Robert Jackson Bennett, Mr. Shivers (Orbit, 2010)
Where Robert Jackson Bennett's debut, Mr. Shivers, works best is in its smallest things. The story of a man named Connelly and the companions he acquires in a quest for vengeance across Dust Bowl-era America, it's a spare, moving picaresque with a strong cast of characters. The prose reflects and channels the arid landscape the characters move across. Spare in language but strong on imagery, it gives a wonderful sense of the vast and shattered landscape Connelly is moving through.
And move he does. Leaving behind Memphis and a murdered daughter, he sets out on the road in search of the scar-marked man who slaughtered her. Transformed from respectable citizen to hobo by the necessities of his travel, he meets up with a band of fellow revenge seekers, all of whom have been wronged by the scarred man, the legendary Mr. Shivers.
But it quickly becomes clear that what they are chasing might not be just a man. Legends swirl around, stories going back hundreds of years. Is the target of their pursuit human at all? And how much are they willing to pay -- or to do -- in order to catch him?
So far, so good. In fact, much of it is better than good. No, the problem comes with the revelation of who -- or more precisely what -- Mister Shivers is. Too much is shown too quickly, and when he confronts Connelly, he does so with a speech that employs a bombast at odds with his previous deliberation.
There's much to admire in Mr. Shivers. The mood and tone, yes. Much of the writing and the characterization, and scenes like an encounter in a suspiciously prosperous town in the shadow of dry mountains. All of these demonstrate some impressive talent on Bennett's part. Other things -- an ending that can be glimpsed coming a long way off and a question to the plot that is resolved with less finesse than it deserves -- do not. Still, Mr. Shivers held me for long stretches, and with luck, future work from Mr. Bennett will hold readers for longer still.
