“Though this might seem a dystopian slice of life, it’s far more, and seemingly disconnected events tie together in a fantastic ending. I had my doubts (who doesn’t, with a debut? Endings are hard), but Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat genuinely succeeds in both surprising and surpassing your expectations. And as a reviewer – we have secret plot-senses – that’s rare… Referential, inspired, and occasionally defying any expectation whatsoever, this is an odd read that you really should try.”

READ MORE @ DRYING INK

“The dystopian Melbourne of TSMG, pitched at some distance into the future, has the unique distinction of being the only city left in the world. Unfortunately, things are not going terribly well in terms of civil liberties, the political climate or the environment. In fact, things are comprehensively fucked up on all fronts, and the portrait painted is of an overcrowded, polluted metropolis groaning under the control of a government vested in corporate interests and busy herding non-conformists and misfits into extramural death camps styled as ‘hospitals’…

“Oh, and on a final note, you will thoroughly enjoy the company of the protagonist, Floyd Maquina – he is ruggedly handsome and generally ruined; witty, self destructive and self-effacing with his air of gracious defeat. He has a weary charm that is impossible to resist. If only he were real…”

READ MORE HERE:
http://theflawedmind.com/2011/10/19/tobacco-stained-mountain-goat-a-bleak-but-entertaining-melbourne/

“And then the girl from the Activities was standing before me. You remember her, the one from my recurring dream. The one I murdered, even if I don’t exactly remember the details. She stood before me, a hole the size of a football cut into her stomach, her hands cradling her innards.”

Those are the kind of stark descriptions of the grotesque and fantastic that litter Andrez Bergen’s debut novel. Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat is a post-apocalyptic, sci-fi noir caper that comes on quick and relentless, and doesn’t quit until the last words.

The protagonist, Floyd Maquina, is a messed up guy. Living in Melbourne, Australia (which happens to be the last city on Earth) he hunts Deviant citizens with government sanctioned vigor and a wicked drug and alcohol dependency. There’s violence, humor, and some tugging of heartstrings, but all in all, Bergen manages to keep things light despite a setting of pure bleakness: constant rain, depression, drug addiction. Somehow, among all of the drabness and desolation, Bergen crafts a tale that is full of fun dialogue, quirky idiosyncrasies, imaginative, lively characters, and a relatable world to put it all inside of. The image of Floyd sitting on a cramped train with his head pressed against a rain washed window reflecting bright with neon advertisements still sticks with me.

At the heart of Bergen’s novel is the love affair our author has with popular culture. This book is bursting with nods and homage’s to everything from Humphrey Bogart to Mobile Suit Gundam. At times I thought that his continuous placement of sly cultural references would weigh the narrative down and Bergen’s original thoughts would get lost in the milieu. Not the case. His sensitive placement and explanations of these references binds them firmly to the story and are vital to the reader’s sense of place and feeling. The idea could have gone overboard, but the execution remains poignant. And just in case some things go over your head (example: a tosser cracking foxy with a twist) there is a glossary and an encyclopedia in the back.

Bergen’s style doesn’t coddle the reader. His sometimes informal voice and penchant for showing and not telling require a little extra participation on the reader’s part. The result, though, is a quick but memorable excursion to a unique place that rewards the reader with invigorating style and a very satisfying ending. Check this one out.

EVAN PEARSON @ Verbicide Magazine, 29 Aug. 2011

Excerpt: “Tobacco Stained Mountain Goat is an incredible novel, completely unexpected and with such a wonderfully rich and unique style that is simply mesmerising, unmissable..”

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This is a really entertaining noir tale set in a near-future Melbourne: our only city left, post-apocalypse. Blade Runner meets The Third Man is an apt description.

Floyd, our hero, is a “seeker” who hunts down deviants and loves referencing old films (which receive their own appendix) — this is a very clever thing, setting a nostalgic character in the future, making his references more relatable to the reader. He’s burnt out on the job, alcoholic, and feels trapped because of his wife’s “medical” bills (she was tagged as a deviant). He becomes a reluctant media darling, and tries to get at the heart of the political corruption in his city.
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“The dim and gritty atmosphere is expertly set, using a massive amount of references to film noir and pop culture, courtesy of our narrator’s nostalgic love for film and all things reminiscent of simpler times… A compelling, well-written narrative with fantastic imagery and a perfectly set tone… This book does a fabulous job of highlighting the complexities and dangers of current world social, economic and political climates. Read more…

“The author’s self-deprecation helps ground his writing, preventing him from self-indulgence and losing himself in intellectual pretension… All in all Tobacco Stained Mountain Goat is a great read: a well-rounded book from an well-rounded individual [that] easily translates into this expat Australian’s homage to Melbourne and its culture.” Read more…

“Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat is a novel that manages to be hardboiled and playful at the same time. What might otherwise be unremittingly bleak fare is lightened significantly by Floyd’s filmic imagination and his wisecracking wordplay. With little to sustain him (his diet seems to consist mainly of vodka, salt and vinegar chips, chocolate almonds and cigarettes), Floyd must struggle against both inner and outer demons. Read more…

“A frenetic, jangled, edgy, tragic, disturbing joyride through angst-ridden Middle America, The National Virginity Pledge feels like a cross between a David Lynch movie and a trip to your favorite dysfunctional uncle’s house — and I mean this in the best way possible.”
-Marc Schuster, Small Press Reviews

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“…the author has pulled off a rare and amazing literary feat: he has crafted a work that is highly personal and gut-wrenchingly real, yet surreal, dream-like and convincingly fantastic. The novel is both intuitive and masterful in execution, and in this regard it shares more with the spirit of modernist painting than it does with postmodern literature. Young speaks to us in a voice that is authentic and thoroughly lacking in pretension.” Read more…