What do you think?
Rate this book
Worm
In the Bakken oil field of North Dakota, they call the new guys “worms.”
Ferret is a worm from Alabama, trying to kickstart a new life for his family, while back home his in-laws whisper break-up songs in his wife Dee Dee’s ear.
His boss, a shadowy old guy called Pancrazio, drags in Ferret, Gene Handy, and two roustabouts from Oklahoma to deal with a new meth empire on the prairie. Meanwhile, a reservation cop keeps a close eye on the big picture.
All Ferret wants is some easy money and the love of his family. But he quickly finds out that there’s danger around every corner, in every drill, truck and train car. And if the machines or chemicals don’t get him, then the other roughnecks will. Because beneath the dirt and grease, nobody is what they seem.
Ferret is a worm from Alabama, trying to kickstart a new life for his family, while back home his in-laws whisper break-up songs in his wife Dee Dee’s ear.
His boss, a shadowy old guy called Pancrazio, drags in Ferret, Gene Handy, and two roustabouts from Oklahoma to deal with a new meth empire on the prairie. Meanwhile, a reservation cop keeps a close eye on the big picture.
All Ferret wants is some easy money and the love of his family. But he quickly finds out that there’s danger around every corner, in every drill, truck and train car. And if the machines or chemicals don’t get him, then the other roughnecks will. Because beneath the dirt and grease, nobody is what they seem.
Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2015
6 people are currently reading
95 people want to read
About the author
Anthony Neil Smith
63 books191 followersI write crime novels. PSYCHOSOMATIC, THE DRUMMER, plus the Billy Lafitte series--YELLOW MEDICINE, HOGDOGGIN', THE BADDEST ASS, and HOLY DEATH--and the Mustafa & Adem series--ALL THE YOUNG WARRIORS and ONCE A WARRIOR, in addition to WORM, CHOKE ON YOUR LIES, and the SLOW BEAR trilogy.
I'm an English Professor at Southwest Minnesota State University, and editor of the online lit mag Revolution John.
I'm an English Professor at Southwest Minnesota State University, and editor of the online lit mag Revolution John.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 28, 2015
Anthony Neil Smith is the rightful heir of the creeping madness of Jim Thompson. Does this mean he'll gain a cult following after his death only? I do not know, but what I do know is that he just cracked another one out of the park with WORM, a novel I had the most difficult time to stop myself reading.
If you want to create some successful hardboiled/noir nowadays, you need to have an original setting and Smith struck gold with North Dakota and the economic boom of fracking. His characters are greedy men looking for a second start in life where they could finally become somebody. Really, everybody has two names in this novel. Ferret's boss Pancrazio might be one of the most layered, deceitfully complex and hilariously grotesque characters he's ever created. He's the kind of character you can only find in a ANS novel.
WORM might not be the meanest swing Anthony Neil Smith has ever taken at human race, it's sneaky-humane at time, but Smith's tremendous talent for crude dialogues and bleak description carries this novel effortlessly. If you have friends who aren't into Smith yet, this is a great starting point.
If you want to create some successful hardboiled/noir nowadays, you need to have an original setting and Smith struck gold with North Dakota and the economic boom of fracking. His characters are greedy men looking for a second start in life where they could finally become somebody. Really, everybody has two names in this novel. Ferret's boss Pancrazio might be one of the most layered, deceitfully complex and hilariously grotesque characters he's ever created. He's the kind of character you can only find in a ANS novel.
WORM might not be the meanest swing Anthony Neil Smith has ever taken at human race, it's sneaky-humane at time, but Smith's tremendous talent for crude dialogues and bleak description carries this novel effortlessly. If you have friends who aren't into Smith yet, this is a great starting point.
February 1, 2015
Every so often a novel comes along that completely knocks me on my a$$ - in a good way. Last year it was the rural noir A SWOLLEN RED SUN by Matthew McBride. This years' early contender is the new oil slick noir WORM by Anthony Neil Smith, a rampant rural roughhouse tale of men who don't take a step back and who's knuckles bare the scars of their livelihood, for in the Bakken oil field any sign of weakness is a target for violence.
Seriously, Anthony Neil Smith's books should be a staple in any crime fiction aficionado's diet. Especially those who take their fiction black - or in this instance, black gold with a dash of claret. Like the Billy Lafitte books (the latest one being THE BADDEST ASS - an apt title if ever there was one) WORM embraces the violent nature of men in hash predicaments with little to nothing to stimulate them in their downtime. Two vastly different settings, yet the undercurrent of aggression remains omnipresent.
No one is good. Even Ferret who seems to be a nice guy, a family man, is bloodied and cold blooded by the novels' end while his boss Prancrazio is flat out crazy yet calculated. These characters and more (the Russels for instance) are exceptionally well written and loaded with pure bastardness (I made up that word but it fits).
Do yourself a favor fellow crime readers and pick this one up. If you like the darker shade of crime you'll get drunk off this.
Review first published here: http://justaguythatlikes2read.blogspo...
Seriously, Anthony Neil Smith's books should be a staple in any crime fiction aficionado's diet. Especially those who take their fiction black - or in this instance, black gold with a dash of claret. Like the Billy Lafitte books (the latest one being THE BADDEST ASS - an apt title if ever there was one) WORM embraces the violent nature of men in hash predicaments with little to nothing to stimulate them in their downtime. Two vastly different settings, yet the undercurrent of aggression remains omnipresent.
No one is good. Even Ferret who seems to be a nice guy, a family man, is bloodied and cold blooded by the novels' end while his boss Prancrazio is flat out crazy yet calculated. These characters and more (the Russels for instance) are exceptionally well written and loaded with pure bastardness (I made up that word but it fits).
Do yourself a favor fellow crime readers and pick this one up. If you like the darker shade of crime you'll get drunk off this.
Review first published here: http://justaguythatlikes2read.blogspo...
March 3, 2015
I can’t think of anyone who tops Anthony Neil Smith in writing Everyman tales in which the average Joe, up against the world, makes the wrong choices for the right reasons and keeps plunging deeper and deeper into the abyss. Lee Child said the secret to creating page-turners was to keep posing story questions on every page. This is exactly what Smith does in every novel he writes and his latest, Worm, is a master’s class in how to keep tension on every single page. His character Ferret just wants what most of us want—to provide a better life for his family. His desire is honorable but unfortunately his options are limited and what happens to him as he pursues the American dream is all-too-often what happens to many others with that same dream—disaster. Years from now, Smith will be viewed as one of the best writers of our generation—he’s just not capable of writing anything but a fantastic novel. If you haven’t yet read him, glom onto this book and when you finish it, pick up another masterpiece by this writer who is, indeed, a literary treasure. And, kudos to Blasted Heath books for putting out another winner.
March 1, 2015
Ferret is a worm, a new employee in the Bakken oil field of North Dakota. From Alabama originally, Ferret moved up to start a new life, to earn money so his wife, Dee-Dee, and daughter, Violet, can move up and start a new life together. But his in-laws do not like Ferret and Dee-Dee has anxiety attacks.
There’s trouble everywhere Ferret looks, from his boss, Pancrazio, to meth labs and whore houses and roughnecks just wanting a fight. Can Ferret stay in one piece long enough to realise his dreams?
Initially I though Worm was simply a character driven novel set against the backdrop of Minnesotan oil fields. The players were all well drawn and the setting powerfully described, but that was it – great decoration, but where was the flavour.
But then Smith got the story going and I was hooked. Ferret, so desperate to get his family back together, will do anything to earn enough cash whilst living the hard life of an oilman. He starts to run drugs on behalf of Pancrazio and falls in with some dubious people – Good and Bad Russell (two people!), Gene Handy and Slow Bear, an Indian cop from the reservations.
Soon Ferret learns from Gene that Pancrazio is not what he seems (I won’t say as it is the crux on which the story is based) and the narrative flips again into one of greed and retribution. When Dee-Dee moves up Ferret thinks he has everything now, but someone has an alternative purpose in mind for Ferret…
This is a slow burn story, Smith cleverly ramps up the pace and tension. The narrative is slick and intelligent, the dialogue even more so. The characters are brilliant. A thoroughly enjoyable story that packs in twist after twist to keep the reader guessing. Again, I’d like to say more, but then that would ruin the surprises…
**Originally reviewed for Books & Pals blog. May have received free review copy.**
There’s trouble everywhere Ferret looks, from his boss, Pancrazio, to meth labs and whore houses and roughnecks just wanting a fight. Can Ferret stay in one piece long enough to realise his dreams?
Initially I though Worm was simply a character driven novel set against the backdrop of Minnesotan oil fields. The players were all well drawn and the setting powerfully described, but that was it – great decoration, but where was the flavour.
But then Smith got the story going and I was hooked. Ferret, so desperate to get his family back together, will do anything to earn enough cash whilst living the hard life of an oilman. He starts to run drugs on behalf of Pancrazio and falls in with some dubious people – Good and Bad Russell (two people!), Gene Handy and Slow Bear, an Indian cop from the reservations.
Soon Ferret learns from Gene that Pancrazio is not what he seems (I won’t say as it is the crux on which the story is based) and the narrative flips again into one of greed and retribution. When Dee-Dee moves up Ferret thinks he has everything now, but someone has an alternative purpose in mind for Ferret…
This is a slow burn story, Smith cleverly ramps up the pace and tension. The narrative is slick and intelligent, the dialogue even more so. The characters are brilliant. A thoroughly enjoyable story that packs in twist after twist to keep the reader guessing. Again, I’d like to say more, but then that would ruin the surprises…
**Originally reviewed for Books & Pals blog. May have received free review copy.**
May 30, 2016
This is just a brutal contemporary noir set in the North Dakota oil fields. Primary protagonist Ferret is just trying to earn more money for his family, but he quickly loses ground in the Bakken economics and enlists in the meth dealing operation for extra cash. Do I even need to tell you how that's going to work out for him? His compatriots, in work and in the meth dealing operation, are killers, and getting to know them all via the multi-POV narration, does not redeem any of them in the slightest. They are all motivated by self-interest in ugly ways and when Smith brings them all together for the ending sequence of scenes you will not be disappointed.
April 22, 2015
This is only the third book that i have read written by ANS, but now he is a must read for me. Will work my way through his library this year for sure.
This book was typical Blasted Heath, they put out the best books and ive yet to read a bad one. This one has it all, the setting is great, North Dakota, and original. The characters are all depraved lowlifes looking to make it rich quick and they will do anything to get there. Ferret tries to do the right thing by his family, but gets mixed up in the wrongdoings. Just an all around great noir read, loved every word of it.
This book was typical Blasted Heath, they put out the best books and ive yet to read a bad one. This one has it all, the setting is great, North Dakota, and original. The characters are all depraved lowlifes looking to make it rich quick and they will do anything to get there. Ferret tries to do the right thing by his family, but gets mixed up in the wrongdoings. Just an all around great noir read, loved every word of it.
February 4, 2015
Another fantastic read from Smith. I love everything the guy writes and everything that Blasted Heath publishes. A dark gruesome noir page turner that kept me engaged until the final sentence. If you have not read Smith this is a great introduction to a brilliant under appreciated writer. The Billy Lafitte books, and Choke on Your Lies are still my personal favorites, but this book was also fantastic. If you are a fan of Smith's previous work, than this is a must read.
January 3, 2024
There are very few writers that I don't even read the back of their books or care what it's about I just buy them; they have earned my trust, Smith is very high on that short list.
Another vicious, violent ride to hell or in this case North Dakota (which having been there is a lot like hell) piloted by the powerhouse of disturbingly violent crime fiction Mr. Smith, this guy shits snowflakes and just bitch slaps the fuck outta politically correct. And true to form there are no happy endings for the dammed.
Another vicious, violent ride to hell or in this case North Dakota (which having been there is a lot like hell) piloted by the powerhouse of disturbingly violent crime fiction Mr. Smith, this guy shits snowflakes and just bitch slaps the fuck outta politically correct. And true to form there are no happy endings for the dammed.
September 5, 2024
Haven’t read anything like this. It was brutal and grotesque.
February 22, 2015
Worm opens with an intriguing, rather cinematic set-piece where a number of the main characters are introduced. Three men drive up to an oil-drilling station and the boss, Pancrazio, steps out to meet them. The bikers, members of the Sons Of Silence MC ask for a word with one of the workers, Gene Handy. Handy goes out to straighten things out while his friend Ferret watches from a safe distance. Pancrazio and Handy are very tough people and a visit from a biker gang isn’t going to phase them. Ferret, on the other hand, is a family man who is working for the benefit of his wife and child. Without revealing the outcome of the meeting, I can say that it provides a powerful opening that sets the tone extremely well and which made me want to press on quickly with the rest of the book. As opening chapters go, this is a great example to aspiring writers on how to go about things.
Neither Handy nor Pancrazio are exactly who they seem. Before long, it becomes clear that they have bigger intentions and plan to supply the oil field workers with the drugs they want to help them unwind after a hard day’s toil.
As soon as Ferret gets a sniff of this, he wants in. It’s not that he’s an experienced criminal. He just wants to earn as much cash as he can for that wife and daughter of his. Unfortunately, his naivety means he has no real concept of what’s involved in joining such an operation and getting out isn’t ever going to be as simple as handing in notice to quit.
There are twists aplenty as the trio reveal their true colours and the plot is thickened by the crooked police chief Slow Bear and Pancrazio’s wing men, Good Russell and Bad Russell.
All of this takes place in a Wild West setting. The town is out of control. The workers are after booze and women and there’s a sense of anarchy about the whole thing. The law is weak and corrupt, the oilmen are stir-crazy and powerful and the women here are out to take advantage of their situation in any way they can.
This isn’t a novel that shines a torch on the wonders of humanity. Rather it looks down into the chaos of life and the extremities of existence and refuses to shirk away from the darker crevices. Smith pushes the characters hard and their flaws are ruthlessly exposed. What the depths of this world also does it to bring forward unlikely heroes who emerge from the mire when it becomes deep enough.
I thoroughly enjoyed this read and also admired the quality of the writing. Smith does a number of things extremely well. His work on setting is superb and there are at least four dimensions to this world. He deals with a huge scope and a complex plot and yet always keeps control. The dialogue is well delivered and the book is densely populated by brilliant phrases that speak volumes in few words. Add to that the constant surge of the characters and the storyline (even the back story moves forwards) and there’s one page-turning novel that will satisfy the appetite of many a crime reader.
Neither Handy nor Pancrazio are exactly who they seem. Before long, it becomes clear that they have bigger intentions and plan to supply the oil field workers with the drugs they want to help them unwind after a hard day’s toil.
As soon as Ferret gets a sniff of this, he wants in. It’s not that he’s an experienced criminal. He just wants to earn as much cash as he can for that wife and daughter of his. Unfortunately, his naivety means he has no real concept of what’s involved in joining such an operation and getting out isn’t ever going to be as simple as handing in notice to quit.
There are twists aplenty as the trio reveal their true colours and the plot is thickened by the crooked police chief Slow Bear and Pancrazio’s wing men, Good Russell and Bad Russell.
All of this takes place in a Wild West setting. The town is out of control. The workers are after booze and women and there’s a sense of anarchy about the whole thing. The law is weak and corrupt, the oilmen are stir-crazy and powerful and the women here are out to take advantage of their situation in any way they can.
This isn’t a novel that shines a torch on the wonders of humanity. Rather it looks down into the chaos of life and the extremities of existence and refuses to shirk away from the darker crevices. Smith pushes the characters hard and their flaws are ruthlessly exposed. What the depths of this world also does it to bring forward unlikely heroes who emerge from the mire when it becomes deep enough.
I thoroughly enjoyed this read and also admired the quality of the writing. Smith does a number of things extremely well. His work on setting is superb and there are at least four dimensions to this world. He deals with a huge scope and a complex plot and yet always keeps control. The dialogue is well delivered and the book is densely populated by brilliant phrases that speak volumes in few words. Add to that the constant surge of the characters and the storyline (even the back story moves forwards) and there’s one page-turning novel that will satisfy the appetite of many a crime reader.
April 17, 2015
Worm is a great gritty crime noir by an author who is becoming one of my favorite gritty crime noir authors. Smith's worlds are rough but all of the humanity isn't lost. This story is set in the oil fields of North Dakota, which apparently still contains some type of outlaw frontier vibe to it. I've seen complaints about the authenticity of the oil worker world or whatever and honestly I don't give a shit because this story is entertaining as hell. As a medical professional, sometimes it gets on my nerves when people are wildly off base with their procedure descriptions and clinical terminologies, but that's only when it's blatant the author didn't attempt any research and was just throwing shit out there. If the reader can tell an effort was made then the occasional slip up is irrelevant especially if the story is on point. If there really are any slip ups in this book anyways.
Anyways there are drug dealers, murders, biker gangs, Bosnian war criminals and many other exciting things going on in Worm. There are some twists in the story and great characters too. If your into gritty crime novels then pick up Worm and read it. While you do that I will continue to work my way through the rest of Anthony Neil Smiths Catalog. I think I am going to check out the Adem and Mustafa series.
Anyways there are drug dealers, murders, biker gangs, Bosnian war criminals and many other exciting things going on in Worm. There are some twists in the story and great characters too. If your into gritty crime novels then pick up Worm and read it. While you do that I will continue to work my way through the rest of Anthony Neil Smiths Catalog. I think I am going to check out the Adem and Mustafa series.
May 29, 2015
Worm takes you to North Dakota, to the new oil fields that fracking has opened up, to the boom towns that have transformed a quiet rural state into a wide open lawless land of easy money and violent men. Anthony Neil Smith has built himself a solid rep as a writer of noir fiction, and this one is easily the best of the two or three I've read.
Finn, or "Ferret" as the other rig-workers call him, is a family man from Alabama come to make some bucks to take back home and improve life for himself, his wife, Dee Dee, and their little girl, Violet. The environment and his psychology turn against him. He's a little greedy, you see, and more than a little naive. He has no idea of the stakes or rough play he's letting himself in for when he agrees to grab some extra cash ferrying meth from the oil fields to the city.
The savagery of the characters he's now involved with reaches far beyond anything he's imagined. And, of course, once he's in he knows to much to quit. We're not talking just regular criminals here we're talking--well I've already said too much. Suffice it to say poor Ferret's venial sins hurtle toward the mortal in no time at all, as does the suspense and grotesqueness of this truly noir situation.
I understand Smith is dedicating his next book to my main mentor, Les Edgerton. Can't wait.
Finn, or "Ferret" as the other rig-workers call him, is a family man from Alabama come to make some bucks to take back home and improve life for himself, his wife, Dee Dee, and their little girl, Violet. The environment and his psychology turn against him. He's a little greedy, you see, and more than a little naive. He has no idea of the stakes or rough play he's letting himself in for when he agrees to grab some extra cash ferrying meth from the oil fields to the city.
The savagery of the characters he's now involved with reaches far beyond anything he's imagined. And, of course, once he's in he knows to much to quit. We're not talking just regular criminals here we're talking--well I've already said too much. Suffice it to say poor Ferret's venial sins hurtle toward the mortal in no time at all, as does the suspense and grotesqueness of this truly noir situation.
I understand Smith is dedicating his next book to my main mentor, Les Edgerton. Can't wait.
February 14, 2015
I've long been a believer that setting is a "character" in its own right. A fresh and original backdrop gets a story off to a great start.
I was aware that an oil boom had started in North Dakota but had no detailed knowledge of what the scene was like. Anthony Neil Smith does a superb job of portraying this modern frontier and the rabble that populates it. The characters and situations are real and stark. The psychology is great and the surprises are potent.
I was aware that an oil boom had started in North Dakota but had no detailed knowledge of what the scene was like. Anthony Neil Smith does a superb job of portraying this modern frontier and the rabble that populates it. The characters and situations are real and stark. The psychology is great and the surprises are potent.
February 12, 2015
Another fast, violent, engaging read from Anthony Neil Smith. I'm a fan!
April 2, 2015
Holy @#%$!!! This one is dark, bleak, and not for the faint of heart. Smith hit one out of the park here. I don't want to go into the story, so I don't give anything away.
Go get this book!
Go get this book!
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews