The Roo
By Alan Baxter
2020 Self-published
Paperback, 123 pages
Remember that story and photo
floating around the interwebz about the jacked-up Red Kangaroo that was
terrorizing Australia? Well, that is where this book started. As explained in
the foreword, a Twitter conversation about that animal got to “(it’s) like
something Zebra Books would have published back in the day”, and it took off
from there. Kaelan Patrick Burke did a mock-up cover and Baxter, being Australian,
was coaxed into writing it. And there it is! The cover of the actual book is a
cleaned-up version of Burke’s original idea, complete with a Zebra tag along
the edge.
The book does exactly what you
would want it to. A small town on the edge of the Outback is missing a few
citizens. And then more. The story doesn’t take long to cut to the chase; it is
a massive, 7-foot muscle-bound Red Kangaroo laying waste to the townsfolk. Many
of the victims are total dirtbags who deserve their fate, so their gory demises
are satisfying. Really, what can you say? You want gory death-by-Roo and you
get it. Set ‘em up and knock ‘em down.
The book isn’t completely
satisfying, though. It does come off as a bit empty, largely due to it being a quickly
written story to satisfy the above-mentioned Twitter exchange. A brisk pace,
however, is maintained through it’s very short running time and the red flows
heavily. And that is what we want. Some of the more detestable characters serve
a bigger purpose than just being Roo fodder, too. An undercurrent of male toxicity
runs throughout, making some character’s come-uppance a savory delight. On a
serious note, Baxter added an afterword, which is just a paragraph about the
need to recognize and attempt to eradicate domestic violence. Bravo!
A handy 3-page glossary is
included at the end to help out those of us not familiar with Aussie slang.
Keep your finger on those pages while reading. You’ll need it! Strewth!
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