Poppy Z. Brite’s first piece of original fiction since the levees broke, the long new novella D*U*C*K revisits Brite’s popular characters Rickey and G-man (The Value of X, Liquor, Prime, Soul Kitchen).

Following a life-threatening assault by a waiter and the defection of one of his best cooks to a trendy new restaurant, Chef John Rickey accepts a gig catering the annual banquet for the South Louisiana branch of hunting/conservation group Ducks Unlimited. Held in the Cajun prairie town of Opelousas, this all-duck banquet mightn’t seem a great opportunity for a chef to restore his wounded pride...but the guest of honor is Rickey’s childhood football hero, former New Orleans Saints quarterback Bobby Hebert.

Rickey’s crew is unstoppable, his menu is perfect, and the ducks are thick in the marshes this year. In Louisiana, though, every important occasion has a nutcase waiting in the wings...and all too often, the nutcase is an elected official. Will Rickey get the chance to cook for his idol, or will it end in chaos?