 “Chad Lutzke unpacks his skateboard and takes us back to 1990" Chad Lutzke had a stellar 2018 with three outstanding releases after reading both “Skullface Boy” and “Out Behind the Barn” (co-written with fellow Ginger Nuts reviewer John Boden) I found myself backtracking through Chad’s back-catalogue and also rated “Stirring the Sheets” equally highly. Published within six months of each other, these diverse works show an author on a real hot streak and worth serious investigation should you not have come across him. On a personal level I ranked “Skullface Boy” at the top of the pile, mainly because the internal voice was so genuine, hilarious and moving, coupled with a very quirky story it was a real winner with expletive fuelled charm. I also included it in my top ten releases of the year over at HorrorTalk.Com, which has now been rebranded HorrorDNA.Com. Lutzke is equally skilled at writing supernatural stories (“Out Behind the Barn”) as he is with the extraordinary circumstance life may happen to throw up (“Skullface Boy” or “Stirring the Sheets”) and his latest release “The Same Deep Water as You” falls into this latter category. It tells a sort-of coming-of-age story of 19-year-old Jez, who is bumming around town whilst deciding what to do with his life. The story drifts along with his various friends, casual relationships, music, alcohol and his main interest, skateboarding. There were a lot of musical references, which I enjoyed, a music fan may date the setting to around 1990 as the leading characters attends an album release party at a record shop for the release of Jane’s Addiction, second album “Ritual De Lo Habitual”. There are lots of other musical references, particularly to The Cure, and influential hardcore band Minor Threat. I do enjoy identification to music in literature, especially stuff I grew up with and will never forget the first time I heard the debut Jane’s Addiction album as a teenager. It blew me away and it still holds a special place in my heart. This novella brought back some of those memories and the general feeling of both recklessness and restlessness which comes with being a teenager and the disregard of consequences. Although “The Same Deep Water as You” features themes which appear in other works by Ludtke such as isolation, alienation and loneliness this particular novella falls short of the great heights of the other releases I’ve mentioned above. It’s certainly a moody and evocative piece of fiction which ultimately tackles some major themes, but to be blunt, not enough happened in the story for my taste. The author should certainly be applauded for trying something different, but the story needed something more than a group of directionless teens floating around town with some serious issues shoe-horned into the latter part of the story. I don’t want to provide any spoilers, but I did not find some of this especially convincing. Other reviews have compared this work to films such as “Razor’s Edge”, “Kids” and “Dazed and Confused” and there is something in that, with a parentless vibe flowing through the novella. If you’re a fan of Chad Lutzke you’ll enjoy “The Same Deep Water as You” and appreciate an author moving away from traditional horror and experimenting with his fiction. Who knows, there might also be some autobiographical material threaded into the teenagers who do not yet know what to do with their lives. If you have never read Chad before, even though this novella has a lot going for it, I would recommend one of the three other releases previously mentioned as a better introduction to his work. After placing “Skullface Boy” in my HorrorDNA.Com top ten of 2018 I’ve had correspondences with a couple of readers who read and loved that work before backtracking, as I did, through his other material and were equally impressed. I’m sure “The Same Deep Water as You” will have its fans, and the alienation felt by the characters will resonate with many, but for myself it felt a little flat. Tony Jones The Same Deep Water as You Music, beer, skateboarding, and tragedy star in this coming-of-age lesson on love and lust and the line that divides them, as 19-year-old Jex experiences a life that meets River’s Edge and Kids with Dazed & Confused––a parentless indie yarn with the dark heart Lutzke is known for. I’ll show up for anything this author writes. ~Sadie Hartmann, Cemetery Dance Lutzke has a way with words that merges horror and compassion in a single sentence. Reminiscent of Robert McCammon. ~Joe Mynhardt, Crystal Lake Publishing Lutzke is writing on an entirely different level than any other small press/indie author. ~Edward Lorn, author of Bay’s End   Comments are closed.
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