HEAD CLEANER is a hugely original blend of thriller, science fiction, and horror that takes our love of nostalgia to task for its morbid obsessions with dead media and dead-end jobs:ClerksmeetsBlack Mirror(with a littleGroundhog DayandRussian Dollthrown in for good measure):
The last Blockbuster video store in the United States is hanging on by a thread. And after a crazy night attempting to track down a lost VCR rental to collect the record-setting and internet-famous late fee, three employees, idealistic Eva, cinephile Jerry, and their tyrannical manager Randy, discover that this machine may actually have the power to change the endings of popular films, which, depending on the historical basis of the film, might also be changing the real world around them.
Or could this just be an elaborate, increasingly deadly prank?
When they begin receiving videotapes and voicemails seemingly depicting their deaths, Eva, Jerry, and Randy scramble to keep the VCR from falling into the wrong hands. And as one action-packed evening begins to seemingly repeat itself (or does it?), scores are settled and unwanted confessions begin to fly, until a Final Girl finally unravels a grand psychological experiment orchestrated at the highest levels of a crumbling social media empire.
About the Author :
David James Keaton is the author of three collections of short stories, includingFISH BITES COP! Stories to Bash Authorities, which was named the 2013 Short Story Collection of the Year byThis Is Horror, andStealing Propeller Hats from the Dead, which received a Starred Review fromPublishers Weekly. He is also the author of three novels,The Last Projector(a thriller),Pig Iron(a western, which has been optioned for film), andShe Was Found in a Guitar Case(a mystery). He is the co-editor, along with Joe Clifford, ofHard Sentences: Crime Fiction Inspired by Alcatraz, and the editor ofDirty Boulevard: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Lou Reed. Heteaches composition and creative writing at Santa Clara University in California and can be found on Twitter @spiderfrogged.
Review :
Praise for HEAD CLEANER
“A nonstop thrill ride blending science fiction, horror, and a lot of humor. For readers who enjoy Chuck Palahniuk and Lauren Beukes.” –Library Journal
"Those who like good thriller/horror/sf combos are in luck here....a wacky, entertaining, occasionally terrifying story...The writing is light and breezy on the surface but with dark undercurrents that keep the reader just a little bit off-kilter. And if that sounds like great fun, you’re right." –Booklist
“A fun, fast, crazy sci-fi romp.” –Amber Sparks, author of And I Do Not Forgive You
“This is the sci-fi crime novel for Generaton X. A quirky, multigenre journey through the VHS era, but you can’t rewind and dare not skip ahead to the end.” –Nick Mamatas, author of I Am Providence
"Boundless, original and energetic...Head Cleaner is the evil twin of Nick Hornby novels." –Dead End Follies
