I’m a sucker for stories set in the wilderness. It’s not that I’m especially rugged, but I did spend a large portion of my life surrounded by nature. In order to achieve an authentic feel, the trick is to get the small details right. This is where award-winning novelist Stephen Graham Jones excels in It Came from Del Rio, his first entry in the “Bunnyhead Chronicles.” When he describes life in the desert, we know right away that he’s a man who’s been there. Whether or not he’s ever participated in the illicit activities of the central characters remains to be seen.

Jones has a few advantages over legendary authors like Jack London or Cormac McCarthy, both of whom utilized their chosen landscapes to full advantage. Know what they are? Zombies with bunny heads, herds of hopping monstrosities, and strange radioactive murders, that’s what! Luckily for us, Jones has crafted a tale that packs in the thrills of the best outdoor adventure novels with enough bizarre creature encounters to fill an entire season of The X-Files. It’s an odd combination that actually works because of Jones’s deft skill with prose and dialogue. It doesn’t hurt that his style inserts a sly sense of humour that avoids sacrificing real horror and emotional gravity in favour of kitsch. That the strange stew of crime fiction, adventure, self-reflection, and sci-fi works at all is a testament to Stephen Graham Jones’s considerable mastery of his craft. Ultimately, it’s earnestness that guides this revenge story, a triumph of the heartfelt over the trappings of mere kitsch.

Professional smuggler Dodd Raines is ready to get out of the business. The only problem is every time the crafty Texan tries to make a break, they pull him back in. An unknown employer hooks him for one more job, threatening his little daughter, Laurie, to ensure Dodd's compliance. Dodd's hoping this will be the gig to end all gigs. He plans to take the cash, find a legit career path, and devote more time to his baby girl. The identity of his "client" is never revealed, and all he has to do is move a canister of rocks across the border. Easy enough, right? But why is he risking serious jail time for a few pebbles in a metal cylinder? All he knows is he has a job to do, and his punishment will be swift and ugly if he fails. He embarks on a perilous journey to deliver the goods, but before long makes terrifying discoveries including some nasty, mangled bodies, deadly radiation, and a pack of toothy little critters. After betrayals, brushes with the law, and exposure to deadly radioactivity, Dodd is never to be seen again.

The second half of the book crosses its own border. It's told from the perspective of an adult Laurie. Now a cop, she never quite gave up on her missing father, despite bitter feelings of abandonment. Rumours abound of a looming presence with bunny ears making its way north. Its patterns and other clues lead Laurie to believe her father may still be alive. Whatever is responsible for a slew of bizarre murders is somehow linked to him. She embarks on her own quest to find out the truth about her father’s disappearance.

Even though the story’s hero regularly crosses the barrier between the U.S. and Mexico, It Came from Del Rio is a story with no restrictions. It blurs the line between the rugged tales of Jon Krakauer seamlessly with the hard-boiled crime fiction of Raymond Chandler. The sci-fi/horror elements never feel forced, and the relationship angles are compelling. Hell, the book can even partially be read as a how-to manual for thriving in the dangerous world of smuggling. It Came from Del Rio touches on so many genres, emotions, and is so downright eccentric, it’s surprising that it succeeds as a cohesive story. We should be able to scoff at its preposterousness, but we don’t. Most impressive is how much command Jones has over language, especially in poetic soliloquies by the hardened characters. There are passages that are utterly unique, and the dialogue is edgy without feeling lifted from any specific source. It Came from Del Rio is a completely original work, and one that benefits from all the parts working together in harmony. The considerable talent of Stephen Graham Jones leaves me not only excited for a sequel in the “Bunnyhead Chronicles” series, but prompts me to take a hard look at his entire body of work.