When I agree to review a book, my decision is usually based on several factors, including the quality of the writing, the blurb, the page length and the genre, but in this case, it was mostly based on the cover. (Yeah, I know, what can I say – image is everything).
The Pink Beetle is a kind of pulp novella, which begins with a young boy racing to grab the latest issue of his favourite comic book featuring the irrepressible Pink Beetle himself. As old Alfie Hitchcock used to say – an audience would rather be confused than bored, and I was certainly a little perplexed with this four-part story. But that perplexity did not last and I was quickly drawn into this strange tale which I’m not going to tell you about because that would spoil it.
I will say this – the writing is clever, witty and engaging and (even while I was confused) I was touched and amused by the enthusiasm and inventiveness of the writing. Caspar Vega employs a style that, dare I say it, is like nothing I’ve seen in a long time. There’s without doubt a huge big wodge of talent here and I’ll be popping into Mr Vega’s bookstore again very soon.
Colin Garrow 