Nelson's Run

Peter Bacho, Peter Baho. Willowgate Press, $12.95 (145pp) ISBN 978-1-930008-02-1

The eponymous young antihero of Nelson's Run heads for the Philippines as a ""sexual tourist"" after his father is accidentally killed by the mistress the two men shared. There he slings propaganda for a crooked regime, then gets stuck in a guerrilla war and a weird sexual triangle with politically radical Marta and the wealthy, well-connected Anita. Though author Peter Bacho (Cebu, winner of an American Book Award) uses political and sexual satire to create some memorable scenes offering wild sendups of gender roles, colonialism and corruption along the way this slim novel feels rushed and never has an opportunity to come together as a whole.

Featured Fiction Reviews

Joseph Earl Thomas

The magnificent first novel from Thomas (Sink, a memoir) centers on an Iraq War veteran who works in a Philadelphia emergency room. Joey, who grew up in poverty, relies on Continue reading »

Briony Cameron

Cameron debuts with an exciting and multidimensional story inspired by the women pirates who sailed the Caribbean in the 17th century. Jacquotte Delahaye, who is of Haitian and Continue reading »

Marcela Fuentes

Fuentes debuts with the astonishing story of two malas, or women who challenge traditional Mexican gender norms. The year is 1951 and Pilar Aguirre, who is eight months pregnant Continue reading »

Scott Preston

Preston’s blistering debut takes place in the farthest reaches of northern England, on “cloud-eaten” fells battered by wind and inhabited mostly by sheep. There’s nothing much Continue reading »