Las Vegas has served as a backdrop for many popular books, from horror to mystery thrillers. With all its glitter and history it has a way of adding another element to a story, giving it richness and layers to draw the reader in. There are many great novels that were set in Las Vegas including these bestsellers.
The Stand, Stephen King
This epic novel originally published in 1978 follows multiple characters after the super flue known as “Captain Trips” is accidentally released into the world, leaving only a handful of survivors. Three parties of survivors find themselves drawn to Nebraska by dreams of a 108-year-old woman known as “Mother Abagail” and who becomes their spiritual advisor. Another group is drawn to Las Vegas by a dark and evil force with supernatural powers, Randall Flagg. Eventually, members of Mother Abagail’s group go on to Las Vegas to destroy Flagg. Las Vegas and Flagg are eventually destroyed, but that’s not the end of the story. The Stand was also made into a television mini-series.
Leaving Las Vegas, John O’Brien
In this 1995 novel, after his wife and son leave him, screenwriter Ben Anderson begins to drink heavily. He tries to pick up women in bars, loses his job, and decides to move to Las Vegas where he plans on drinking himself to death. He meets a prostitute named Sera and continues his drunken spiral in a relationship that is doomed from the start. It is a story of Ben’s excess and road to self-destruction tangled in Sera’s desire to survive in an often brutal profession. In this story of darkness and inner demons there are no winners. The book was made into a movie in 1995 starring Nicholas Cage.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Hunter S. Thompson
Drawn loosely from his own experiences while visiting Las Vegas in the early 70’s, Hunter S. Thompson based the characters of Raoul Duke on himself and Dr. Gonzo on his friend, an attorney, Oscar Zeta Acosta. Throughout the novel you’re taken on a trip of reality and hallucination, often not knowing which is which, as the characters seem to be in a drug-induced stupor most of the time. They are seeking the American Dream, but are their own worst enemies due to their excessive drug use. The movie was released in 1998 starring Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro.
The Cold Six Thousand, James Ellroy
Published in 2001, The Cold Six Thousand is the first sequel to American Tabloid in the Underworld USA Trilogy. The novel begins just minutes after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas and spans five years in the lives of three rogue law enforcement officials. They become involved in murder, cover-ups, and ultimately plot to kill Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy. The character of Pete Bondurant, a veteran of the CIA, becomes point-man for Mafia operations in Las Vegas while Wayne Tedrow, Jr. is a US Army veteran and police officer with the Las Vegas police department. Ward Littell, the third man in this group of good guys gone bad, is a high-powered lawyer for the Mafia, once having been an agent for the FBI. There have been talks of a mini series being developed for cable television based on the novel and American Tabloid.
These four novels are great reads for anyone who enjoys stories of evil, greed, horror, self-destruction, and the glitzy backdrop of Las Vegas’ seedier side. They are not feel-good stories but rather delve into the darkest side of human behavior. Pick one up for a great rainy day read.
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