Manifesto Destination

by Alec Cizak

Elmore Johnson has only got two friends, the bottle of Jim Beam in his coat pocket and a revolver named Lorraine. He worked for the Indianapolis Police Department until they booted him for exposing dirty cops. Now he makes a meager living snapping seedy photos. But when Elmore shoots pictures of the daughter of a wealthy CEO making cheap porn, the girl ends up dead. As the bodies pile up, Elmore finds himself trapped in the heart of a bizarre conspiracy until he discovers the horrifying truth about a place called Manifesto Destination. Alec Cizak’s Manifesto Destination will take you back to dystopian 1998 Indianapolis where everyone—the cops, big business, and even the little guy—is dirty and only looking out for themselves. His writing is boiled rock hard and keeps you turning one noir-infested page after another until you find yourself as paranoid as Elmore Johnson. “Alec Cizak finds the naked truth on the printed page. An artist with no fear and thankfully no moral center.” – David Cranmer, Editor of Beat To A Pulp "The city of Indianapolis like you haven't seen it before (at least not yet), seasoned with a splash of noir, a dash of dystopia and almost but not quite hard-boiled. More like Eggs Benedict - though that breakfast was originally invented as a hangover cure, and this might cause one. Alec Cizak's heady mixture of sci-fi and P.I., bad cops and Big Brothers, is a dark, funny read, full of twists and a barely controlled rage at the state of our corporate nation. And by nudging his detective story into a disturbing but recognizable future, the author paints this concoction with an extra layer of despair, as we realize his Phil Dickian satire of manipulation is not just familiar, but also inevitable. Best read with Charlie Parker in the background (the hero probably wore out his Charlie Parker With Strings tape, but it weaves the perfect soundtrack). Jazzy and weird, the whole thing is probably a thinly-veiled threat, but I had too much fun to heed any warnings. See you at the Magic Carpet before they tear it down." - David James Keaton, author of FISH BITES Stories To Bash Authorities

156 pages, Paperback

First published March 29, 2009

About the author

Alec Cizak was dropped off on the planet Earth by Lao Tzu after the old wizard made love to a seven-legged go-go dancer from the interior regions of Neptune. The dancer refused to care for the infant Cizak and so Lao Tzu brought the baby to Earth and left him with a cult of syphilitic monks on an island in the Pacific Ocean. Cizak was granted immortality by the goddess Molena, a stripper from Spain, on the condition that he never reveal her recipe for spaghetti and eyeball soup. Unable to contain this magnificent secret, Cizak whispered the recipe to a Belgium nun named Poinsettia. The goddess Molena cursed Cizak to mortality and a bit of talent as a writer no significant number of his fellow mortals would ever care too much about. He currently lives with his wife in a cave in Antarctica where he writes dime novels under a pen name that cannot be revealed here for national security purposes.

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Manifesto Destination, Cizak has injected some fresh life into a tried and true formula of hardboiled detective fiction. First of all, he sets his story in the unlikely hardboiled and hardcore destination of Indianapolis. It starts out as a classic modern-day hardboiled fiction story with Johnson holding a bottle of Jim Bean in his fist and grabbing Lorraine, his .38, when he puts the bottle down. He's a down on his luck detective with the hots for his ex-girlfriend who throws some business his way and still mooning over the real Lorraine, another old flame whose brains ended up splattered on the walls. Between the bottle and these crazy women, he investigates a classic hardboiled scenario of a rich man's daughter, hooked on a needle and dancing her heart out on screen and on stage at strip club. Cizak gets the hardboiled feel just right and, even with the modern setting, it doesn't feel contrived or forced.

But, its not merely a detective story. Throw in an evil corporation set to take over society with a Brave New World type drug and suddenly things are more complex than you imagined. What's starts out great in this story is the old time cynical feel to it, but the plot twists turn it into something different, something quite unusual.

This is a fairly short novel and a quick read at that. Its worth picking up if you are looking for something a little bit different than your usual hardboiled selections off the diner menu.

[Chris Rhatigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book follows alcoholic/photographer/ex-cop/investigator Elmore. His ex-girlfriend, Felicia, is the publisher of an independent newspaper and asks him to tail a CEO's daughter and see what dirt he can find. Things get very complicated for Elmore after that, as he stumbles upon a corporate plot to enslave the good people of Indianapolis and beyond.

It's a fast, hardboiled read made for fans of noir and conspiracies alike. Cizak manages to create a plot that's simultaneously realistic and ridiculous, complete with a mad scientist, a garbage alley strip club, a "rehab" clinic straight out of Brave New World, and plenty of dark humor. Highly recommended.

[Marc Fitch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. It's like a psychotic modern Mickey Spillane novel complete with twists and intrigue, social commentary and glimpses of a Brave New World. Fast paced, satisfying, hard-boiled without being corny and tight, clean prose. Also, love the pocket sized dimensions of this dark, fun and twisted novel.

[James Whelpley · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I was 29 years old. The bottle had only begun to make me smart."

In the ultimate tale of follow-the-money, ex-cop and part-time photographer Elmore Johnson becomes embroiled in a suicide framed as murder, and the three-way tug of war between a pharmaceutical company, taxis running street drugs, and an escort service, all vying for the lost souls of 1995 Indianapolis.

Our hero is hired by an old flame to expose Daisy Chemical CEO Leonard Black as the source of a dangerous street drug cocktail called Stardust rampaging through the city. Daisy also manufactures the prescription, Seraphim, which can cure everything from depression to addition. But who's really running the show, and why?

A lean, linear story told at break-neck speed with all the old flames, crooked cops, wealthy psycopaths, and double-cross artists one can expect from the genre. Truly novel is Cizak's take on the "detective coma." Gumshoes have been shot-up with junk in order to keep them quiet, but never like this.

Pure pulp, pure noir. Johnson charges into battle armed with a fifth of Jim Beam, Apache cigars, and Charlie Parker with Strings playing in the tape deck.

[Mav Skye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine a cold gravely crunch under foot while you move toward light in a dried out city sewer. It’s dark, it stinks, there’s something glow in the dark growing up the tunnel walls, but you got a cigar, a stiff drink, and a novel by Alec Cizak. That’s the atmosphere Mr. Cizak weaves throughout “Manifesto Destination.”

“Underground” is the word as photographer Elmore Johnson uncovers a world domination pharmaceutical scandal while on assignment for his ex girlfriend. The story is fast paced, gripping, and has excellent characters including my favorite, a gun named Lorraine. Take a happy pill and read “Manifesto Destination.” Now.

[A.B. Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I had to name my favourite two genres, then they would be hard-boiled crime and dystopias. As a writer, I wouldn’t have initially thought of blending the two together. However, that is just what Alec Cizak does in Manifesto Destination, and boy does he do it well.
Elmore Johnson is a classic hard-drinking PI who’s a sucker for the dames, but also, like any good PI character, he’s got an inherent sense of justice, and that’s what he goes looking for. I won’t give any spoilers here, but Cizak’s weaving of a tale of corporate conspiracies and social control combined with the PI quest is beautifully executed. Throwing in corrupt cops and a healthy dose of the porn industry really propels us into classic hard-boiled and noir territory. And the whole corporate nightmare scenario doesn’t take very much of a leap of imagination whatsoever – like all the best dystopias, it’s not too far in the future and it’s entirely believable, as scary as it is. As I’ve come to expect from Cizak (I’m now a rusted-on fan, I’m very happy to admit!), his prose is wonderful and there are some delicious lines that have been copied into my quote books. Try the following as a sample. The PI: “When I was bored, which tended to coincide with the lack of a bottle…”. The dames: “The illusion I allowed myself in Amber’s arms the night before worked like morphine on the soul”, and “Her voice dripped through my ears like honey and molasses eased over warm flapjacks in the middle of winter”. And society: “I couldn’t help but wonder if life might have been a little bit better before corporations decided they had a right to run the whole goddamn world.”
I really love Cizak’s work, and I’m looking forward to getting his latest release which is due out anytime soon. I’ve previously reviewed one of his other novels and a collection of his short stories, so you can see them in my blog archive. He’s also the editor of the superb Pulp Modern magazine anthology.
If you love your crime hard and gritty and dark, read Mr Cizak!
Cheers,
ABP

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, solid read with a great story. I felt the book needed more depth regarding the characters and some of the plot elements.