Crooked Little Vein; the book review!

Every once in a while I put down the video games and actually read a book. I picked up Crooked Little Vein in the bargain pile at Barnes and Noble the other day based off nothing but Warren Ellis' (the authority, transmetropolitan, astonishing x-men) reputation. I'll be snookered if this book didn't have me hooked right from the beginning. It's not a very long book. It's only about 220 pages, but Ellis sure uses those pages to mass effect.

The basic plot revolves around a hard luck private detective who is hired by the president's heroin addicted chief of staff to retrieve the Constitution of the United States. Not the regular old boring constitution but the "real" constitution (the one with invisible amendments) created by some of the Founding Fathers as a fallback for their great experiment.

Saying this book is a "seedy journey across America's underbelly" sounds cliche, and doesn't really prepare you for what's in it's pages. There's some really messed up stuff in the book, but somehow Ellis is able to tackle subjects like tantric ostrich parties or godzilla porn with humor and a bit of empathy for the participants.

Anyhoo its a good book, if you're thinking about picking it up just read the first paragraph in the store. It'll be painfully clear if this is your kinda book after that.