Crooked Little Vein: A Novel

Warren Ellis

Mar 2009 · Harper Collins

About this ebook

“May be destined to become one of the great underground classics of the twenty-first century.” —Lansing State Journal

Burned-out private dick Michael McGill needs to jump-start his career. What he gets instead is a cattle prod to the crotch. The president’s heroin-addicted chief of staff wants McGill to find the Constitution—the real one the Founding Fathers secretly devised for the time of gravest crisis. And with God, civility, and Mom’s homemade apple pie already dead or dying, that time is now. But McGill has a talent for stumbling into every imaginable depravity—and this case is driving him even deeper into America’s darkest, dankest underbelly, toward obscenities that boggle even his mind.

“Combines the noir sensibilities of Raymond Chandler with the grotesqueness of Chuck Palahniuk’s infamous short story ‘Guts’ and the acerbic social commentary of William S. Burroughs’s Naked Lunch.” —Chicago Tribune

“Laugh-out-loud funny . . . a deeply inventive look at the undercurrents beneath the mainstream popular culture.” —Charlotte Observer

“Not for the faint of heart.” —Entertainment Weekly

Ratings and reviews

Good light reading. Author has great timing and a unique sense of humor, but the book tumbled over into shock value at some point; it seemed as though every example of supposed depravity was there simply to say "you thought that was freaky, how about this!". Storyline is quaint but predictable. No depth.

I just loved this book! It was bizarre, hilarious, grotesque and an absolutely fun read! It's been a while since I've read a novel that nearly made liquids come out of my nose that it was so funny! Plainly put, I had a great time reading it. It reminded me a bit of Jeremy C. Shipp's _Cursed_ - in its weirdness, humour and general "magnetism" of their main characters. I don't know if a movie could be made of it, but I would certainly see it - just as I will definitely be looking out for another of his books - I certainly hope his agent continues to harass him! What fun!

A downright bizarre and crazed voyage into the underworld that you will never forget. You'll never look at the word "mainstream" again.

About the author

Warren Ellis is one of the most prolific, read, and admired graphic novelists in the world and the creator of Transmetropolitan and The Authority. He lives in southern England with his partner, Niki, and their daughter, Lilith. He never sleeps.