Finishing Andrew Marx’s debut fiction novel, “Accidents Happen”, feels a lot like waking up after a really entertaining nightmare. The time line is a little sketchy, and you’re pretty sure there are demons involved although you can’t recall any in particular. The plot is both simple and excruciatingly complicated at the same time, and you’re hoping against hope that you’ll dream it again so that you can take notes the second time around. It’s a lot of fun, and a departure from the normal bevy of science fiction in the vein of “The Dresden Files” or the Anita Blake series. It carries the same other worldly overtones, but with a Quentin Tarantino vibe that tosses both the plot, genre, and a score of literary and pop culture references into a big bowl of story-salad.

The main story (and I mean “main” in the literal sense that the book is comprised of three separate stories, the titular story being the main one) is about Matt. The first thing you learn about Matt is that he’s dead. And apparently Hell is a job interview. Sounds about right. So Matt gets a job working for the Diabolus Corporation (Hell is also a major corporation. Again, sounds about right.) Matt’s job is to observe things, he’s the eyes and ears on the ground so to speak. This leaves him a lot of down time to go gambling in Las Vegas and contemplate his new situation. Of course, the situation gets stranger as the story goes on, throwing in two insane superheroes named Shiv and Spyderco, and dropping a 747 passenger plane onto the Las Vegas strip. This all leads to a much grander scheme, but nothing feels conclusive.

Instead, “Accidents Happen” feels more like an episode of “Lost”, where you’re intrigued by everything that happens, but left with more questions than answers. The two supplementary stories widen the scope of the narrative, following side routes that shed some light on the main story, but also leave their own questions behind. This congruence of opening plot threads leads me to believe that “Accidents Happen” is only the first in an upcoming series of books that will draw out the narrative.

The only indication of this is in the “About the Author” section in the back which claims that Marx is currently working on the follow up. But I really want something more definitive, like a “Book 1” in the title, or even a couple of pages in the back describing that follow up. My largest criticism of “Accidents Happen” is that it feels like a beginning, and I’m not sure if that was intended or not. After all, “Rhett Butler’s People” is a follow up to “Gone with the Wind”, but that doesn’t mean that its part of the same story.

Still, “Accidents Happen” is a great first outing. It’s different, and I love things that are different. It keeps the rules of its universe clear, but also continually expands on them, leading to some chaotically clever moments. It’s Harry Potter in “The Matrix”… with a ghost chicken.