I remember liking Special Topics in Calamity Physics quite a bit, and this one was enjoyable too. Possibly I've just been completely primed by the recent thinking about literary construction, but the narrative seemed very episodic, one event or character after another appearing and then being checked off in order to advance the plot, and populated by protagonists who, while interesting enough to spend time with, aren't exactly psychologically fleshed out; having said that, its story of disgraced investigative reporter Scott McGrath's pursuit of the dark mystery at the heart of the life and work of reclusive horror film director Stanislas Cordova and recent death of his strangely compelling daughter Ashley, accompanied by plucky girl chancer Nora and broodingly flaky boy-with-a-past Hopper, rendered in McGrath's hard-boiled voice and interspersed webpages, is entertaining to the max, especially once McGrath begins to feel as if he's losing his grip on reality and the suggestions of black magic and dealings with the devil increasingly loom.
