I am Jack’s rising action.

Holy crap on a stick, Palahniuk is BACK.  Okay, the first issue was good, to be sure, but it didn’t hit me like this one did.  The gloves are coming off, and this book is amazing in its scope and pace.  There’s nothing to hold on to; you’re sucked in from the first moment to the last page, where you hoped you wouldn’t end up but somehow knew you would.  It’s the feeling of being trapped in a car going over a cliff.  You’re just ballistic baggage flying through the air like the air freshener and the suddenly-not-swinging hula girl.  Boom.

There are a ton of layers of crazy going on here, and it’s at the perfect fever pitch.  Things go easy after the fire, a little too easy . . . Project Mayhem kind of easy, and everything begins to fall into place from that moment.  The decision made by Sebastian is not expressly written in the book, but once you realize just what’s going on . . . it’s massively interesting and preparing us for what kind of insanity’s to come.  I can’t say much more without tossing some spoilers on the table, but on a second read through, I realized that there may be some strings being pulled . . . and, boy, do I hope so.  No scene from the film is as mind-blisteringly amazing as the moment of revelation behind the van full of high explosives, and if I’m getting the message properly that there’s something coming that should be equally amazing.

I’m digging more of the artwork of this series, too.  There’s some fun contrast between the somewhat schlubby Sebastian and Marla and the crisp line work when Tyler’s on the scene, the difference between the nightmare and the waking dread that fears it.  Very cool.  I also have to call out the flipping brilliant title page design, which is truly awesome and fan-satisfying work.  The detail in every page is phenomenal; your eye is never allowed to rest or resist going right where it needs to, and it takes once or twice through to really appreciate everything that’s going on and find all the little nods to what’s come before.  I’m excited to see where it leads.

If for some reason you haven’t gotten started on this series, now’s the time to get on board, because I can only imagine the psychotic path we’re about to travel, and it looks like a helluva lot of fun.  Fans of Palahniuk need to be checking this out.  He’s back.

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