Hell's Half Acre [Kindle Edition]

Will Christopher Baer

Will Christopher Baer (Author)

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Book Description

Kidnapping, snuff films, amputee geeks, and a requiem for lost love.… Cast adrift after the blood symphony of Penny Dreadful, Phineas Poe is looking for answers in the form of a woman. He tracks Jude to San Francisco, where he finds her involved with John Ransom Miller, a wealthy sociopath with a mysterious hold over her. Jude is nursing her own revenge fantasy, but she needs Miller’s help, and in exchange Miller wants Jude to help him with an unspeakable crime. Alone and outgunned, Poe hopes he can save Jude from herself, make sense of his own past, and navigate the torturous internal landscape he calls hell’s half acre.

About:
Born in Mississippi in 1966. Old Southern family. Lived in Montreal and Italy as a child. Spent high school years in Memphis, Tennessee. Attended college in New Orleans, Louisiana (Tulane). Dropped out. Finished B.A. at Memphis State. Received MFA 1995 from Jack Kerouac School at Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado. California since 1996, Bay Area, L.A., now Santa Barbara. Worked as homeless counselor, taxi driver, bartender, video store geek, college professor (Evergreen State, Olympia, Washington), screenwriter, and journalist. Short stories published in numerous places, notably Nerve and Bomb. Married, one child by previous marriage. One brother. Parents still living in
North Carolina.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Baer's third brutal, impressionistic thriller, junkie ex-cop Phineas Poe is back and reunited with Jude, his freelance assassin lover (they met cute when she stole his kidney in Kiss Me, Judas). Phineas has been searching for Jude for five years, ever since she left him after being tortured and brutally raped by three men. Now he catches up with her in San Francisco, just as she's catching up with the creeps who attacked her. Gruesome revenge is had, but the man behind the rapists, wealthy and charismatic psychopath John Ransom Miller ("a homicidal Zen Buddhist with a degree in criminal law"), persuades them to join forces with him instead of wiping him out. The project he has in mind is a sophisticated snuff film, in which the identity of the victim will be a surprise until the end. Phineas suspects that it will be him, but it might also be Miller's actress girlfriend Molly, Jude or even Miller himself. The movie is shot over the course of a prolonged, nightmarish house party, with Molly, Phineas and Jude doing Miller's bidding much longer than seems plausible. A kidnapping and several twists keep the story moving along, but the muddled, garish plot isn't the point. It's Baer's smooth noirish styling and Phineas's voice—likable against all odds—that will keep readers hooked.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Short-story writer and novelist Baer goes for the gory in this follow-up to cult favorites Kiss Me, Judas (1998) and Penny Dreadful (2000). Former morphine addict and one-time cop Phineas Poe stumbles his way to San Francisco in search of ex-lover Jude, a sadistic assassin with a withering wit. Winning Jude back won't be easy; she is under the spell of John Ransom Miller, a wealthy sociopath who's helping her play out a revenge fantasy involving amputee fetishist and U.S. Senate candidate MacDonald Cody. The loathsome landscape of Poe's life turns lethal when he becomes unknowingly ensnared in the pair's sinister plan. Scalpings, snuff films, and a nose removed in a single bite are among the grisly displays in a novel that's part Hunter S. Thompson, part Edgar Allan Poe. Fans of Baer's fare might not flinch at the gratuitous violence and near alphabetical list of bodily functions, but for newcomers (or the easily queasy), this is startling stuff. Allison Block
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 444 KB
• Print Length: 375 pages
• Publisher: MP Publishing Limited; 1 edition (January 20, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B002AMVWS0
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray:
  Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #262,818 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Sex, lies and videotape September 4, 2004

By Luan Gaines HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Writing with the gritty realism of Andrew Vachss, Baer has aptly titled Hell's Half Acre, a descent into darkness that requires a strong constitution, but is worth the effort. In this world, killers appear unannounced and strange men mutilate their bodies for kicks, cash can buy anything, no matter how obscene and death is always a heartbeat away. It takes a fertile imagination to construct the layers of this elaborate, unpredictable nightmare.

Phineas Poe is on a strange trip, part psychological, part real. His first order of business is to track his girlfriend, the very tough Jude, trained by Special Forces and his former partner in crime-cum-romance. Jude and Poe's drug odyssey alone could cure a junkie. A violent act sundered their earlier cohabitation; since then, Poe's only mission is to find Jude. An ex-cop, Phineas Poe is an ambiguous character, following his more bizarre instincts, fueled by drugs but secretly nurturing a hopeful heart. Within the first couple of pages, Poe makes a fateful choice, when he notices the "thin shallow mouth of the alley my possible monster had come running from" and "I walked into that dark mouth". From that point on, the action only accelerates.

Meanwhile, the pathological John Ransom Miller is planning his snuff film, starring Jude, Phineas and assorted others. Jude has revenge on her mind and Phineas wants to be there for her, drug-hazed but willing. To that end they step into some very dark places, assuming an escape route that never quite materializes. Miller has a propensity for life and death games, ratcheting up the danger with the addition of more mayhem to expand the film's appeal, setting the actors up like pawns in a rigged chess game. To say that most of these characters are cynical would be an understatement; however, in a city's netherworld, survival dictates a certain perspective. But Poe doesn't want to play anymore, pushed to the edge of his fragmented integrity.

Reading this novel is like watching a triple X-rated movie, where all the X's are for violent acts. Pop culture seeps through the pages, images jumping out at random moments: Travis Bickle, the white rabbit. The novel is successful because it is never exploitative. Baer's dark journey of the soul, while tinged with excessive violence, is driven by an impressive imagination, as Poe masters the art of walking on the wild side, skirting the edge without tumbling into the abyss or accidentally slitting his own throat. Luan Gaines/2004. Read more ›

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good review from a not-so-good reviewer October 12, 2004

By Daniel E. Donche Jr.

Format:Hardcover|Verified Purchase

As stated above, I'm generally not good at giving reviews. I try, but somehow I can never seem to do a story the justice it deserves.

This is one such example of my incompetence; but don't let that dissuade you from reading this book. It is worth every second of your life you choose to expend to reading it.

First of all, the storyline is strong and there aren't many distractions at all. Baer's first two contained scenes that may have been confusing, but this one is tight and straightforward without losing any of its poetic appeal. If you've read the other two, Kiss Me Judas and Penny Dreadful, you are well aware of Baer's fantastic prose. This book is not lacking.

It isn't as dark as the other two, but there are still many taboo subjects within these pages to keep someone who craves those things entertained. Snuff films. Sex. Amputation fetishes. A rape scene. And none of this, as per Will Christopher Baer's style, is gratuitous. Not like Bret Easton Ellis. I'd say this story is as good as it gets if you're looking for great story, elegant writing, dark content without being too graphic, pacing, and perfect climax/ending. This isn't one of those endings that leave you wondering what you missed. It will leave you wanting more.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Phineas Poe returns November 8, 2004

By Jarrid Deaton

Format:Hardcover

Will Christopher Baer has created his best work yet with Hell's Half Acre. The hallucinatory quality which other reviewers of the book have talked about is indeed a strange and compelling theme that permeates Baer's work. The reader, like main character Phineas Poe, may find themselves wondering what is real and what is just another twisted part of a dream. Baer's quick pace writing makes the book a very fast read, and the twists and turns help to keep things flowing down the increasingly curvy road that Baer has created. The book is so well written that the previous two novels concerning Phineas Poe: Kiss Me, Judas and Penny Dreadful, are not required reading for enjoying Hell's Half Acre. However, I would recommend picking up all three books. I look forward to what Baer has in store for us in the future.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Baer is the new noir voice of the 21st century October 12, 2004

By Roger

Format:Hardcover|Verified Purchase

Where to begin... This is the third in a trilogy featuring Phineas Poe, an ex-cop who may or may not have murdered his wife, who may or may not love a feminine poison named Jude (one of the deadliest and sexiest characters ever written), and who may or may not be just a tad insane. Either way, Baer proves a master at writing compulsive and obsessive reading. If you have not read the first two in the series (Kiss Me, Judas and Penny Dreadful), don't let it stop you from picking up this addicting piece of literature. Be warned, however: Once you start reading about Phineas, you will not want to stop. For more insight into the strange universe of Will Christopher Baer, check out the his site at willchristopherbaer dot com.

Also highly recommended: The Contortionist's Handbook by Craig Clevenger.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book I've read in years. October 10, 2004

By joeyjord

Format:Hardcover

Will Christopher Baer returns to conclude the trilogy that started with kiss me judas. In his return, he brings even stronger writing and story telling.

Don't make the mistake of not buying this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Poe Takes Us To Hell December 15, 2005

By J. Wesemann

Format:Hardcover

Hell's Half Acre a truly wonderful novel, after what I believe was a bit of a sophmore slump with Penny Dreadful.

But I Hell's Half Acre, Baer seems to once again capture that non-urgent nihlist qualty that our man Phineas possesses. Poe is the ultimate nihlist because instead of preaching about the virtues or sitting around debating the philosophical implications, he simply lives it. Course I guess most Junkies are and do just that. Or in our case a Pseudo-Junkie.

Jude makes her return and we see that maybe, just maybe Jude isn't as tough as she thinks she is. And there is the possibility that she has finally gone over the deep end of sanity and likely isn't coming back, but instead falling deeper and deeper into the abyss of a psychological blackhole.

Hope this helped, probably didn't if you haven't read the 1st 2 novels. Thanks for reading.