Matrix 63, Spring 2003
Josée Lafrenière
“... Hutzulak's novel is a complex, multi-layered creation that included in its conception a musical score to accompany the book (regrettably, the CD has yet to be released). The novel is not easily contained by the categorization of noir, as it explores the possibility of redemption for Stace, a man so hardened by experience that his own self-knowledge is almost non-existent. Hutzulak's story transcends death to explore an afterlife peopled by characters who resemble those Stace knew in life. Despite the subject matter, the writing is truly noir: unsentimental, taut and spare. The moments of emotion make the reader flinch. One senses in the book a powerful sense of authorial control, and an exquisite attention to detail. Hutzulak delivers a memorable story that stays with you like the beautiful "black flocculent, dissolving, then the green afterimage of the muzzle flash printed negative on [your] retinas.”