BLACKHEART MAGAZINE Review by Kristen Valentine
August 13th, 2013
“…A violent, blistering literary thriller with twists and thrills and plenty of complex characterizations. James Reich has created an entirely new kind of anti-heroine in Varyushka Cash – she’s both dangerous and sympathetic, a methodical killer on a quest for the greater good, and yet she is neither idealistic nor cold. Robert Dresner would be the “good guy” in a typical thriller, and yet here he is almost as dangerous as Cash is. The supporting cast is just as compelling: there’s Molly Pinkerton, Cash’s neighbor, a transgendered Vietnam vet turned artist; Cross Spikes, Dresner’s covert renditions team; and the radical women of Cash’s past, one of whom turns out to be entangled with Dresner. These characters go to extremes, yes, but under Reich’s skillful hand, they are sharp and distinct without veering into caricature.
…Bombshell is layered with histories both personal and global, touching on Oppenheimer and the Manhattan Project, Valerie Solanas’ notorious SCUM Manifesto and her attempted murder of Andy Warhol, Three Mile Island, the astrologer of the Reagan administration – it’s a lot, especially for only 267 pages, but James Reich earns every bit of it. The novel, like Varyushka Cash herself, serves as a warning against the power of our decaying nuclear facilities, but also something potentially more dangerous: the entropy of the modern world, the natural chaos to which everything returns. The conclusion may be bleak, but Bombshell’s incandescent prose makes it all harshly satisfying.”
Read the full review online HERE