Wow, Kings of Infinite Space really hit home for myself and my friends, who have been exchanging it, reading in turns a skewering of the town we lived, loved, and loathed… Austin Texas.
Taking place in the thinly disguised city known in the book as “Lamar”, this is a creepy novel of shattered dreams and failed ambitions with the harsh backdrop of Hooters, (called “Headlights” in the novel) gray sterile cubicles, and sad drooping apartment complexes, this debut novel is quite a ride.
Add an element of sci-fi and surrealism with pale, razor-sharp-toothed homeless men, the ghost of a drowned cat, and a mysterious reappearing Tiffany pin, and you have an interesting surreal/realist joy of a book – almost.
The hard part of setting up an intriguing and perplexing mystery is the follow through and explanation. Unfortunately, none of us felt completely satisfied with the end to this novel. I want to reiterate that the book is still worth reading, especially if you can truly appreciate the cry of the sad sack protagonist, “I don't want to die in Texas!!”
But what do you think?