Of New Orleans, Loas, and Social Justice - A Review of The People's Police

The People's Police by Norman Spinrad

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


If there is any city in the United States that might truly be touched by magic, it is New Orleans. With its near-seamless blend of French, Cajun, and African influences, New Orleans is both unlike much of the rest of the United States, and also deeply enmeshed in it. That connection - present, and yet in some ways almost tenuous - makes New Orleans an appealing setting for writers interested in telling stories with supernatural elements. The most well-known of these writers is Anne Rice, whose novel Interview With the Vampire takes place in various time periods and locations, but mostly in New Orleans (where, incidentally, the film adaptation was also filmed). Nowadays anyone interested in Rice’s novels can take a “vampire tour” around New Orleans, many of which include shooting locations from the film.

Like many other readers, I became enchanted with New Orleans after reading Rice’s novels in high school, and then later on in university, when I picked up Poppy Z. Brite’s Liquor and Prime at the encouragement of one of my good friends. However, it has been a good long while since I read about the city as a setting for a novel, so when I came across The People’s Police by Norman Spinrad, I decided to pick it up and revisit what is, to me, the most interesting city in the United States.

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