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Metro Kinetic
A serial killer tries to end the world’s misery. Two sisters find unrequited love in bold, beautiful women who help them overcome their traumatic, abusive pasts. A play whose performances seemingly end in the death of its leading men. At the intersection of creation and death lies a pile of premature corpses and a few unlikely characters left to tell the tale. Metro Kinetic is the newest frenetic novel from award-winning horror author Brian Bowyer. Read it and you’ll never see New York City the same way again.
299 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 6, 2024
3 people are currently reading
30 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 19, 2025
Bowyer writes some crazy stuff, man! This one’s funny, too. For example, the character Carl cracked me up from the day of his (abnormal) birth. By the time he’s two weeks old, Carl is like seven-feet tall and wears trench coats and whathaveyou. Then again, maybe I shouldn’t laugh at the likes of Carl—but for the accident of birth, I might have been as he is, right? Anyhow, Metro Kinetic is another awesomely messed-up entry to the Brian Bowyer catalog. If you like fiction that’s as transgressive, demented, nightmarish, brutal, and bleak as it is fun to read, then don’t miss this one.
September 19, 2024
"Metro Kinetic" is, in my opinion, Brian Bowyer's best work. It's an elevator trip into hell, with many stops in-between. The actual gore is minimal, but the characters, the settings, the plainly, matter-of-fact reported depravities, and most of all the mood - this bleak, cruel, hard as granite, world-weary attitude towards everyone and everything- this book is unparalleled in putting forward a vision of the real which challenges both common morality and existence itself. There are no innocents in this world - the ones who are genuinely sinless are always already dead (babies in ovens, babies rotting in cribs). Even the children are wise old people in tiny packages (wise enough to not accept gifts for free, for instance). There are ghosts and hauntings, but the real monsters are the family men, the daughters out for revenge, the abused sons and the caring mothers looking out for the freaks they've been blessed with.
The story is pleasantly complicated: in a world where the kindest act is simply repaid with the worst kind of evil; where the concept of justice is either meaningless or permanently perverted; four women manage to find love, intimacy, and companionship, all the while the world and the people around them go on killing, living, devouring and crashing the slightest hope, also celebrating misery. A relative proves to be a serial killer with purpose: he kills in order to rid this evil world of the good people who don't deserve to keep living in this miserable place. Another relative is asked by her lover to be allowed to have the leading role in a haunted play - one that kills whoever accepts the role. And strangers come and go, with Bowyer's New York in the background, a place that has never felt so timely and topical, so palpably and concretely real as here.
The resolution of the many plotlines is simply genius. There are no noble quests, no heroes, no saints, no villains, no queens or kings. There's simply the randomness of companionship, the divinity of the road. No wonder everyone's a self-acknowledged alcoholic in this book! Let alone the drug use.
"Metro Kinetic" captures the Bowyer mood perfectly. It's a must-buy from me.
The story is pleasantly complicated: in a world where the kindest act is simply repaid with the worst kind of evil; where the concept of justice is either meaningless or permanently perverted; four women manage to find love, intimacy, and companionship, all the while the world and the people around them go on killing, living, devouring and crashing the slightest hope, also celebrating misery. A relative proves to be a serial killer with purpose: he kills in order to rid this evil world of the good people who don't deserve to keep living in this miserable place. Another relative is asked by her lover to be allowed to have the leading role in a haunted play - one that kills whoever accepts the role. And strangers come and go, with Bowyer's New York in the background, a place that has never felt so timely and topical, so palpably and concretely real as here.
The resolution of the many plotlines is simply genius. There are no noble quests, no heroes, no saints, no villains, no queens or kings. There's simply the randomness of companionship, the divinity of the road. No wonder everyone's a self-acknowledged alcoholic in this book! Let alone the drug use.
"Metro Kinetic" captures the Bowyer mood perfectly. It's a must-buy from me.
August 8, 2024
The moment this book was available I snagged it so quick. Brian is an auto buy author for me. I enjoy every one of his books and this one definitely didn't disappoint. I get lost in his writing every time and I am always left in awe when finishing.
In this story, eventually these stories all tie in together. If you are familiar with Bowyer's work then you already know this is a signature factor in all of his works of fiction. I particularly enjoyed the connection between Metro Kinetic and Rosemary's Baby. This story also featured some memorable characters that had a familiarity about them and Brian's previous works.
This book was filled with violence and some really horrific tragedies. All of these characters endure something direly significant to their overall role in the story and how it all plays out for them in the end. It's hard to really get too much in depth with Bowyer's stories because I don't want to spoil anything for readers.
Highly Recommend checking this one out!
In this story, eventually these stories all tie in together. If you are familiar with Bowyer's work then you already know this is a signature factor in all of his works of fiction. I particularly enjoyed the connection between Metro Kinetic and Rosemary's Baby. This story also featured some memorable characters that had a familiarity about them and Brian's previous works.
This book was filled with violence and some really horrific tragedies. All of these characters endure something direly significant to their overall role in the story and how it all plays out for them in the end. It's hard to really get too much in depth with Bowyer's stories because I don't want to spoil anything for readers.
Highly Recommend checking this one out!
June 1, 2025
METRO KINETIC was my 10th book read from author Bowyer, and I would say it is my new favorite. It is filled with wild scenarios and events and I grinned from ear to ear turning the pages to each one -- especially a "divine intervention" moment that is a nod to PULP FICTION. Readers of Bowyer know he is a master of creating awful characters, and this one contains a dude named Mitchell who may be his scariest creation to date. There is also a character named Carl, who has replaced Ivan the midget as my new favorite. I won't spoil any details on Carl, but will say he is hilarious and couldn't wait for him to return throughout the story. The New York area setting worked fantastic and I would like to see the author return to it in future works. There are a few shocking moments on display as are par for the course in a Bowyer book, and they were all entertaining as usual. Over the top is another word I would use here for this one. The dialogue is also terrific as usual, and I especially love when Bowyer's characters spout wild historical facts. Everything ties up beautifully in a razor-wire covered bow, and I highly recommend checking out METRO KINETIC.
September 19, 2024
Classic Bowyer. And arguably his best yet. Violence, depravity, drugs, alcohol, and mayhem fill these pages. It's a fun, blood splattered ride!
October 7, 2024
For those of you who are already fans of Bowyer's work, this book is a slam-dunk. Stop reading this and go read it instead.
For those unfamiliar or unsure if "Metro Kinetic" might be a good fit for you, a bit of context:
When I think of Brian Bowyer's writing style, the phrase "controlled chaos" springs to mind. Brian is one of only a handful of authors I've come across who's essentially mastered the art of being able to shift tone, pace, and narrative flow on a dime in ways that would be so risky and potentially catastrophic to the reading experience if mishandled that I can't help but think of them as brave.
In my mind, the best speculative fiction asks a tantalizing question, then delivers one or more interesting, entertaining, thought-provoking, or ideally all of the above, answers to it. That's exactly what "Metro Kinetic" does, bluntly asking the reader with its harrowing opening chapter, "What if the world were so chock-full of deranged substance-abusing sociopaths that their existence and behaviors were effectively normalized? What would that look like?"
I'm admittedly being a bit hyperbolic as there are a handful of examples of "normal" characters present throughout the read but one of many things Bowyer does quite effectively and cleverly throughout it is to blur the line such that even the most seemingly-predictable of them can rarely be easily rooted for or written off completely, often making them complex and compelling regardless of which side of the societal or moral fence they end up landing on in the end.
There are so many additional things I could say about this book and so many worthwhile discussions that could be had regarding various aspects of it but I'm going to refrain from doing that as I feel most of them are better experienced and conjured by a reader, rather than described and pitched in a review. That said, I will give the standard "warning" and "heads up" I always feel compelled to provide when recommending transgressive fiction such as this to others: If you're easily offended, if you're easily triggered, upset, or disturbed by the sorts of things that typically warrant such warnings, this probably isn't the book for you. I'd also add that if you're new to Bowyer's work in particular, you may want to start with one of his short-fiction collections such as "Sinister Mix" and work your way up to "Metro Kinetic," both to get a sense of his style and his typical subject matter, and because there are at least a few references to his other works in this book that were fun to catch being familiar with them before reading it. Notably, there's a chapter in "Metro Kinetic" that's basically a retelling of one of the stories from "Sinister Mix," with a very different outcome in its new iteration. I therefore suspect there are even more references I didn't catch, not being familiar with all of his books, but I feel reasonably confident saying there's a lot on offer here in that regard based on the few I did spot.
For those unfamiliar or unsure if "Metro Kinetic" might be a good fit for you, a bit of context:
When I think of Brian Bowyer's writing style, the phrase "controlled chaos" springs to mind. Brian is one of only a handful of authors I've come across who's essentially mastered the art of being able to shift tone, pace, and narrative flow on a dime in ways that would be so risky and potentially catastrophic to the reading experience if mishandled that I can't help but think of them as brave.
In my mind, the best speculative fiction asks a tantalizing question, then delivers one or more interesting, entertaining, thought-provoking, or ideally all of the above, answers to it. That's exactly what "Metro Kinetic" does, bluntly asking the reader with its harrowing opening chapter, "What if the world were so chock-full of deranged substance-abusing sociopaths that their existence and behaviors were effectively normalized? What would that look like?"
I'm admittedly being a bit hyperbolic as there are a handful of examples of "normal" characters present throughout the read but one of many things Bowyer does quite effectively and cleverly throughout it is to blur the line such that even the most seemingly-predictable of them can rarely be easily rooted for or written off completely, often making them complex and compelling regardless of which side of the societal or moral fence they end up landing on in the end.
There are so many additional things I could say about this book and so many worthwhile discussions that could be had regarding various aspects of it but I'm going to refrain from doing that as I feel most of them are better experienced and conjured by a reader, rather than described and pitched in a review. That said, I will give the standard "warning" and "heads up" I always feel compelled to provide when recommending transgressive fiction such as this to others: If you're easily offended, if you're easily triggered, upset, or disturbed by the sorts of things that typically warrant such warnings, this probably isn't the book for you. I'd also add that if you're new to Bowyer's work in particular, you may want to start with one of his short-fiction collections such as "Sinister Mix" and work your way up to "Metro Kinetic," both to get a sense of his style and his typical subject matter, and because there are at least a few references to his other works in this book that were fun to catch being familiar with them before reading it. Notably, there's a chapter in "Metro Kinetic" that's basically a retelling of one of the stories from "Sinister Mix," with a very different outcome in its new iteration. I therefore suspect there are even more references I didn't catch, not being familiar with all of his books, but I feel reasonably confident saying there's a lot on offer here in that regard based on the few I did spot.
August 29, 2024
The upper west side in Manhattan at the Rosira serves as the perfect point of no return for Bowyer's surreal world of characters to converge. A vigilante serial killer, lovers Christina and Kenzie, Kenzie's sister, Samantha and her lover, Aubrey, a cursed play in which four leading male actors died, my favorite character, Carl and his friend Sydney, "Your Majesty," meat eaters Dr. Odd and accomplice, plenty of whiskey and vodka, which everyone hits, heroin, and places like 'The Never Better Lounge' should wet a Bowyer fan's appetite.
Bowyer's storytelling, character development and world building expertise shine through brilliantly in his latest book, "Metro Kinetic" a fully satisfying read. Highest recommendation.
Bowyer's storytelling, character development and world building expertise shine through brilliantly in his latest book, "Metro Kinetic" a fully satisfying read. Highest recommendation.
November 29, 2024
Rosemary's Baby's apartment building with Pulp Fiction characters.
I flew through this in one evening. That's my favorite thing about Bowyer's books: they're a quick read and hard to put down.
I wasn't sure about Carl at first, but he ended up being my favorite character.
I flew through this in one evening. That's my favorite thing about Bowyer's books: they're a quick read and hard to put down.
I wasn't sure about Carl at first, but he ended up being my favorite character.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews