Ricky Rice is a middle-aged hustler with a lingering junk habit, a bum knee, and a haunted mind. The sole survivor of a suicide cult, he spends his days scraping by as a porter at a bus depot in Utica, New York. Until one day a letter arrives, reminding him of a vow he once made and summoning him to Vermont's remote Northeast Kingdom to fulfill it. There, Ricky is inducted into a band of paranormal investigators comprised of former addicts and petty criminals, all of whom have at some point in their wasted lives heard the ...
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Ricky Rice is a middle-aged hustler with a lingering junk habit, a bum knee, and a haunted mind. The sole survivor of a suicide cult, he spends his days scraping by as a porter at a bus depot in Utica, New York. Until one day a letter arrives, reminding him of a vow he once made and summoning him to Vermont's remote Northeast Kingdom to fulfill it. There, Ricky is inducted into a band of paranormal investigators comprised of former addicts and petty criminals, all of whom have at some point in their wasted lives heard the Voice: a murmur on the wind, a disembodied shout, a whisper in an empty room. All these may or may not have been messages from God. Their mission is to find the Voice - and figure out what it wants. Big Machine takes us from Ricky's childhood in a matrilineal cult housed in a New York City tenement to his near-death experience in the basement of an Iowa house owned by a man named Murder. And to his final confrontation with an army of true believers - and with his own past. Infused with the wonder of a disquieting dream and laced with Victor LaValle's fiendish comic sensibility, Big Machine is a mind-rattling mystery about doubt, faith, and the monsters we carry within us. Big Machine named: ???American Book Award 2010 ???Shirley Jackson Award 2009 - Winner - Best Novel ???10 Best Books of 2009 - Publisher's Weekly ???Favorite Fiction of 2009 - Chicago Tribune ???Best Science Fiction of 2009 - Los Angeles Times ???Best Science Fiction & Fantasy - Washington Post ???Most Valuable Fiction Book of 2009 - The Nation ???Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence 2010 Winner
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Add this copy of Big Machine: a Novel (the Lavalle Quartet) to cart. $10.68, good condition, Sold by SELL BOOKS LTD rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from London, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2010 by Random House Publishing Group.
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Our good condition books are generally good for reading but not for gifting or collecting. They could have imperfections such as creasing, fanning, inscriptions, margin notes, yellowing, staining on edge or cover or pages, bumps, scuffs, etc etc (sometimes multiple of these). It's a wide category that encompasses anything that isn't almost-new down to anything that is slightly better than poor. We would NOT recommend gifting Good books-these should be considered reading copies. Our books ar.
Add this copy of Big Machine to cart. $11.25, like new condition, Sold by GreatBookPricesUK5 rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Castle Donington, DERBYSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2010 by One World.
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Fine. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 384 p. The Lavalle Quartet. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Add this copy of Big Machine: a Novel to cart. $9.78, fair condition, Sold by Orion Tech rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Arlington, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2009 by Spiegel & Grau.
Add this copy of Big Machine: a Novel (the Lavalle Quartet) to cart. $10.16, fair condition, Sold by Orion Tech rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Arlington, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by One World.
Add this copy of Big Machine: a Novel to cart. $12.85, good condition, Sold by Wonder Book - Member ABAA/ILAB rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Frederick, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2009 by Spiegel & Grau.
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Good. Good condition. Good dust jacket. A copy that has been read but remains intact. May contain markings such as bookplates, stamps, limited notes and highlighting, or a few light stains.
Add this copy of Big Machine to cart. $13.49, very good condition, Sold by Magers and Quinn Booksellers rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Minneapolis, MN, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by One World.
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Very Good. Trade Paperback with mostly just minor reading wear; creasing to corner of front cover; book is clean, unmarked. In stock. Ships from MN, USA.
Add this copy of Big Machine to cart. $16.42, good condition, Sold by Napa Bookmine rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Napa, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by One World.
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Add this copy of Big Machine: a Novel to cart. $17.50, good condition, Sold by Firefly Bookstore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Kutztown, PA, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by One World.
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Used Good. Front and back covers have wear to edges and corners. Spine intact, some wear. Binding is intact. Pages are generally clean with edge or corner wear. Firefly Bookstore sells items online and in our store front. We try to add images and descriptions when we can, but if you need additional information or photos of the books we list, please contact us.
I'm really not quite sure if I would recommend this book to a friend or not. It wasn't bad enough that I stopped reading it or anything, but for me it started with a bang and then fizzled out. The author pulls you in with a mystery meets memoir, but then the book seems to suddenly change into some strange religious/ sci-fi tale, which just isn't my thing. It goes from being believable to downright bizarre in an instant. I enjoyed the format, how the author switches back and forth between unraveling the mystery of the Washburn Library and remembering the past experiences of the character. However, for me there were a lot of unexplained parts ( how did the dean even know about Ricky's promise, how to send him the note? And this "I am an oracle" stuff just wasn't enough of an answer for me, etc), and the content of the second half was just a little too...weird.
