I am a huge fan of the series Akashic does. The drug chronicles, the Noir series etc. This one did not disappoint at all. I really enjoyed how the book was organized, editor Joseph Mattson chose well and ordered the pieces in a way that kept up the Speedy momentum. I will say that I did not really like Franco's addition. The glossy pages with the two pieces laid out that way detracted from how the rest of the book was put together. I would have rather seen those pieces done in keeping with the r...

Some really great stories in is – very gritty, very dark.

Words don't contain respect, they grab it, snatch it, or smash it. This book reminds me that there are bubbles that hold words still, almost imposing in their forever here and now, stories for this America, past, present, or post... Time eating itself, and in the End.. If there gotta be one, based on Flash. or fast. It really don't matter if we all gonna crash anyway.

a rather hit-n-miss group of noir short stories (richmond noir, salt lake city noir, spokane noir, oklahoma city noir, etc [a joke, please]) books has finally come home to it's hard hitting roots ( , ) with a new collection highlighting speed, meth, go fast, hillbilly dentistry, whatever you might call it. editor joseph mattson has brought together a great and diverse group of writers to tell us stories about speed old and new. it;s a fast read too, one can buzz through it in just a few...

Favorites: Natalie Diaz's "How to Go to Dinner with a Brother on Drugs", Sherman Alexie's "War Cry" ( a guy deals with the aftermath of his drug-loving cousin comming home after spending 10 years in prison), Jess Walter's "Wheelbarrow Kings" (two homeless guys need to take a TV to the pawn).

Akashic offered me a sweet deal on the four current Drug Chronicles books and I jumped at the chance. This was one harrowing read! The common theme seemed to be hallucinatory experiences in which inanimate objects begin providing their input. Fuh!

Disclaimer: This ARC was given to me for free in exchange for an honest review from Netgalley.This was really interesting. This collection of stories is gritty, and doesn't glamorize the use of drugs. Well enjoyed.

Indie publisher Akashic hit it big with its city-based "Noir" collections (D.C. Noir, Mumbai Noir, etc.), and looks to repeat that success with a new series of drug-themed collections. This one contains fourteen original stories about speed, which, the introduction asserts is "the most demonized -- and misunderstood -- drug in the land." (Although editor Mattson struggles mightily for a page or two emphasize the complexity of the amphetamine experience, that framing comes across as somewhat forc...

Three of the stories were worthwhile: "Wheelbarrow Kings" by Jess Walter; "51 Hours" by Tao Lin; and "War Cry" by Sherman Alexie. The other 11 stories were unreadable and worthless.

Goddamned tweakers!What a fun read. I especially enjoyed "Bad" by Jerry Stahl and "Wheelbarrow Kings" by Jess Walter.

Yes! Okay, so this is the meth book that I was looking for. THIS is Breaking Bad. Okay, well, no, not really. But the energy, humor, and OTT plotlines (AKA parts I found most interesting in Breaking Bad) are here, and not the usual pervasive mopeyness and scoldings I have found in other books about drugs, like drug memoirs and drug journalism. BORING! The stories were all pretty good to excellent, too, except for one story, by that... uh... that actor guy who does pretentious "art" stunts for th...

Most of the stories in this collection were extremely depressing but well written. Jerry Stahl and James Franco were the favorites.

This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 2.0 of 5I truly didn't know what I was getting into when I requested this book. I wasn't aware that there was a series of drug-related short fiction books. (Yes, I am naive enough to think that this might have been about things that move quickly!) WHat attracted me to the book, though, were some of the names of the authors who has stories here. Names such as Sherman Alexia, James Franco, and Megan Abbott.As Joseph Mattson reminds...

I received a review copy of this book.I'm not well-versed in drugs. I didn't really think Speed and Meth were the same. And, while, technically, they're different, they pretty much have the same effects (so says the editor of this collection and is confirmed by yahoo answers...). That being said, I still think the better title for this book would have been "The Meth Chronicles." But I guess that's why I'm not an editor! For me, the stories were extremely hit-or-miss. I suppose that's what you're...

A very diverse collection, style and subject. Some real gems in here. Check out Natalie Diaz. My favorite.

Akashic Books launches DRUG CHRONICLES series, sister to their infamous NOIR series...I edited this monster--and the authors really slammed it home; hopefully the correct/final cover will be uploaded to Goodreads at some point...details on the book below. Dear readers, please come dance with the go-fast devil...“Just reading the table of contents for this fucker makes me want to hop in my time machine, zoom back to 1966 and find those two dubious physicians who used to write me scripts for Dexed...

Los Angeles author Joseph Mattson is no stranger to Bukowski comparisons. His collection, Eat Hell, published by Narrow Books, investigates the lives of down-and-out Angelenos. The novel Empty the Sun, which comes with a soundtrack performed by Six Organs of Admittance, circles the drain with a down-and-out blues-guitar player who hits bottom in downtown L.A. after his index finger is chewed off by a police dog.His latest effort is an anthology published by Akashic Books called The Speed Chronic...

**This book was given to me for free through Goodreads First Reads**Having a very brief exposure to Chrystal-Meth, this book rang very true to many of the meth-heads I have met and the stories they told. Especially, the stories that took place in Southern California and the Native American Reservations.It was amazing that the various authors did so much research and/or wrote from personal experience. Each short story was an adventure into addiction and the various forms it can take. I will certa...

Only read the Megan Abbott story, but that's all I wanted it for. A doctor is arrested for prescribing illegal and undisclosed drugs to his patients, after it all goes tragically wrong; his (remaining) patients are on his side. Not really about speed per se, I think, but that's not the point. The doctor is kindly and unreliable; the slippage between normal unreliable perception and drug-induced unreliability is well-done. Reminds me a lot of Elizabeth Hand. Not bad, but not one of my favorites.

Well, amphetamines are not going to produce the fiction that heroin has. But do read the stories by Natalie Diaz ("How to Go to Dinner with a Brother on Drugs") and Megan Abbott ("Everything I Want").