Review by Michael Sismilich, Audio Editor
Photo courtesy of amazon.com
“Echoic Memory” is a self-published, short stor y by ACC student and one-time Accent contributor Nathan Bustillos.
The tale thrusts readers into the dark world of former FBI-agent- turned-hit man Frank Haynes, who is struggling to cope with the loss of his son, and as a result, becomes a cigar-smoking, raging alcoholic.
Anytime Frank isnotoutona job, he’s drinking. We see him spiral into despair very closely as it’s mag- nified through- out the book.
Haynes is good at his job, but not immune to the act of killing. Bustil- los gives readers an intimate look into Haynes’ mind as he prepares to pull the trigger. It’s not the typical, ex- pressionless por- trait of a killer of- ten shown on TV or in the movies.
Although this type of main char- acter isn’t original, the formula works. The characters are well written, the dark, gritty setting provides the ap- propriate backdrop and the underly- ing theme — loss — is very relatable.
The dark night on which the story takes place, the places Frank visits, the jobs he takes and even his apartment accelerate his descent into depression. However, because loss is constantly pushed to the foreground as a recur- ring theme, there isn’t much more for the reader to absorb. I found myself wanting more — more descriptions of everything. How dirty is the life of a hit man? How much care and intensity does Frank put into maintaining his equipment? What does his apartment say about his state of mind? I kept asking these kinds of questions, but never really got the answers.
Overall, “Echoic Memory” is an interesting read and the characters are worth meeting. “Echoic Memo- ry” is Bustillos’ first published work and is available for Kindle and Nook for 99 cents on amazon.com. Bustillos also plans to have a new series of stories completed by early next year. “I’m actually working on a collection of short stories as we speak,” he said. “ It’s going to be 10 to 12 stories including “Echoic Memory”, and it’s going to have a similar theme.”
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