Hitchers
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
Two years ago, on the same day but miles apart, Finn Darby lost two of the most important people in his life: his wife Lorena, struck by lightning on the banks of the Chattahoochee River, and his abusive, alcoholic grandfather, Tom Darby, creator of the long-running newspaper comic strip Toy Shop. Against his grandfather’s dying wish, Finn has resurrected Toy Shop, adding new characters, and the strip is more popular than ever, bringing in fan letters, merchandising deals, and talk of TV specials. Finn has even started dating again.
When a terrorist attack decimates Atlanta, killing half a million souls, Finn begins blurting things in a strange voice beyond his control. The voice says things only his grandfather could know. Countless other residents of Atlanta are suffering a similar bizarre affliction. Is it mass hysteria, or have the dead returned to possess the living? Finn soon realizes he has a hitcher within his skin... his grandfather. And Grandpa isn’t terribly happy about the changes Finn has been making to Toy Shop. Together with a pair of possessed friends, an aging rock star, and a waitress, Finn races against time to find a way to send the dead back to Deadland... or die trying!
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hugo-winner McIntosh ("Bridesicle") delivers a moving tale of individual grief and recovery against the backdrop of a devastated world. When an anthrax attack on Atlanta devastates the population, widower Finn Darby loses two of his few remaining friends. Shortly after, he finds himself randomly uttering sentences that have no meaning to him. They seem to be connected to his late grandfather, an abusive man who created the comic strip that Darby now writes against his grandfather's dying wishes. As these bouts of babbling increase in frequency and length, Darby discovers other sufferers, including a washed-up rock star and a waitress who might be possessed by Darby's dead wife. Darby, with his personal grief serving as synecdoche for the entire city, is forced to confront his guilt over his wife's death and his co-opting of his grandfather's work. From a premise designed for over-the-top bombast, McIntosh pulls a quiet, un-treacly, and often beautiful tale of complex love and grief.
