Shannon tries to heal his psychological scars and achieve inner peace; it’s also an informed and impartial commentary on the New Age Movement, presenting both the positive and negative aspects the subculture. This might be a standard PI tale in structure, but it shares the ingenuity which has brought a distinctive touch to so much of Zeltserman’s fiction. A competent and fascinating read."
Rafe McGregor, Tangled Web

"Rather than the pure noir of Small Crimes and Pariah, the 'Bad' books are crime fic with a horror/New Age bent. The books should be read in order since the motivation for the main character, cop and then PI Bill Shannon, is primarily developed in Bad Thoughts, then allowed to run free in Bad Karma. Bill is pretty much of a wheat-grass juice drinking, vegetarian homebody, except when he's dealing with astral projection, lucid dreams, cults, Russian mobsters, serial killers, and the like. Loads of fun here."
Corey Wilde, Drowning Pool

"...a solid PI story at its center. Shannon has relocated to Boulder and reconciled with Susan, his ex-wife, when he is hired to investigate the brutal beating death of a couple college students. He also agrees to help a desperate mother try to rescue her daughter from a local cult. True to form, both cases dovetail in the end, and Shannon ends up uncovering a larger conspiracy, and when it comes to problem solving Shannon isn’t exactly a pacifist, his penchant for meditation notwithstanding, so there’s plenty here for fans of the genre."
Nathan Cain, Independent Crime

Upcoming Pariah readings

Thursday, October 22 – 7:30pm - 8:30, Back Pages Books, Waltham, MA

Monday, October 26 - 8pm - 9:00,The Library Reading Series, Telephone Bar & Grill, NYC

Tuesday, November 3 – 7:00pm - 8:00, Harvard Coop, Cambridge, MA

Tuesday, November 17 – 7:00pm - 8:00, Brookline Booksmith, Brookline, MA

I'll also be available for chatting in the virtual coffee shop as part of the Poisoned Pen Web Conference on Saturday, Oct. 24th, 3:30 - 4:00 EST

Pariah getting some exposure on B&N

Pariah's getting some nice exposure up on Barnes & Nobles Mystery and Crime Page

PW's Frankfurt Book Fair Report

This is very cool from PW's Frankfurt Book Fair Briefing:

Profile

Profile's Andrew Franklin has submitted his company's titles in (erratically scanning and rhyming) limerick format:

"There once was a publishing house called Profile, / They were small, independent and nubile / On their Frankfurt rights list / There are numerous hits (all with world rights) / Come see us on stand L924, it’ll be worthwhile . . . Korea by Shelia Miyoshi Jager / Is a stunning new history, we wager / The New Scientist will show / How to Make a Tornado / And Mary Beard’s It’s A Don’s Life’s a surefire winner. Authors Jolyon Fenwick and Marcus Husselby / Give us Einstein’s Watch, a Christmas hit, surely / Find out What Darwin Got Wrong / (If you didn’t know all along) / In the book by Fodor and Piatelli-Palmarini. Serpent’s Tail have a strong list every time, / With Zeltserman’s Pariah, Killer, Outsourced and Small Crimes, / Repeat it Today with Tears by Anne Peile, / Will cause a stir, we feel, / And Musa Okwanga’s football book Will You Manage? is sublime.

People have been asking me...

Since Small Crimes, Pariah and Killer all make up my noir 'man out of prison' trilogy, people have been asking me whether the books need to be read in order. Nope. They're all independent from each other. On the other hand, I do think the books are enhanced by reading all of them, and I've gotten this same feedback from others who've read them. It's fun seeing the different journeys my noir protagonists take on being released from prison. It's kind of like the old theme issues I used to run on Hardluck Stories, seeing how different stories take divergent paths along the same general theme.

Pariah in bookstores today!

The first book in my 'man out of prison' noir trilogy being published by Serpent's Tail, Small Crimes, was named one of the 5 best crime and mystery novels of 2008 by NPR and one of the best novels of 2008 by The Washington Post. The second book in the series, my South Boston mob crime novel, Pariah, is being released today. I hope people enjoy this one, I'm thrilled that's it out, and am grateful to Pete Ayrton and John Williams at Serpent's Tail for taking a chance with something as dark and subversive as Pariah.

"Pariah is a terrific blast" Metro (UK)

"It happens rarely, but sometimes you get to the end of a book and what has gone before leaves you speechless. As a reader, this is a wonderful feeling, as you've just been through a great experience. As a book reviewer, however, it presents a problem, as you tend to have to sum up a book in more than no words. My first draft of this review read simply '...'" The Bookbag

"I just finished reading Dave's new novel Pariah. It is one of the most crazed, hilarious, bitter, brutal novels this side of those composed on violent wards." Ed Gorman

"Following up the critically acclaimed SMALL CRIMES, Dave Zeltserman had to prove that book was not some sort of fluke. PARIAH proves that CRIMES was no fluke, even surpassing that previous novel in leaps and bounds, to the point that Zeltserman should be considered the new king of Boston crime. In my eyes, the last writer who held that title was George V. Higgins." Bookgasm

"PARIAH IS ALL I KNOW OF BLISS AND LAMENT. BLISS AT READING A SUPERB NOVEL AND LAMENT AT KNOWING THAT DAVE ZELTSERMAN HAS NOW RAISED THE BAR SO HIGH, WE'RE SCREWED. THIS IS THE PERFECT PITCH OF REALITY, HISTORY, CRIME, CELEBRITY, PLAGIARISM, AND SHEER ASTOUNDING WRITING. IT NEEDS A NEW WHOLE NEW GENRE NAME..........IT'S BEYOND MYSTERY, LITERATURE, A SOCIO/ECONOMIC TRACT, A SCATHING INSIGHT INTO THE NATURE OF CELEBRITY AND IN KYLE NEVIN WE HAVE THE DARKEST MOST ALLURING NOIR CHARACTER EVER TO COME DOWN THE SOUTH BOSTON PIKE OR ANYWHERE ELSE IN LITERATURE EITHER. I WANT MORE OF KYLE AND MORE OF THIS SUPERB SHOTGUN BLAST OF A NARRATIVE...........IF EVERY WRITER HAS ONE GREAT BOOK IN THEM THEN DAVE CAN REST EASY, HE HAS HIS AND IT'S TO OUR DELIGHT AND DEEPEST ENVY" Ken Bruen

"This book just sucked the air right out of me. It's more than great noir. This book's got teeth that bite and claws that catch, and it's a masterpiece... If you revere the dark tales of Charles Willeford, Jim Thompson and James M. Cain, add Dave Zeltserman's name to your list. I promise you that in years to come, when those first three names are mentioned, so will the fourth." Corey Wilde, The Drowning Pool

"The often violent story is told quite matter-of-factly, and that serves to harden the edge of this dark novel. Zeltserman also patterns Mahoney on real-life Boston crime czar Whitey Bulger, who remains number 2 on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list, right behind Osama Bin Laden. For readers looking for edgy crime fiction, Pariah fills the bill." Booklist

"With this book Zeltserman entrenches his position as the ranking neo-noirist, putting a contemporary spin on a tradition that goes way back to Thompson and James M. Cain. If you like your fiction dark, lean and uncompromising, Pariah has to be at the top of your list." Roger Smith, Crime Beat South Africa, Mixed Blood, Wake Up Dead

"Its rare that a meta novel ends up being entertaining as well as clever, but Dave Zeltserman’s excellent new novel, Pariah manages that trick very successfully; at once a noir-ish kidnap novel and an attack on the nature of celebrity memoir, plagiarism and the worst excesses of the publishing industry." Crime Scene Scotland

"Pariah is a tense, violent and sometimes absurd study of criminality and the world’s obsession with it. Each layer has something to say that’ll leave you thinking, cringing or praying. But I mean that in the best possible way. Another great addition to the Serpent’s Tail stable." Crime Scene NI

"If I told you any more, I'd be taking a lot of the fun out of your reading the book, which is fast, furious, and funny. I haven't even mentioned what goes on in the last third of the story, which was, for me, the most amusing part of the book. I don't mean this is a farce. It's far from a comedy, but it's sharply satirical and mean as a junkyard dog with a burr on its butt." Bill Crider

"For those who prefer the darker slice of life, Pariah will keep you glued to its pages. The chain reaction of Kyle Nevin’s release from prison on the world around him is the stuff of nuclear explosions. Violent, sexual and relentless, there are no holds barred anywhere in this wonderful launch into evil. The meek beware … be-very-ware." Charlie Stella

"Zeltserman has succeeded in bringing a blithely psychopatic character to the page who will chill the blood. Despite the utter moral bankruptcy of the main character, Pariah is gripping as opposed to repugnant. Zeltserman's writing and plotting are sharp and the plot is immaculately crafted. The only other author writing about such venal characters with such an incisive eye is Jason Starr, and some of Starr's characters are downright cuddly when compared to Zeltserman's. Pariah is a scathing rebuke of society's obsession with fame, and mythologizing of gangsters and the repugnant moral calculus that allows them to victimize innocent people with impunity" Nathan Cain, Independent Crime

"If the major newspapers and critics have any balls at all, this will be on their top ten lists – and not in some sub-category like “Best Mystery Novel” or some condescending bullshit list like that. This is the real deal, dear readers. Go fucking get yourself a taste." NerdOfNoir, BSC Review