Crab Town [Paperback]

Some writers, you can just tell, are brimming with ideas and creativity. Prolific bizarro veteran Carlton Mellick III is one of those writers, and his long short story Crab Town is evidence of this. After writing a couple 300+ page novels (veritable epics in the bizarro genre), he put out this 85-page novella earlier this year. It's a short, entertaining ride through the weird world of Freedom City, and its adjoining slum, known as Crab Town.

This is the story of a bank heist gone bad, in a world where two nuclear wars have left the city in shambles and the economy in a mess. In Freedom City, if you lose your job and can't pay your bills, your only choice is to move to Crab Town. Once you're in Crab Town, you're stuck, because no one will hire you again, no landlord will rent to you again, and you're essentially a social pariah. It reminds me in a lot of ways of our national welfare system, where once you're in, it's difficult to get back out. Some denizens of Crab Town form the House of Cards, a group dedicated to improving life in Crab Town and getting a fair shake from the folks in charge of Freedom City. They don't want a handout, they simply want equal opportunity for jobs and such - a little life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. So, yeah, I like the message behind this story.

As Mellick writes in the book's introduction, this story started with the cover image. Mellick liked it so much, he decided to write a story around the picture of the babe on the bomb, basically working backwards with the actual writing of the story being the last part of the process. In other words, he didn't begin with a premise and a set of characters, he saw a picture, came up with a title and a cover blurb, then wrote the story from there. What results is almost too much for such a short story.

We're introduced to no less than six different characters who all play a role in the heist. There are other peripheral characters as well, and over the course of the story, sandwiched between the events of one day, we learn a little bit about each character. We're stilling learning about these main players in the heist, right up until and during the final act. This could have easily been filled out into another 300-page epic if he had the time and desire. So many ideas and so much creativity pack each page that there's scarcely enough space to mention it all.

But such is the issue with the novella. Often times, they leave you wanting more, which I think is a good thing. And at $7.95, you get a good story with some very cool artwork. To be honest, I've been trying to decide for a long time which Mellick book I would read next, and the cover art from this one sold me from the beginning. Like Mellick, I was intrigued to learn about the babe on the bomb and what made her tick (yes, terrible pun, but I don't care!). I came away wanting more of what was here, and not just a little bit jealous of how much creatvity this guy's got bursting out of every story he writes.

Welcome to CM3's "Crab Town." A place where people can be turned into balloons and have to pay for gravity. A place where kids have to pay their parents back for raising them. A place filled with radiation, gangs, and giant crabs.
This is the story of a bank robbery gone bad. A robbery that the "House of Cards" gang was hoping would finally bring the attention of the city to their plight for equality and jobs.
Carlton takes us through their world in which each chapter tells the back story of the main characters and how they each came to where they are in life.
Crab Town is a fun read and one that you should add to your collection immediately.

Yet another gem from CM3. He packs so much into an 85 page book. He creates characters you can about and sympathize with, yet you aren't shocked by some of their inhuman actions. He paints a picture of a society that is only two or three steps removed from ours. Demented sex, uber-violence, everything that makes a CM3 novella is here. If you are a long time fan, don't miss it. If you're new to CM3, Crab Town is a good place to start.

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