RaveColumbia JournalIndiana’s intention is not disarmament. The premise of many of the longer essays...is that, contrary to what we learned in history class, the American political and judicial systems are defined by callous violence and absurd theater. In his reporting, he shocks by letting people and events speak for themselves ... For readers like me who recognize those names but know little of their work, and have never heard of the dozen more artists reviewed, Indiana’s breadth is intoxicating. You can’t help but make a list. And at a time when even premier critics...waste their best sentences on Twitter, Indiana’s ecstatic affection for (relatively) old and obscure masterpieces are a welcome departure from interaction-driven criticism ... There is tremendous range in the near-forty pieces in Fire Season, and two of the most fascinating essays are roving formal experiments ... Even when clarity is sacrificed, it’s exhilarating to witness him wrestling with things instead of having already figured them out ... Indiana’s style is frequently described as cool and bitchy, but it’s also playful and vulnerable; his attention to the subtle pitches of syntax and humanity is untarnished by the bleakness of his perspective. Reading him is pleasurable in the way eavesdropping on the rants and raves of a brilliant, tasteful, disaffected friend is ... In the insane, amoral world of Fire Season, Indiana is an acerbic and hilarious guide, guaranteed.
