A sticky-fingered brewer finds himself in a messy situation after the theft of a mutated water lily and a botched marriage proposal end with him defecating substantial amounts of solid gold. Thrust into the limelight, the young man draws unwanted attention from the world over as people scramble to understand the enigmatic philosopher's stone. Add in a heroin-addicted best bud, a psychic drug trafficker, a power-lifting girlfriend, a reclusive botanist specializing in psilocybin, a well-intentioned cop, and boom: The Philosopher's Load.

If Bukowski or Burroughs had been as influenced by bizarro fiction and Dungeons & Dragons as they were booze and dope, this would be the type of fiction they'd have written. Science fiction? Not quite. Urban fantasy? There's no vampire/werewolf/teenage love triangle. Contemporary fantasy? You're getting warmer. Supernatural crime thriller? Bingo.

Chock-full of drugs, violence, awful antiheroes, and villains who are even worse, The Philosopher's Load is fast-paced genre fiction for readers tired of the same old same old.

- Rediscovered what "edgy" looked like." John L. Monk, author of Kick.