Huston, Charlie

PERSONAL:

Born in Oakland, CA; married Virginia Louise Smith (an actress). Education: M.F.A.

ADDRESSES:

Home—New York, NY. Agent—Simon Lipskar, Writers House, 21 W. 26th St., New York, NY l00l0. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Has worked as an actor, bartender, waiter, novelist, and comic-book writer.

WRITINGS:

"HANK THOMPSON" MYSTERY NOVELS

Caught Stealing, Ballantine Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Six Bad Things, Ballantine Books (New York, NY), 2005.

A Dangerous Man, Ballantine Books (New York, NY), 2006.

"JOE PITT" HORROR NOVELS

Already Dead, Ballantine Books (New York, NY), 2005.

No Dominion, Ballantine Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Half the Blood of Brooklyn, Ballantine Books (New York, NY), 2007.

OTHER

The Shotgun Rule (novel), Ballantine Books (New York, NY), 2007.

(With David Finch) Moon Knight Volume 1: The Bottom Premiere (graphic novel), Marvel Comics (New York, NY), 2007.

ADAPTATIONS:

Caught Stealing was optioned by an independent film producer.

SIDELIGHTS:

As Charlie Huston put it on his home page, "I write pulp. I write noir…. I write about people killing each other and suffering or not suffering the consequences." His novels are fast-moving tales of criminality, desperation, and violence. His debut novel, Caught Stealing, is "best described as a speeding bullet that zips through nasty noir space," according to Agony Column Web site contributor Terry D'Auray. It begins innocently enough when a bartender named Hank Thompson agrees to take care of a neighbor's cat. At this neighbor's home, Hank discovers a key in an envelope that opens a storage locker containing four and a half million dollars. Unfortunately, a great number of ruthless killers also seem to have an interest in that money, and when they discover Hank has the key, he and everyone close to him become the targets of threats, shootings, and brutal beatings. In the determination to find Hank's neighbor, no one is left untouched; even the cat undergoes torture. For Booklist reviewer Frank Sennett, the resulting story "delivers fresh, jazzy riffs."

Hank returns in Six Bad Things, which takes place three years after events in the first book. This time he is living peacefully in Mexico, with the four million dollars safely (he believes) stashed away. But when a Russian backpacker shows up full of questions and turns out to be the son of a mafia chieftain, Hank is once more caught up in a world of relentless violence. He kills the Russian youth before fleeing Mexico, but then decides to hand over the money to the mob. Unfortunately, he cannot seem to get hold of the trusted friend safeguarding the money, and soon he is on his own blood-stained search for the missing millions. "Bullets fly, more people die … and finally Hank faces the one-on-one that was always in the cards for him," explained a Kirkus Reviews contributor. This time, Hank is much more of an active participant in the mayhem, but a Publishers Weekly reviewer noted: "Huston takes care with Hank, making him funny and sympathetic."

A Dangerous Man is the third and final book in Huston's "Hank Thompson" series. Hank has become an unwilling hit man for the Russian mobster David Dolokhov, whose money he stole in Six Bad Things. After undergoing painful plastic surgery, Hank finds himself addicted to prescription painkillers while trying to deal with horrible nightmares. At this point Dolokhov asks Hank to protect baseball star Miguel Arenas, and in doing so Hank must return to New York and deal with his tumultuous past. A Dangerous Man is a "fitting end to a mayhem-packed trilogy," wrote Frank Sennett in a review for Booklist. Other critics agreed that Huston finished the "Hank Thompson" series with as much of a bang as its first novel. The author has written an "exciting final volume," noted one Publishers Weekly contributor.

Huston takes a turn toward gothic horror in Already Dead. This time traditional hard-boiled private eye Joe Pitt is at the center of the tale. More accurately, Pitt is traditional except for the fact that he is a Vampyre, one of the undead who are distinguished from other vampires by their greater sophistication and organization. There are a few thousand of Pitt's kind in New York City, and the head of one of their most important groups, the Coalition, enlists Pitt to find the missing daughter of a wealthy businessman who "counts A-list Vampyres among those eager to do him favors," a Kirkus Reviews contributor explained. While searching for the runaway teenager, Pitt finds himself on the trail of a zombie that is infecting Vampyres with a dangerous virus, and he is soon caught up in the murky politics of the Coalition and their rivals in the Vampyre community. For a Publishers Weekly reviewer, the result is an "irresistible and fiendishly original take on the vampire myth."

The following year, Huston followed up Already Dead with his second "Joe Pitt" novel, No Dominion. This time, Joe has fallen on desperate times and asks Society clan boss Terry Bird for work. Terry gives Joe the unwelcome task of undertaking an assignment in uptown New York, where Joe has less experience and the Vampyres are notoriously ferocious. Desperate, Joe embarks on his mission and encounters more than he may have bargained for. Critics again praised Huston for a well-written novel. The author is a "gifted storyteller," observed one Kirkus Reviews contributor. Likewise, Booklist contributor Frank Sennett noted Huston's skill at making novels of this genre come alive. No Dominion has "sharp writing and entertaining characters," he wrote.

With Half the Blood of Brooklyn, Huston continues his "Joe Pitt" adventures. In this installment, vampire enforcer Joe Pitt is sent to Brooklyn when rumblings from another vampire clan have everyone wondering if they're on the verge of a vampire civil war. Once in Brooklyn, Joe discovers that the clan consists of a group of rogue vamps, radical Jews who refer to themselves as the lost tribe of Gibeah. The confrontation comes in the midst of unrest in Pitt's own clan, including a lack of faith in its leadership, as well as a mysterious vampire slayer on the loose in the city who is responsible for the death of one of the most reliable suppliers of contraband blood to the vampires. On a personal level, Joe's girlfriend Evie, who is suffering from AIDS, is in the hospital, her health rapidly deteriorating. Joe has a difficult decision ahead of him, as he realizes that a transfusion of his blood has a chance of curing Evie. The hard part of the choice lies in the fact that, if the blood fails to cure her, it will kill her that much more quickly than the disease that is ravaging her body. Frank Sennett, in a review for Booklist, commented that the book "drags in spots," but concluded that "it's still more entertaining and creative than most contemporary PI tales." A contributor for Kirkus Reviews wrote that "violent, often ugly, Huston's series is not for the squeamish, but fans will find this installment the best to date." A reviewer for Publishers Weekly declared that "Huston's formidable writing chops are on full display: his action scenes are unparalleled in crime fiction."

The Shotgun Rule is a stand-alone action thriller set in 1980s California. The book follows the adventures of four teenagers looking for trouble who ultimately find more than they can handle. Friends George, Paul, Hec- tor, and Andy are spending their summer in the usual way, hanging out, biking around town, and getting high, when Andy's bike is stolen by the Arroyo brothers, the town's answer to a gang. When the four friends go looking to liberate Andy's bike, they discover the Arroyos's crank lab. When they help themselves to some of the merchandise, they inevitably set off a town-wide war between the various economic and social factions. Not only do the local drug dealers and the police become involved, but the boys inadvertently unearth the secrets of their fathers' pasts as well. Frank Sennett, again reviewing for Booklist, remarked that "the fast-unfolding plot's tension springs from elements both expected … and surprising." Entertainment Weekly contributor Ken Tucker praised the book, finding it to be "wise about the way boys grow into men," and also added that it "roots its violence in understandable emotion."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, April 1, 2004, Frank Sennett, review of Caught Stealing, p. 1352; May 1, 2005, Frank Sennett, review of Six Bad Things, p. 1526; August, 2005, Frank Sennett, review of Already Dead, p. 1999; August 1, 2006, Frank Sennett, review of A Dangerous Man, p. 50; October 1, 2006, Frank Sennett, review of No Dominion, p. 41; August, 2007, Frank Sennett, review of The Shotgun Rule, p. 49; November 1, 2007, Frank Sennett, review of Half the Blood of Brooklyn, p. 29.

Entertainment Weekly, April 30, 2004, Chris Nashawaty, review of Caught Stealing, p. 166; July 8, 2005, Tim Stack, review of Six Bad Things, p. 74; August 31, 2007, Ken Tucker, review of The Shotgun Rule, p. 71.

Kirkus Reviews, March 15, 2004, review of Caught Stealing, p. 243; April 15, 2005, review of Six Bad Things, p. 440; July 1, 2005, review of Already Dead, p. 711; August 1, 2006, review of A Dangerous Man, p. 756; October 15, 2006, review of No Dominion, p. 1036; October 15, 2007, review of Half the Blood of Brooklyn.

Library Journal, July 1, 2005, Patricia Altner, review of Already Dead, p. 66; July 1, 2005, Bob Lunn, review of Six Bad Things, p. 66.

Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, May 1, 2007, Charles De Lint, review of No Dominion, p. 54.

Publishers Weekly, March 15, 2004, review of Caught Stealing, p. 52; May 23, 2005, review of Six Bad Things, p. 57; October 10, 2005, review of Already Dead, p. 252; November 7, 2005, "PW Talks with Charlie Huston: Vampire Gangs of New York," p. 57; July 31, 2006, review of A Dangerous Man, p. 56; October 23, 2006, review of No Dominion, p. 35; October 29, 2007, review of Half the Blood of Brooklyn, p. 35.

ONLINE

Agony Column Online,http://trashotron.com/agony/ (July 22, 2007), Terry D'Auray, review of Caught Stealing; Rick Kleffel, review of No Dominion.

Armchair Interviews,http://www.armchairinterviews.com/ (November 15, 2005), Andrea Siska, review of Six Bad Things.

Buzz Scope,http://www.buzzscope.com/ (November 15, 2005), Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, "In the Scope: On the ‘Bottom’ with Charlie Huston."

Charlie Huston Home Page,http://www.pulpnoir.com (July 22, 2007).

Comic Book Resources,http://www.comicbookresources.com/ (March 25, 2007), Robert Taylor, author interview.

January,http://www.januarymagazine.com/ (May 21, 2008), Anthony Rainone, author interview.

SFF World.com,http://www.sffworld.com/ (January 27, 2006), Rob Bedford, author interview.