Book Review: Antidote Illusions by Erik Hofstatter

Following on from Soaking in Strange Hours, Hofstatter shares another Tristan Grieves Fragment that’s just as dark and beautiful as it’s predecessor.

You don’t want to meet Tristan. Death surrounds him like a swaddling shroud, and to cross his path means your time is up – one way or another.

Despite being mired in a gloriously gritty, seedy, dark world full of prostitution, corruption and death, Tristan strains against his yoke and longs for something other.

Despite the incredibly dark subject matter, Hofstatter brings beauty to the ugliness with his glorious prose. It’s almost poetic in nature, and elevates the story to a classical mythology by the structure of the tale and the frequent allusions to legends of yore. 

Don’t ever bury your lessons. You paid for them with aches. When you lift heavy emotions day to day strength grows. Your brain gets hench. 

Antidote Illusions by Erik Hofstatter

Soaking in Strange Hours impressed me with its contemporary noir mixed with ancient mythology, and this fragment goes even further. Tristan’s trials echo the epic struggles of hero’s of old. His meetings with pimps and prostitutes bring to mind the tales of heroes and powerful beings, every deed watched and manipulated by capricious deities.

Tristan Grieves is a unique taste that you will want to develop. I’ve a feeling that this fragment is only a small part in a much bigger saga, and I hope I don’t have to wait long to find out more. 

Another beautiful fragment of strange noir from the mind of Erik Hofstatter, I award Antidote Illusions…