Where The Fade Out: Act One was Brubaker's ode to film noir, Kill or be Killed is a work of noir fiction. The protagonist is Dylan, a self-destructive grad student who cheats death only to have to repay the debt by killing "bad" people every month. Not only is Kill or be Killed an interesting self-examination of the vigilante hero, it manages to be interesting in its own right. You root for Dylan even as he finds himself in moral quicksand. It challenges the reader's assumptions of vigilante cliches, and makes us wonder why we cling to them so tightly.

Quirky narrative, interesting back and forth in time story telling, great premise. Love it!