fiX

by Michael Golvach

Happily ever after. The hard way. David Fitz is a small time drug dealer and con artist who funds his habits and that of his girlfriend, Juno, through drug sales and petty crime. Both are eager to get clean and start a new life, far away from the dangers of the city. They hatch a plan, with an ambitious police officer, to provide evidence against David’s boss. Together they will bring him to justice in return for witness protection. It sounds simple enough, but as soon as they kick their habits Juno gets cold feet. She decides that she no longer wants to rat on David’s boss, or to be a part of David’s life anymore, though she knows that staying together is the only way to stay alive and that the original plan will have to be carried out. Things get even worse when the cop they are working with leaves them in the middle of nowhere, with no money, no real protection and no long-term plan. When David’s boss is released on bail after just 24 hours they know he will soon be after them. And when he phones them at their new home, they find that there is yet another twist in their already complicated situation. In their seemingly nice new neighbourhood, David and Juno befriend Cadence and Brent. The couple seem friendly enough, but why are they so keen to help when they themselves could face untold dangers? With ever dwindling options, and David’s boss closing in on them, he and Juno are forced into trusting their new neighbours with their lives. Their strange alliance has to be better than the certain death they are facing if David's boss finds them Then again, it could be much, much worse. ---

697 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 13, 2017

About the author

Michael Golvach a freelance writer, living in Grayslake, Illinois. He is a child of a non-digital age, an award winning author of several books, screenplays, and many short stories.

Reviews

[Alicia Smock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone wants a fairy tale ending, just like in the story books children hear growing up or like in pretty much every Disney movie ever made. However, life is not like that, especially if wrong decisions have been made throughout one’s life. Some people continue down that dark rabbit hole and end up in an even darker place while others manage to find the courage and strength it takes to climb back out towards the light. It is never an easy climb, but if someone is willing enough to fix the wrongs to make things right, it can be done. fiX by author Michael Golvach is not a fairy tale… it goes much deeper than a fairy tale ever would as his characters have made poor decisions throughout the course of their lives, yet some are still willing to do whatever it takes to reach their own happily ever after.

David Fitz has found himself mixed up with the worst crowd possible. By selling drugs and committing petty crimes, he is able to provide himself and his prostitute girlfriend, Juno, fixes for their addictive habits. And yet, David has finally started to see what life could be like and wants out of this dangerous line of work. With his girlfriend on board to break their habits and a police officer willing to help, David collects evidence against his drug dealing boss to put him behind bars so that David and Juno will finally be free. However, once the day finally comes to nab his boss, things go wrong. Juno goes through withdrawal and doesn’t wish to be with David anymore, yet knows staying with him is her only shot of staying alive. The cop helping David drives him and Juno to the middle of nowhere, saying they can stay in the “safe house” until they can start their life anew. And to top everything off, David’s old boss gets out of jail in less than a day and quickly learns how to contact David and Juno at their new “safe home”. While the small neighborhood the “safe house” is in is nice, David and Juno don’t really have anyone they can turn to for help aside from their neighbors, Brent and Cadence. Unprotected and completely vulnerable, David and Juno have no choice but to befriend their neighbors and pray their alliance can keep them safe. Unless David’s boss discovers their location… then they are all as good as dead.

fiX is not a story for the faint of heart. fiX is not for those who see the world through rose-colored glasses. Golvach’s story goes deeper than many books have in a long time, focusing on both the awful truths as well as the amazing beauty found in both humanity and life. The title itself reveals how deep the story goes as readers journey with the characters from their getting a fix just to feed their addiction to wanting to fix the wrongs done in the past to create a better future. Even the length of the book shows just how complex the story is, spanning a length of close to 700 pages long; however, readers should not write this story off just because of the length. It is a long story that reads quickly and gives readers plenty of in-depth storytelling to make them fall in love with certain characters while detesting others.


Golvach has quite the talent for giving readers an immensely complex story by stacking layers of details, character development, realism, valuable life lessons, surprising twists, and so much more. Readers may think they have the story as a whole figured out, but as they continue to read, Golvach continuously throws twists into the story to change their mind. The twists mainly come from how Golvach executes his story. He reveals key facts to his readers in small bursts and these small bursts are scattered all throughout the story with an incredible amount of detail in between. This can become frustrating for the readers because what they originally thought was the truth is no longer the truth, but the detail keeps them reading, making them rethink what they originally thought until they reach the next small burst.

As aforementioned, fiX is not for the faint of heart for the story is one that is creepily realistic at times, which guarantees grabbing the readers’ attention and not letting go. There are times when scenes become rather graphic in description, making the story even more realistic because in real life, this line of business is pretty brutal. There are even times when it becomes difficult to breathe, the events are that real. It focuses on many issues in today’s society that many people don’t wish to face:
• addiction and addiction detox
• toxic relationships
• feeling trapped, feeling like something resides within you and you can’t get rid of it and you are unsure if that thing is willing to help you or not
• wanting to better yourself, but someone else or multiple people try to stop you
• seeing what people want to see on the outside and judging others because of how they may look
Golvach does not sugarcoat anything when writing about these issues and it is both a terrifying and wonderful thing. It is truly a mirror to place in front of someone and the reason why his main character, David, wishes to fix his life before it is too late.

If the complexity of the issues of humanity doesn’t impress readers, the development of Golvach’s characters most certainly will. Many characters can be found scattered throughout the story, but there are only a few main ones readers will follow. Each character starts out the way readers would anticipate them to: David the meek man, Juno the untrusting prostitute, Paul Mauro the big bad drug dealer, and Richard the tough drug dealer henchman. Each of these starting characters begin the way readers expect; however, the events that happen throughout the story’s duration change all of them, including characters such as Cadence and Brent who come later, in ways readers do not truly expect. All of the characters go through surprising, yet believable changes, some for the good and some for the worst. And the amount of emotion found within this story makes for an incredible experience that adds to the story’s realism. There is also one other character who makes an appearance... a shadow of a character who truly drives the story along and who is also truly a real mystery. They are a character that is difficult to figure out, but one readers will have to figure out in their own unique ways.

Reality does not allow everyone to have the fairy tale endings found in stories. There are many obstacles that can stand in the way, including oneself, but that does not mean reaching one’s own fairy tale ending is impossible. fiX is the story that reveals no matter how far down that rabbit hole one has fallen, one can always climb back out to the light. Golvach has created such a complex, emotionally powerful, and realistic story will be near to impossible to put down and it is crazy to believe how quickly almost 700 pages can be read. He covers so much within his book and there are times it is difficult to read about the darker side of humanity, but focusing on these issues teaches us valuable lessons about ourselves and life. fiX is not for the faint of heart and fiX is not a fairy tale. It is a beautiful story about fighting for what you want and not giving up until you have it.

**Originally published on my blog, Roll Out Reviews (www.rolloutreviews.com), on November 6, 2019**

[Lex Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read for review “Bloody Gullets” and “What I Did This Summer by Davey Fitz,” (a short story related to the full novel, “FiX”) I, once again, have the distinct pleasure of introducing the brilliantly twisted mind of Michael Golvach to new readers.

In the paranormal thriller “FiX,” David Fitz, a small time drug dealer, and his girlfriend, Juno, are on the run from David’s boss. What they hoped would be witness protection turned into a set-up and David’s boss, held for only twenty-four hours of questioning, was free and hot on their tail. From that point onward, the story turns into a serpentine tale of betrayal, new friendships with Cadence and Brent (whose personalities and talents are far deeper than meets the eye), violent paranormal events, murder, blood (lots of blood) and twists and turns enough to provide even the most jaded reader an exciting and dizzying reading experience.

Golvach’s skill in creating an illusory scene that reeks of reality is unparalleled by anyone I’ve read in the past except the indomitable Edgar A. Poe. His characters come alive as everyday people with talents and short-comings trying their best to survive a hostile environment and eventuality that grows weirder and more complicated with every turn of the page. So much goes on, so fast in this story, it’s impossible for me and my meager talents to describe. How Golvach keeps it all together and pulls every unimaginable facet into a tightly woven, beautifully executed story is beyond me. Bur you can trust me on this; you will never see what’s coming, and that makes “FiX” a must read story for every reading fan of paranormal / horror thrillers, crime mysteries and believe it or not, a love story.

[Kaylee · Rating 4 out of 5]

An ambitious book with plenty going for it - fantasy wrapped up in the underbelly of 21st century humanity, plenty of numerology and religion thrown in, lots of blood and guts, and a concentrated romance. Vivid writing, at least when the violence was involved.

I'm not giving this a full five stars because I wasn't immediately sucked in (at least, not by the chapters -- the intro was great, as was the epilogue). It took me a good portion of the book to care what was happening, which is fine (addicts aren't necessarily my thing, and the fantastical elements were too few and far between at first). Perhaps it's my perspective reading in November of 2017, but the fairytale tropes that were used -- man "saves" woman -- and the other gender-related stereotypes as character attributes bothered me. Most of the characters were one-sided and fairly stuck in their gender or societal stereotypes, and I'm going to hazard a guess that that was an intentional choice.

I was frustrated by that, though -- Juno was obviously meant to constantly antagonize, but that sort of thing gets under my skin (the 100% selfish nature; the constant blindness to that by most other people in the story); Cadence was far too meek for who she turned out to be; Brent was complacent and dull; the bad guys were the bad guys. Davey was obviously chosen to be the character that truly developed (at least by showing, not telling -- Cadence also developed, but only in her own chapter).

I enjoyed the blurred lines between good and evil, and the idea of layers of reality and time, though. And I loved his execution of the idea of soulmates and what that might mean in a greater timeline. The questions of atonement and solving problems of others and what our purpose is... all of those were wonderfully explored. And I greatly appreciated the character awareness of the story's timeframe -- acknowledgment of the validity of extreme feelings within a small span of time in fiction? Unheard of.

Bravo on so many levels. I would definitely read more by Golvach.

[Fae Yang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly, when I first started this book I was worried because, initially, it seemed completely out of my element. For this purpose, I had debated on whether or not the rating would be four stars. HOWEVER... Golvach's prose is really quite incredible. Despite the fact that the characters in fiX are completely the opposite of those I'd generally find an interest in, I somehow became wrapped up in the story to the point where I continuously thought, "Okay, just one more chapter." At the mid-point of the story, the plot really takes a fascinating turn. The mysteries begin to unfold and the answers to the 'why' and 'what the hell?' questions begin coming to light. The rest of the book is quite a ride. The ethereal elements of the story combined with Golvach's visual prose make it intriguing and engaging. Additionally, I was extremely pleased to find that the story was wrapped up fully with deep thought, thus I finished this book feeling very satisfied. I'll be keeping an eye out for his new/future works.

[Katherine May · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Michael Golvach's third novel, "fiX", we get the story of Davey Fitz, a basically decent guy who is surrounded by the wrong people. Like "Bloody Gullets", Golvach's short story collection, this book begins with the feel of a Quentin Tarantino movie. But then, Davey and his girlfriend Juno escape some of those unseemly characters to the peace and quiet of a small town, and the tone changes. All of a sudden, we've stepped into "The Twilight Zone", "Smallville", or some similar place of paranormal activity.
Golvach's vivid imagination fuels this unusual tale of violence, fantasy, and romance while the reader's sympathy remains with Davey as he tries to figure out whom to trust, whom to love, and what to do with his life as he fends off various threats to his safety.
This story compares to the novels of Neil Gaiman and Audrey Niffenegger where it takes readers to a world beyond the one we know and introduces us to people with unusual abilities.

[InD'tale Magazine · Rating 2 out of 5]

“FiX” is a decidedly complex and multi-layered story.

Read full review in the 2017 July/August issue of InD'tale Magazine.