Ron's rages are sincere and — according to his wife — healthily cathartic. But can these splenetic outbursts loosen the grip of capitalism at its most monstrous?
Crime fiction with Mat Coward: April 1, 2025
High quality pulp, rollicking online murders, Abnorman Britain, and high skates drama: reviews of The Get Off, Everyone In The Group Chat Dies, Pagans and First To Fall
ANGUS REID considers the power of the podcast as a vehicle for consensus building in opposition to mainstream media narratives
GLENN FOSBRAEY recommends a biography worth reading for both existing George Michael fans and those yet to be converted
FRANCIS DEVINE introduces a new collection of essays that draws on Pease McKenna’s example to indicate future paths for the movement
KEVIN DONNELLY and MARIA DUARTE review Shoot the People, The Last One For The Road, Rosebush Pruning, and Moana
JAMES WALSH recommends an exceptional documentary about the experience of Western doctors in Gaza
NOT recommended for the squeamish, the easily shocked or the easily offended, if you think you’ve got the stomach for it Christa Faust’s The Get Off (Hard Case, £9.99) is top-quality modern pulp fiction.
The protagonist, former porn star Angel Dare, has appeared in two previous novels, knowledge of which is not necessary to enjoy this one. In her third and final outing, Angel’s on the run from the law, and from a social media posse, following a revenge killing that went as wrong as it possibly could.
She gets entangled with cattle barons and rodeo stars as she makes her way across the USA towards sanctuary in the wildlands near the Canadian border. And although she doesn't mean to do it, everywhere she goes she leaves dead bodies behind her. The advanced pregnancy doesn't exactly help, either. Can someone like Angel really choose to “get off,” and start a new life?
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