In the tradition of Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves and P.T. Anderson's Magnolia, Adam Novak explores the city of angels and demons in his third novel Freaks of the Industry.
Studio executive Rodney Muir quits the business after a prostitution scandal and returns home to Washington, DC where he falls for two women, the unhappy wife of a diplomat who harbors a dark secret and a federal agent investigating a Starbucks triple homicide who uncovers a White House conspiracy that threatens them all.
Low-budget horror filmmaker Thor Rosenthal gets a shot at the big time when homeless junkie turned Oscar-winning movie star Antwon Legion agrees to star in his desert thriller about a carpenter named Jesus investigating a serial killer stalking Mary Magdalene in Golgotha. The only problem is the movie star playing the messiah might be the Anti-Christ.
Larry Mersault works at the oldest talent agency in Hollywood as the script reader for Antwon Legion. Juggling the insatiable daughter of the agency chairman with endless script coverage requests, Larry is ordered to assassinate Legion by the chairman and break up with his daughter, forced choose between a career he loves and the people he loves the most.
“It’s brilliant. The language is astonishing, the energy of imagination is unflagging, the wit cruel and precise. Every sentence is a pleasure to read.”
―Henry Bean, writer of Internal Affairs
Praise for Take Fountain
"Adam Novak has a merciless eye for a society in which striving replaces every consideration of morality."
―Michael Tolkin, author of The Player
"A dark, unforgettable tour inside the belly of the Hollywood beast. Novak knows this world, and it shows."
―D. B. Weiss, cocreator of HBO's Game of Thrones
"Wonderfully written from someone on the inside, lots to learn about how the business of Hollywood works."
―Mike Medavoy, producer of Black Swan
"Take Fountain brings to Hollywood a slit-wrist wit that invokes the best of Bruce Wagner, with a sweetness in the darkest corners that calls to mind the late, lamented John O'Brien, but Novak's voice is all his own."
―Jerry Stahl, author of Old Guy Dad and Permanent Midnight
About the Author
Adam Novak is the author of the novels The Non-Pro and Take Fountain. He lives and writes in Los Angeles.
