Equus Press 

477 pgs/$10

The constant media bombardment that blankets our nation every day has become an accepted fact of twenty-first century life. News spews forth from all media at all times, and it’s nearly unavoidable. A question that looms over this media circus: how much of the reporting is actual news designed to inform an audience, and how much of it is a spectacle designed to draw attention, generate interest, and boost ratings?

This question is one of many that Thor Garcia toys with in hs debut novel The News Clown. The protagonist, also named Thor Garcia, is a small-time reporter for Cities News Services of Bay City, where he contributes brief, to-the-point articles on crime in the city. Interspersed throughout the narrative, his articles generally pertain to graphic violence or drug use:

SANTA COSTA MAN SEVERS THREE BODY PARTS

SANTA COSTA (CNS) The Santa Costa County Sheriff’s Dept. said a 36-year-old man on Monday used a knife to cut off his finger, scrotum and penis in an apparent act of self-mutilation. Continue reading →