Warren Haustrumerda
Tall Tales of Felony and Failure
Review brought to you by OBS staff member Karolina
Novel Blurb:
After discovering his ability to control time, Cranston Staigne embarks with his cohort Tom on a drunken escapade across three continents. During their travels, the pair commit numerous crimes, evade authorities, and cheat death. It’s magnificent decadence and dereliction as they explore unlimited power and unrepentant failure. (blurb from malum.org)
Review:
What would you do if you could freeze time at the most dangerous of moments? What would you do? Who would you save? Anyone? No one? How far would you go?
As someone who has studied psychology for a significant portion of her life – questions such as these and the general belief systems and morals people hold has always intrigued me. As a sci/fi fantasy/ supernatural fan, I think Tall Tales of Felony and Failure is a brilliant way to look at the complexities of this. Warren Haustrumerda takes the reader through a blitzed out journey through the eyes of his protagonist , Cranston Staigne and Cranston’s best friend, Tom. I don’t want to give too much away, but we first meet Cranston after he has had a head injury, and he is in a military hospital in Hawaii (he and Tom are navy). He discharges himself from the hospital – after being callously ignored by hospital staff, and goes to a pub with Tom. They run into a bit of trouble there, and unfortunately, there is a casualty. But not before Cranston discovers his ability to freeze time. Cranston and Tom decide to make their escape via plane, and it’s all a moral slip and slide from here on in.
The way this is written is incredibly engaging and you begin to see that, despite the moral ambiguity, neither Cranston nor Tom are bad people (or, ‘good people’) they’re just two guys – in way over their heads (and consume a lot of alcohol). In terms of them just being ‘people’ , their journey actually did, in an obscure way , remind me of two psych experiments – the Stanford prison experiment (Zimbardo) and the Stanley Milgram experiment – just with a lot more monsters and John the Baptist’s still-living head. We also get a glimpse of Cranston’s life before all this happened, and what led him to this particular moment. The friendship and loyalty between Tom and Cranston is incredibly real and amazing as well. (There’s a reference to an Australian character in the story that made me cheer – okay, so things don’t go too well for him – but still, my national pride was piqued.)
As for the story – well, what’s that Emily Dickinson quote? “If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can warm me, I know that is poetry.”? Well, the end of Cranston’s narration definitely left me cold. And, the continuation of the story told by Tom (that can be found on Warren’s website malum.org , free to download) definitely drives the message of the story home.
If there was to be a complaint, it would be that there were moments (such as with the monsters) where I got a little lost – but I found myself on track again rather quickly. Also, this story definitely isn’t for the faint hearted – but if you like a challenge like I do, then it’s for you.
Like Oscar Wilde and The picture of Dorian Gray before him, Warren Haustrumerda takes you on a moral journey that is in parts incredibly funny, and in others really sad- but a thoroughly satisfying read all -round.
