“Some people are just born human. The rest of us, we take a lifetime to get there.” — Buster “Rant” Case

I am going to do something we rarely, if ever, do on Slice of SciFi. I will be reviewing a book. Normally we reserve this kind of review for one of our sister websites and programs called “The Dragon Page: Cover to Cover,” but since the publisher was kind enough to send me an advance reading copy for review here, I thought it best to print it here.

“Rant” tells the story of Buster Casey, a philosophical country-bumpkin obsessed with traffic congestion and massive car pile-ups.

Some of Buster’s quips of wisdom sound a lot like they come from the mind of a Mark Twain or a Will Rogers. “Life’s greatest comfort is being able to look over your shoulder and see people worse off waiting in line behind you” or, “The future you have tomorrow won’t be the same future you had yesterday.”

In fact, the only difference between “Rant” and the two aforementioned home-spun philosophers was they were not responsibile for the massive deaths of people simply because they were alive on the planet.

“Rant” is a new novel from the pen of Chuck Palahniuk. He is the author of “Fight Club,” which was adapted for the big screen and starred Edward Norton and Brad Pitt. He has also written “Haunted,” “Lullaby” and “Invisible Monster,” all best sellers. This newest entry by Palahniuk tells the story of Buster “Rant” Casey, a young man raised in the small obscure farming community of Middletown and who became one of the world’s most notorious killers. Rant accomplished this feat without ever firing a shot, dropping a bomb or wielding a knife. Buster “Rant” Casey became the 21st Century equivalent of Typhoid Mary, or better still, “Rabies Rant!”

To build his story Palahniuk utilizes an oral biographical approach that, on the surface, might look like nothing more than a bunch of unrelated interviews just haphazardly strung together. But, in the creative hands of this author these individualized statements from Rant’s friends, enemies, family members and detractors are woven into a character-driven plot that resembles a tapestry or fine painting from past masters of the arts.

“Rant” is a provocative, mind-blowing read that pushes you to the edge and grabs you just before plunging into the depths. It is one of those novels that, once picked up, is near impossible to put back down until completion.

Look for “Rant” on book shelves sometime after May 1, 2007 and don’t be the least bit surprised if Hollywood comes beating another path to Chuck Palahniuk’s doorstep in order to turn this great read into a major motion picture.

On the Uncle Sam scale of 0 to 5 stars — I give “RANT” 5 stars