The Wave

If you think Walter Mosley only writes mysteries and period pieces, think again. His 2006 title, The Wave, is billed as SF, but I found it closer to absurdist literature, both in theme and style. In this contemporary story, Errol Porter is awakened by phone calls, and the caller sounds like his deceased father. Amazed concern leads him to find this person, and then Errol is involved in mysterious circumstances that alienate him from his real world. As with absurdist pieces I've recently read (Field of Honor and American Desert), the death aspect is prominent, as is the threat from the official American military and important scenes taking place beneath the earth. Mosley's writing is his usual high standard, with well-drawn characters. The ending seemed a bit rushed.