Queen of Spades

How could I not pick this up. Michael Shou-Yung Shum is a poker dealer and sometime rave DJ in between getting a doctorate in Psychology and another in English - as you do. What sealed the deal was reading an excerpt from the book over at the Literary Hub. There's a precise sense of growing tension and this works well as a standalone short story that feels like the Coen Brothers meets Chuck Palaniuk. It's seriously good.

In Queen of Spades we've got a poker dealer at a worn around the edges casino outside of Seattle. A pit boss with a terminal condition and an enigmatic older women known as the Countess who seems to have mastered High Stakes Faro.

Shum brings his experience of working the felt to the pages and I loved it. I can see the casino in my head. Garish carpet with extravagant patterns worn at the edges, the chirping of chips and the riffling of cards. But it's not the high gloss bling of the Vegas strip, it's more Fear and Loathing by way of Fargo. Here we have bookie enforcers opening up a gym/salon, mystic healers, gambling addicts and dealers meditating over the differing weight of ink on playing cards.

It nudges up against the mythos of long odds, lady luck and vagaries of chance. It's something that's always left me suspicious as I tend to a more pragmatic, mathematical approach when it comes to gambling. As a result I find myself distrusting the narrative, unwilling to just let it ride.