Savant

Chaingang #4

by Rex Miller

Daniel "Chaingang" Bunkowski is five hundred pounds of bone-crushing malice. He walks upright like a man, but that's about his only similarity to a human. He has the brilliant, twisted mind of a genius and the reflexes of a predatory animal with an unquenchable thirst for savagery. The story that began with SLOB continues in this horrific novel, as Bunkowski goes in search of his maker. His insatiable appetite for death leads him back to his roots in Kansas City, Missouri where he searches for a woman known to him as "mother." She made him into the beast he is today, now he's going to make her wish that she had never given him life.

Genres: Horror, Thriller, Crime

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Rex Miller Spangberg was a DJ and horror novelist, best known for his "Detective Jack Eichord" books.

Reviews

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miller brings Daniel 'Chaingang' Bunkowski back for yet another adventure. While this is the fourth in the series, it seems to take place before the second (Slice and just after Chaingang). Chaingang has left the small town where the good Warden of a max federal penitentiary 'loosed' him upon the population to gain more insights into what makes him such an effective killer. He travels to Kansas City and most of the action takes place there.

Unknown to Chaingang, he has a tracking device embedded in his neck and the Warden has been following him via satellite. He also has assigned (via his military connections) one 'Shooter' Price to also keep tabs on the almost 500 pound killing machine. Shooter Price also worked in Vietnam as part of an assassin team and if anything, is more loco than Chaingang. Shooter has in his possession a one-off sniper rifle deemed Savant (hence the title) that can kill at almost two miles with explosive bullets. His job: make sure Chaingang does not get out of control. Yet, it is Shooter who loses it!

We follow Chaingang as he sets up a scam to raise some 'working capital', Shooter on his little murderous adventures (he really likes to kill), and finally, some nerd who works research for a local radio station; why the last character graces the pages you will have to ask Mr. Miller. Told in Miller's almost trademark experimental prose, we do learn a bit more about old Chaingang. Basically, the plot involves the decision to pit the two killers against one another to see what pans out-- a killer sniper versus 500 pounds of killing machine. My favorite of the series thus far has been Chaingang or Slob, but I will probably go on to finish the series as I have the last one. Jeez. Chaingang is hard to take seriously and Miller must of had some fun penning this one. 3 killer stars.

[Mikepottz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bunkowski will slice off the head of his evil foster mother with such ferocious force, blood spurting out of the neck with each last heart beat. As a kid he poured acid in the eyes of his foster father. He has escaped the experiment but he still has the electronically implanted device in his brain and another evil prick is monitoring his movements. Bunkowski will blow up a bikie gangs headquarters after finding out they abuse animals and crucified a few others on a cross. He will fed on a human heart making himself feel better and devour a bunch of ribs like a shark and eat a lady's jewellery. This evil prick is still out in the community and annihilation is his peaceful place

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read slob ages ago and at that point read a couple of other Rex Miller books after it...however over two decades have passed and it's only now I have caught up with this author again.
I found this book alongside a copy of slob(which I may return to purchase to) at a charity shop and bought a couple of the books, I had memory of the books being fairly Gore driven and comic book in some ways but still a good read..this book bore that out but also reminded me all told they are pretty well written.
Chaingang himself despite some flicker of humanity acts as the focus and anti hero of this book and this is maybe where the book fails..so despicable a character is he that it's difficult to root for him.
It's a tale of Chaingang hunted and prey turning the tables...to do this of course the Hunter must be unlikable and luckily this is so.
All in all I enjoyed catching up with Rex Miller's world again and look forward to my next read through one of his tales.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I found the gratuitous violence aborhing, I was drawn to the story by the wonderful use of language, the excellent pace of the narrative, and the brilliant mind of the anti-hero. Sometimes to pick a rose, you have to walk in a garden of manure.

[Alex Budris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Someone with an experimental sniper rifle is after Chaingang, Chaingang is after everyone, more specifically Chaingang is after the Doctor... and you know what? I'm not even sure who the good guy is, the main character opposite Bunkowski. I got to page 186, and when I picked it back up my mind was wiped blank. The three before this were really good. We'll see about the 5th.

PS: This is a really HTF book and some kind soul on Facebook let me have a copy for like 20 bucks. Pretty nice.

[Chris Stephens · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think Mr. Miller might have been snorting a ton of coke while writing this one. If you have never read him and like splatter punk with some very good writing attached to it, I would recommend going back to Slob to start out, as a fan I found this to be another good read by him but as stated it feels like a choppy cocaine driven tirade and would hesitate to recommend it to a newb.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mediocre Rex Miller is better than no Rex Miller, and since this author died too young and wrote too few books, I'll take his going back to the Chaingang serial-killer well and miss what was and could have been. Which says next to nothing about the quality of the book, but so be it.