On The Road With Brian Keene
By John Urbanick
Cemetery Dance Publications
John claims his writing leans toward wonder more so than dread, and this compact companion – a bonus for those who order End of the Road by Brian Keene – provides an accurate example of John’s signature style. John’s minimalistic approach to story telling can scratch the surface of anyone’s psyche yet still manage to spill blood for miles as you ponder the sights he has shown you from the pages of his own dark and curious perspective. If a glimmer of steel from his pen is all that he shows you, don’t think he can’t still make your head roll with a simple swipe of his prose.
Intrigue is boss as John guides us through his portion of Brian’s journey as they venture out on a promotional tour which Brian writes about in his recent non-fic offering, End of the Road. Preferring the cover of night and fog to the overt effects of broad daylight, our focus is held just below the surface where reality shifts and our senses are heightened.
Examining the world through the eyes of this road warrior, we’re met with hazy landscapes and blurred lines which must be crossed, whether to rescue his dear pal, Brian Keene, from hungry alligators and even hungrier fans, or simply because doing otherwise wouldn’t have been nearly as memorable. When John first decided to embark into unknown territory with the man responsible for rekindling a generation’s love of animated corpses, I doubt he knew if his pens and moleskin notebooks would be enough to save his own skin and sanity. Lucky for him – and us – not only did John survive, he managed to record every strange corner, encounter, and misadventure along the way. It’s not difficult to imagine that reading John’s part in the chaos is far less challenging than him writing about while neck deep in chaos.
A sure hit for anyone who enjoys the stylistic humour of Hunter S. Thompson with a twist of Cormac McCarthy, blended in a wondrous voice that is uniquely John Urbanick. While traveling across the states. with Brian Keene is clearly not the safest method of travel, I’ll be damned if John doesn’t make it sound like a helluva fun way to go.
To read both End of the Road by Brian Keene and John Urbancik’s bonus chapbook On the Road With Brian Keene, tighten your seat belt and click HERE!
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