The Gate at Lake Drive (Book 1: Dillon the Monster Dick Series)
Shaun Meeks
IFWG Publishing
October, 2015
Reviewed by Jess Landry
Dillon is a Monster Dick. A Monster Private Eye that is. In the vein of Clive Barker’s Harry D’Amour, Dillon takes care of things that go bump in the night – a task passed down to him from generations before. One day, he receives a call from the Mayor of a small, lake-fronted town named Innisfil; seems the peaceful community is plagued with little green creatures popping out from a whirlpool in the centre of the lake. Armed with hunting supplies and his creature killing know-how, Dillon the Monster Dick (don’t worry, the double meaning of his title isn’t lost on him) heads down to Innisfil and discovers more than he bargained for.
The Gate at Lake Drive gives off a John Dies at the End/Constantine-type vibe, though it never quite pins down if it wants to be more of a comedy or more of a drama. There’s elements of both at play in its pages, and all that matters is that the end result is a successful one – which, for the most part, it is. It’s a highly imaginative story that entertains, even if some of its motifs are borrowed from other sources (much like Constantine, where the main character has tattoos all over his body that he uses for protection from otherworldly beings; and like John Dies at the End, where some creatures need to use man-made objects to form their bodies on earth).
The character of Dillon is a bit of a conundrum – he’s reclusive enough to keep readers at arm’s length, but intriguing enough to keep people reading on. He drops hints throughout that he’s not entirely human, though that aspect of his life is not fully revealed – do I smell an origin story on the horizon?
My only complaint is the character of Rouge Hills, the quasi sidekick to Dillon. Her introduction is quick – she’s a client of his, and the two take a too fast liking to each other. One day Dillon is clearing a monster from her house, and a few days later he’s on the case in Innisfil only for her to randomly show up and they fall in love. Sigh. She does help out the best she can in a scenario she’s never experienced before, but her character ultimately feels out of place in the story.
Overall though, The Gate at Lake Drive is an entertaining read. Pick it up if you’ve got a thing for Monster Dicks.
