Deep in the Heart of Texas,
Something Wicked this Way Comes . . .
Hard Cover Edition
"Storyteller and public radio producer Joe McHugh has made a big leap from spinning tall tales and ghost stories to writing a full-length novel. "Kilowatt" tackles important ideas and the ethics of corporate America. McHugh is good at pulling together seemingly random threads and weaving them into a tight net by story's end. Against a stark backdrop of West Texas, characters assume larger-than-life dimensions, and even random details assume an ominous cast. The ideas and the action that power "Kilowatt" are compelling."
~Barbara McMichael - The Olympian
"Kilowatt is a great adventure story that contains many challenging and provocative discussions. I learned a lot about energy that I didn't know before and the concepts about time were very intriguing."
~Carol Pierson, President and CEO, National Federation of Community Broadcasters.
"Kilowatt shows how community radio and independent media can and does make a difference. Two intrepid reporters take on a Texas energy giant in a tale filled with citizen activists, a genius defector, Russian thugs, corporate corruption and government collusion. Kilowatt powers into an old-fashioned page-turner as its elements heat up."
~Steve Baker, Program Director, KVMR-FM
Review in The Union
November 1, 2007
'Kilowatt' Poses Serious Questions About Society, Government and the Environment
by William Clark
"Kilowatt" by Joe McHugh is an electrically charged tale involving a revolutionary pollutant-free method of generating electricity, a disillusioned Russian physicist, a community radio news reporter, a CEO of a Texas energy company and the Russian mob.
In this first novel, Joe McHugh uses his experience as a professional storyteller to craft a page-turner of mystery and intrigue.
His strong sense of place and crisp dialogue drive the plot along as he poses serious questions about our society, our government and the environment.
Reb Morgan is a recently hired news reporter for Community Radio Station KVMR.
In his research, Morgan will follow wherever the trail leads. Avery Axton, CEO of EnerTex, has a damn-the-torpedoes, full-steam-ahead desire for money and power. According to Axton, "In terms of physics, money was much like mass: the more of it there was, the more gravity it exerted upon its surroundings, so that all things naturally bent toward it."
Add to this rich mix a group of workers at the EnerTex power plant who exhibit some strange health conditions, and the stage is set.
McHugh helped me realize the value of public supported, community based media outlets and nonprofit support groups that operate beneath the radar of corporate America. His concerns should resonate with us all: How many freedoms must we give up, how much of the environment must we destroy, and how much must our health be endangered, all for the promise of greater security and a limitless supply of electrical power?
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