Rating: 
Summary: "It's time you got a real job."
Review: In my never-ending quest for the next comic novel, and spurred on by the plethora of enthusiastic reviews here, I knew I wanted to read "Duncan Delaney and the Cadillac of Doom." I imagined that the book was along the lines of something written by Christopher Moore ("The Island of the Sequined Love Nun") or Bill Fitzhugh ("Pest Control"). Alas, I was wrong ...
Twenty-one-year-old Duncan Delaney lives with his mother, Fiona, on the family ranch in Wyoming. Duncan isn't pressed by want, and so he's able to indulge his hobby--painting on black velvet canvas. One day, Duncan's best friend, Arapaho, Benjamin Lonetree sells one of Duncan's paintings for the grand sum of $600. The buyer, an attractive dealer in Los Angeles leaves her business card and expresses great interest in Duncan's talent. So Duncan takes the hint, leaves his high school sweetheart, Tiffany behind (no great hardship), and heads for Hollywood in a tatty old VW bus.
Once in Hollywood, our innocent, country cowboy hero (who sleeps with his Stetson over his face) has a series of adventures ...
Basically, "Duncan Delaney and the Cadillac of Doom" is a romance. The novel may be coated with a veneer of the trailer-trash genre, but it boils down to a romance, swaddled with some intrigue, and ne'er do well types. This novel reads better than a Harlequin romance, but with lines such as: "laughing lips that had never felt the needle's collagen sting," and "she was not the swiftest deer in the concrete forest," you should get my point. In all fairness, I should point out that I generally do not read romances, so I was destined to be disappointed in this novel. But for other potential readers, the overwhelming romance aspect of this novel should be mentioned. I did, however, enjoy the character of Benjamin Lonetree. He was an original creation in the novel--displacedhuman.
Rating: 
Summary: Lonetree Lives!
Review: Read this book just for Benjamin Lonetree if nothing else. What a great character. The rest of the book is really good too, had me laughing in a number of places, but I really like Lonetree and I hope to see more of him in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Laughter, comedy, tragedy, and joy in 180 succinct pages
Review: Right from the very first page, Haskett drew me into his story. With a deft hand, he conjures up images, characters, and feelings into your mind. As Duncan travels from the open vistas of Wyoming into the concrete canyons of Los Angeles, Haskett takes you along for a rollicking and sometimes rowdy ride. The characters that he describes in the book jump from the pages and become part of you. At first, the character are simply acquaintances but by the end of the book, Haskett's characters are "family". If you enjoy reading a book with vivid and gritty urban characters, imaginative writing that creates strong feelings in you, well written words that can make you laugh aloud at times and bring tears to your eyes at other times, this is the book for you. You will enjoy it and re-read it again from time to time so that you can experience the universe of human emotions again.
Rating:
Summary: You can only find this book here!
Review: Stumbled upon this book and read it with sheer delight. Love the characters, the story line, the fast pace. I hope there is a new work on the way. Get it here and get it now - I have recommended this book to a bunch of friends who have had trouble getting a copy. It is definitely worth the quest. An excellent and truly entertaining read.
Rating:
Summary: Makes you think.
Review: The first time I read this book, I wasn't sure if I was offended or delighted. Like me, the antagonist, Sheila Rascowitz, is a lesbian biker. At first, I didn't like her portrayal. She was too . . . what? It bothered me so much, I picked up the book again a week later and read it again. She was too . . . human. I recognized a lot of her in myself and in my friends. And then I realized that she's not even the bad guy in the book. There were far worse white males who were also too . . . human again. I bought the book thinking it would have more gay and lesbian aspects to it. But, then again, I seldom read books twice, and this one got to me. Don't buy it if you're expecting a lesbian or gay book, but do buy it if you want to read a good book.
Rating:
Summary: A bit of a flirt and tease.
Review: The writer of Duncan Delaney and the Cadillac of Doom introduces the reader to some strong characters - Fiona, Woody, Benjamin, and Duncan. He teases us with snapshot glimpses into their past and future. The novel center on Duncan's search for himself and love in hedonistic Los Angeles. The reader is left with the desire to follow the adventures of his family and friends as they seek the same. Can we watch for a sequel?
Rating: 
Summary: Charming
Review: There are books that define categorization, and this is one of them. I bought it based on the recommendation of someone who had read a few of my reviews. Not something I'd normally do, but when I looked at what people had to say about the book, I thought I'd give it a try. I'm definitely not sorry I did. This is a charming, picaresque little novel with a dark subtext that's dealt with deftly and without undue stress. The characterizations are delightful and well done; the narrative zips along like a smart compact car. The only reason I've given Duncan Delaney four stars instead of five is because of the weirdness of the editing that, in places, actually alters the meaning of what is being said. Compound nouns are strangely split into two words: i.e. run away, instead of runaway. Normally hyphenated expressions are left without the hyphens. There are way too many quirks of editing (or non editing) that detract from what would otherwise have been an entirely pleasurable reading experience. That said, I heartily recommend the book. It says a lot without overstating matters.
Rating:
Summary: A Truly Original Story
Review: There are two things you need to know. First, I am a friend of the author. Second, thank God he wrote a great book that kept me reading start to finish. Now I don't have to avoid him for the next 20 years.The characters are fresh and come from a place of which I have little familiarity. He vests his players with interesting personalities that I come to know and care about. Next he takes them to a place that I know all too well and paints it in a way I've never quite seen it before. The author's intimacy with all of his characters, and his right on descriptions about the world around them, made me feel I was a participant in each scene, not just a witness to the parade. For most of my adult life, writers have seemingly taken the same 10-12 fictional storylines and re-written them in different places and times, often entertaining, but usually familiar. In the past year, "Being John Malkovich" and "Nurse Betty" are examples of truly one of a kind stories. Duncan Delaney falls right into that category of unpredictabiliy. Read it, enjoy it, and hope there is another one in the making.
Rating:
Summary: Very funny
Review: This book is a hoot! You'll love the characters & the witty one liners they toss around. Cowboys, strippers, bikers... what else ya need?
Also recommended: "No One's Even Bleeding".
Rating:
Summary: Boring
Review: This book was boring and nearly insults the reader's intelligence. It was short and took forever to finish reading. I don't understand why it is recommended to me..repeatedly, but I really didn't get anything out of it.
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