cover image Uncle Brucker the Rat Killer

Uncle Brucker the Rat Killer

Leslie Peter Wulff. Night Shade, $15.99 trade paper (272p) ISBN 978-1-59780-894-1

In his debut novel, Wulff plunges headfirst into conspiracy theory, pandimensional genocide, and a legacy of tall tales about the history of marauding rats. Adolescent Walt comes to live with Uncle Brucker partly to escape his father and partly to act as a nurse for his half-wild uncle, a rat killer. Walt’s teenage woes become entangled in Uncle Brucker’s top-secret defense plan when they are entrusted with an inexplicable mission to defend Earth from a new rat uprising. They struggle to survive a world of inconsistencies and improbable romance, in a story with an equal mix of violent conflict and philosophical consideration of American muscle cars. Wulff adopts the matter-of-fact tone common to tall tales on the porch swing. He rarely slows to explain or offer justification for his harrowing twists. The adventure is fast-paced, nerve-wracking, and hilarious, and the conclusion is surprisingly poetic. (July)