Contraband by Charlie Vázquez

Title: Contraband
Author: Charlie Vázquez
Publisher: Rebel Satori
Length: Novel/220 pages
Buy the book: Paperback

Blurb:

This riveting work of Latino noir follows the paranoid underworld exile of Volfango Sanzo, a man so haunted by his secrets that he escapes to sprawling networks of underground tunnels and labyrinths in near-future America—where dissidents and “lunars” seek refuge from the smoldering ruins of a nation plagued by a deadly civil war and revolution. Volfango is certain that renegade genes in his DNA will be exposed by government-mandated “gene tests,” so he vanishes before his scheduled test date, terrified of being discovered and executed. He also suspects he is being hunted by a government ministry, who wishes to silence him before he speaks. What will he find in those dangerous underground worlds populated by rebels and pariahs? What secrets does he keep and will he survive against bleak odds?

Review:

Being a big urban fantasy/post-apocalyptic literature fan makes it very rare to come across something completely different and unique. Contraband succeeds where many other novels have failed in crafting a believable, fascinating, and gripping world while offering a protagonist shifting constantly between likable and unlikable. The writing is lyrical and gritty, fitting well within the noir genre and fans will enjoy the somewhat disjointed telling. This is not an altogether easy read as the narrative is not linear with many mental side trips into the past and actions that seem without a strong focus, but the somewhat disparate individual parts collesce into a stunning whole.

The story follows Latino government worker, Volfango, as he gives up the world he knows and descends into the underside. Here the men and women have chosen to be free thinkers and are working against the overside Revolution. The military runs everything in the Revolution, subverting freedom and persecuting a select group of people called Lunars, of which Volfango is one. The underside is a gritty, dirty, flip side of the overside run by need, greed, and survival in the series of tunnels and caves beneath cities. Volfango voluntarily descends into this world and is faced with horrors, fears, and in unlikely places, hope.

Volfango is the first person narrator and the reader follows his plight from the time he decides to go underground to the time he finally is able to ascend again with hope. The first person writing is intense, involved, and very lyrical. There is a quality evident in the writing even as the composition can be dense. The plot seems to lack a strong focus other than showing the world as it exists now, how it was, and how it could be through Volfango’s eyes. His travels from city to city, underground, on boats, and fleeing for his life all seem somewhat pointless since he gains little inherent ground. What the book does do is bring to life the despair and aberrant choices Volfango has to make that he wouldn’t otherwise.

The setting of the Revolution feels at once incredibly believable while still futuristic. There is a mixture of anonymous settings with specific places that brings an ebb and flow quality to the story and pacing. There are moments of intensity where the story is vivid and the action bright. During these scenes the pages fly by with excitement and tension. Then there are moments where the narrator indulges in memories of his life how it was or how he wishes it could be and the languid, almost dream like state of inertia carries the story along at a slower pace. During these times there tends to be more internal musing and philosophical debate and the action seems circular. The uneven pacing didn’t work against the story but offered another dimension of layering.

Although the story is not really traditional post-apocalyptic fare, the concept of the world ruined by military and government is interesting and eye catching. Usually this is accompanied by a natural disaster but here it gradually happens politically, offering something unique and different. The gritty, dirty underside is contrasted beautifully with the clean, controlled, hive like actions on the top and the feeling of desperation is shown in both. The textures, smells, and tastes of the world are constantly injected into the story and the reader never forgets the setting.

While Contraband is not perfect, it doesn’t necessarily have to be for me. Some of the action feel listless and pointless, especially as Volfango drifts from city to city without a clear purpose, yet the end product is an interesting new world and fascinating character turned inside out by the choices and actions forced for survival. The fast paced moments offset the slower times and ultimately give an unforgettable story.