The Hitchhiking Effect – Book Review

by | Sep 25, 2015 | Book Reviews, Reviews | 0 comments

The-Hitchhiking-EffectThe Hitchhiking Effect
Gene O’Neill
Dark Renaissance Books
August 2015
Reviewed by Sheri White

If you’re an avid reader of small-press horror, you know the name Gene O’Neill. His short fiction has been published in magazines such as Cemetery Dance and The Twilight Zone, as well as anthologies including Unnatural Selection, Decadence, Dead Cats Bouncing, and Borderlands 5.

The Hitchhiking Effect is a collection of ten stories published over the past 30 years. The first story, “The Burden of Indigo,” was first published in The Twilight Zone in 1981. In the future, criminals are dyed according to the nature of their offences – blue is the color given to those who have committed sex crimes. In “The Burden of Indigo,” a man believes his color is fading, and hopes he can return to society. This story was expanded into a novella of the same title in 2002.

“The Confessions of St. Zach” follows a family after a nuclear event that occurs while they are vacationing in a remote cabin. Once they return to find the devastation, they try to make a new life together in a survival camp. This story, along with “The Burden of Indigo,” is part of a world the author has created called “Cal Wild” – a devastated futuristic California filled with people who have been dyed to show their crimes to the world. The Cal Wild Chronicles is also a planned set of four books showcasing this world, and will be published in 2015 and 2016. The artist GAK will illustrate the series.

Many of the stories have characters with military combat backgrounds, usually USMC (Gene O’Neill is a former Marine), and dealing with PTSD or other issues re-adjusting to civilian life. In “Rusting Chickens” (also published as a chapbook in 2013), Rob McKenna has returned home to his wife after getting injured in Pakistan. A major head injury has resulted in McKenna getting a steel plate, which has affected his memory as well as making him hallucinate – he believes the wire chickens his wife has crafted are moving and changing positions. But the reality of the situation is heartbreaking.

All of the stories included in The Hitchhiking Effect are excellent. Descriptions of military action bring the stories to life in an exciting way, enriching the characters and showing why many retired military suffer the anguish faced upon returning home. The dialog is a lot of fun – lots of military slang and terms that give the characters depth and make them interesting and realistic.

Don’t skip the introduction – it’s just as engrossing as the stories that come after and gives thoughtful insight into those stories. The artwork by Steven C. Gilberts is striking as well.

The Hitchhiking Effect is one of the best single-author collections I’ve read. While Gene O’Neill is considered a genre writer, these stories will appeal to anyone who loves a great, well-written story.

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