In order to get a better sense of place, many authors travel to and stay among the people of the location of their works of art. Way back in the 1980's I was privileged to be mentored for a short time by Martin Cruz Smith, author of the bestselling novel "Gorky Park" of the infamous Cold War Years between Russia and the United States. He was the first author that I knew of who definitely went to his setting, literally. Following his protagonist Arkady Renko through the icy streets of suburban Moscow, the reader can almost feel the chill of the arctic air. Later in a sequel with the same character, the soviet detective ends up in Cuba, and again Smith spent time there imbibing the culture through intermingling with the people of Havana.

Part of the appeal of Kem Nunn's novels are his aptitude for describing his surroundings, especially natural settings, but not limited to non-urban locales. In an interview he describes his time spent in Tijuana preparing to write his most recent novel, another in the genre-making series of "surf noir" novels. Part of the organic writing process of fiction must be based in forms of reality, unless you are jumping off into outer space in Science Fiction or turning time back to days of wizards and monsters in Fantasy. I believe Nunn truly understands this: in order to create novels that depict the dark side, the underbelly, the armpits of modern American culture, he must inundate himself in those dark and dreary places.

"Tijuana Straits" published in 2004 is Nunn's most astounding revelation on the plight of border life for would-be immigrants who hit the end of the line and were never able to progress on to the American dream to take a bite of the proverbial pie. Instead, Nunn shows us a destitute, dangerous, and perverse underworld of desperate crime committed by heinous human beings broken down from glowing light to pitch dark. I have to say that the villain Armando Santoya is one of the most horrifying characters that I have read in any work of fiction -- and yes, that includes Stephen King's seemingly inexhaustible book machine. The scariest part about Santoya, what sets him apart from other frightening characters in other imaginary worlds, is that he seems too real to be a figment of the imagination. Nunn so clearly orders the chain of events that make Santoya into the decayed hollow shell of a human being that he is that one gets the notion that many inner city Latino gangsters could fit this profile. Racial profiling? Not if you go into Nunn's concept of the border world where the toxic sludge of "loophole legal" chemical plants, the constant bloodshed of drug warfare, and the putrid, squalid living conditions imposed on the poor people forced to live there by fate create an atmosphere of pure desperation and agony.

Sam Fahey, the man with skeletons in the closet forcing massive consumption of cans of beer, is the hero in this third book reviewed by Nunn reviewed on outdoor-weblog. The Gull, as he is known in his old hero days as a big wave surfer, is now wounded, grounded and living FAR from his past as he takes care of endangered species for the state. But his job puts him in the path of Magdalena, an environmental and worker's rights activist who spends her days recklessly pursuing large corporate scandal cases with the belief in improving the quality of life for those festering in the barrios just south of the land of plenty. She falls into his arms fleeing from assailants, and suddenly he is thrown into a far more complex set of issues than his morning headaches. Within the pages of this book Nunn has once again plotted a suspenseful chain of events that serves as a backdrop to allow the reader a glimpse into the parts of our industrial sector that escape notice from mainstream media by purposeful placement just out of reach of the supposed constitutional protection of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. An epic American novel, only to be read if you are not daunted by taking a trip to the depths of big business and what it spawns for those who happen to be in the way.

ER Harris