BOOK REVIEW, DMV BY BENTLEY LITTLE

20/4/2023

Whatever you do: never EVER cross the DMV!

DMV By Bentley Little

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BZ3N71SM
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cemetery Dance Publications (14 April 2023)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1398 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled

A Horror Book Review by Tony Jones

Considering Bentley Little has been writing novels since the 1990s, I am a relative novice to his fiction and from his recent output have only read The Bank (2020), which was an entertaining read. However, considering my shortage of points of references beyond The Bank I found DMV to be very similar to that other novel, too comparable even. In The Bank, a new financial institution opens up in town and gradually wraps its vice-like sinister claws around a small American town and in DMV all you have to do is switch the bank for a murky government organisation and you have a new novel with some similarities. Bentley Little obviously has it in for big institutions! Structurally they were pretty similar, a group of characters are threatened by the DMV (instead of a bank) and the author has fun with his satirical digs at everything from large institutions, the Kafkaesque nature of the organisation, to Donald Trump.

In parts DMV was very funny and I chuckled on numerous occasions, however, ultimately satire trumped horror and although there were a few violent and very imaginative kill or torture scenes it lacked scares and could have done with more grab-you-by-the-throat style horror. Also, the plot ran out of steam a while before it reached the end, 440 pages seemed much too long for a novel that treaded a fine balance between satire, thriller and horror. Once all the big reveals were out of the bag, the book took too long to finish, but I did find the more mundane quirks of the DVM organisation more amusing than those which are dropped when the novel moves into full blown horror territory with its ‘good versus evil’ style finish.

‘The Man’ is an American slang phrase which usually refers to the government or to some other authority in a position of power, quite often they are difficult to contact directly, but can wield a lot of control. Bentley Little turns the DMV into “The Man”. It becomes a threatening and shadowy organisation which everybody avoids whenever possible with his novel dealing with a group of loosely connected individuals who fall foul of its influence. Their lives are turned upside down, or worse, as the influence of the organisation tightens, taking grudges to ultimate extremes. Some of these examples were beautifully subtle and believable, others were more outlandish or even potentially supernatural.

The reader could relate to many of the more straight-forward examples of manipulation, such as being stuck in queues for hours, unhelpful assistance, incorrect appointments which were impossible to reschedule or the frustration of receiving the wrong documentation in the post. But on the other hand, some unlucky suckers soon find themselves blacklisted, are repeatedly called in the middle of the night, are stalked, have threatening strangers appearing at their doorstep or are told their documents are invalid with a thug then appearing on their doorstep ready to repossess their vehicle. Welcome to the DMV!

DMV features several sets of characters who are living very normal lives until becoming unlucky targets on their hitlist. There are successful author Todd Klein and his librarian wife Rosita who live very normal middle-class lives until Todd attempts to renew his licence and after an argument with a DMV employee finding himself caught in their web. Next there is Jorge Guiterrez, Rosita's younger brother who is looking for a new job and then out of the blue is approached by a pair of mysterious strangers with an even more mysterious job offer...at the DMV. This led to the most outlandish part of the story (which was also very funny) with Jorge finding himself at a weird bootcamp where casual racism, torture and death are part of the daily routine. The third main story strand features Zal Tombasian, a young programmer at Data Initiatives, whose company is hired to work on the DMV’s computer networks leading to some startling revelations.

Bentley Little has a lot of fun turning the mundane aspects of everyday life into unnerving horror which is laced with humour and DMV often successfully balances the silly with the ominous. Portraying it as a fascist like organisation, I laughed when normal law-abiding citizens were actively encouraged (via weird alternative licences) to deliberately hit (ala Deathrace 2000) pedestrians, or others were designated as victims of some kind. I also found the group of undercover (ex-DMV) test instructors to be strangely funny, leading a strange underground rear-guard fight against the DMV by helping those given deliberately difficult tests which were impossible to pass. However, there were other plots which had unexplored dead ends, at one point Todd is interviewed by a podcaster about his novels and when he mentions the DMV is hung up on. I expected this guy to reappear in the vein of an X-Files style character, but he never did.

Paranoia and satire, rather than horror dominate DMV and although I never truly cared too much about any of the characters (the romance between Zal and Violet was another major damp squid dead end) I had fun anticipating what horrors lay beyond the next curve in the road. But when you apply for a new licence and are sent a cartoon drawing with your face on it you know you’re in big trouble!

Tony Jones

DMV BY BENTLEY LITTLE

Successful author Todd Klein and his wife Rosita live a quiet small town life. Todd's latest novel is selling well and despite recent budget cuts, Rosita relishes her job at the local library. After years of marriage, they're still in love, the mortgage to their suburban home is paid off, and their future is bright. Until, that is, Todd makes an appointment at the Department of Motor Vehicles to renew his license.

Jorge Guiterrez, Rosita's younger brother, hasn't been so lucky. A few months earlier, his bad temper finally caught up with him. After arguing with a supervisor, Jorge quit his cushy job and hasn't been able to find a new one. The bills are piling up and his wife is starting to pressure him. Until, one day, he is approached by a pair of mysterious strangers with an even more mysterious job offer...at the DMV.

Zal Tombasian, a young programmer at Data Initiatives, has a pretty boring existence. As his friend and co-worker Bernard tells him, "Your social life consists of sitting at home eating junk food and playing online games." Zal doesn't even bother to put up an argument. He's never been much for adventure. Until his company is hired to work on their largest account yet...by the DMV.

With his latest novel, Bentley Little's savage satire is on full display as he takes on everyone's worst nightmare, the DMV.

Stephen King says: "When it comes to horror, nobody does what Bentley Little does.... Scary, funny, weird, satiric, surreal."

"Longtime master of horror fiction Little is back. Readers will think twice about renewing their licenses after reading DMV. Fans of Little’s work will enjoy his latest offering." - Booklist

"This is Bentley Little at his mind-blowing best." - Well Worth A Read

"Bentley Little is a one of a kind storyteller who creates an atmosphere of intense twisted deviance. Ominous context, repulsive individuals and an unholy creed create an environment that will leave a sick feeling in the pit of the reader’s stomach. This unorthodox brand of dark fiction often leaves an impression of hopelessness and of no escape from its disturbing pages." - Horror Bookworm Reviews