The Nymphos of Rocky Flats
Author: Mario Acevedo
Pages: 288
Year Published: 2007
There are a number of authors these days writing quirky novels of absurdist fiction. Authors like Christopher Moore, Tom Robbins, and the like tell stories of people, but the picture always seems to be tilted, as if it were told entirely at a Dutch angle. I find myself fascinated by these stories, as often as not simply because of the viewpoint or setting, but mostly because they know how to tell a good story.
And that’s where Mario Acevedo goes horribly wrong. His novel, The Nymphos of Ricky Flats, has all the hallmarks of an absurdist novel, but they are just window dressing over an empty house. The main character, an Iraq War veteran turned vampire P.I., (don’t roll your eyes) is stereotypically adverse to consuming human blood, which makes him a loner – an outcast. The supporting cast is constructed from even more shallow archetypes – a Dryad who’s a sexy, perpetually aroused woman, for example.
All of which would be perfectly forgivable if there was a story worth telling, or empathetic characters in the book, of which there are neither. It’s not that it’s a bad book, or a good book, it’s a book that really didn’t need to be written. It has all the impact of a brick made of Jello. It’s simply not worth the effort to make.
-K
Good thing I read your actual review rather than stopping at the title. Ordinarily, I’d be only too happy to read anything with the word “nymphos” on the cover.
The lack of nympho action in the book is disheartening. I felt like I was the victim of a “bait and switch.”
-K
Luring a guy in with the promise of nymphos and not delivering on said promise is, in my book, a sure ticket to Hell.