Rant: an Oral Biography of Buster Casey by Chuck Palahniuk

The happiest time of the year - new Chuck Palahniuk novel time! Palahniuk's last few novels have moved away from the formula that brought him fame and fortune (slightly in some cases, or dramatically in others). Rant seems to be a synthesis of new direction and old drive. The book grabbed me from the start and left me amazed.

Buster "Rant" Casey has died, leaving behind a legacy of lust, destruction, and chaos. It's the near future, a society where people "boost peaks", essentially injecting memories into their brains, a kind of living TV. In an effort to cut down on gridlock and utilize resources, society has been separated into daytimers and nighttimers. The novel plays out as part documentary, part police interview, part eulogy. Those that knew Rant best, and those that claimed to, all offer their own take on who he was, what he was capable of, and how he changed their lives. He became a prime figure in the "Party Crashing" scene, a nighttimer social game where people crash their cars into each other as a sort of high-speed game of tag. We meet his teammates, his childhood friends, his family, and people who played only a small role in his life. He was a friend to some, kind to most, and polite to a fault. He was also a prolific serial killer. Depending on who's talking, he's a combination of any of these things. When his motives and means are revealed, the novel transcends form and genre, mixing science fiction, mystery, documentary, and creating an ending that left me speechless.

Rant is the first part of a trilogy set in this alternate future, with the next installment due in a couple of years. Palahniuk has announced his next book as Snuff, which centers around (among other things) a woman who dies in an attempt to set a record by being the centerpiece of the world's largest gangbang. Let the good times roll!