Friday Forgotten Book: Devil Born Without Horns

Devil Born Without Horns by Michael A Lucas isn't a forgotten book as much as it's a lost in the shuffle book. Published by Rudos & Rubes, I discovered it after Amazon kept suggesting it as a book I might like. I had purchased via Amazon A Loud Humming Sound Came from Above by Johnny Strike, which was also published by Rudos & Rubes, and they thought I might like this one as well.

I resisted for as long as I could, trying to get the book though Inter Library Loan, before giving in and ordering a copy -- which promptly sat on my shelf for the last couple of months. Knowing that I had a TBR pile that was growing, at the start of this year I made a list of books from the TBR pile that I resolved to read in 2009, and this was one of the books on that list, and I am glad that I can now cross off.

I am glad because I am happy to report that upon picking the book up recently I was quickly engrossed in the adventures of our protagonist James Pichaske. A recently graduating college, he takes a job doing deliveries for a bay area furniture company. It's a mind numbingly awful job, compete with looser co-workers and clueless bosses. Jim tries to be a good worker and make the job work, only no one will let him. I think that the opening passage of the book sums things up well.

Although I'd often been told that a College Education would prove useful regardless of whatever else I did in my life, my Bachelor's degree was of no help whatsoever in making up my mind to shoot someone. Perhaps I could have made my decision more quickly had I majored in philosophy instead of film theory.

As a crime novel it's more about the slide of a person or persons into a life of low level criminal activity. It's a very Gen X tale, over educated and under employed James finds himself left out in the cold, as the Hustle of the culture around chips away at his resolve, his intent, his passions and leaves him a husk of that bright eyes college kid that he thought he was.

I once worked for a major home furnishing company and I identified with a lot of that side of things, and like most everyone I have worked around my fair share of clueless, lying SOB bosses, and know how that can destroy you. All of that is reflected in this book, in a lot of ways it's like Office Space meets, I don't know, maybe Miami Purity or one of those noir tales where a everyday Joe is sucked in over his head.

Note: I am moving house during the next couple of weeks, I haven't figured out what I am going to do about an internet connection at my new place yet, so my already infrequent posting is going to slow down for the next couple of weeks until I figure out what I am going to do.