The Heavens Rise

Readers will learn about the geology of the Mississippi Delta, the geography of the greater New Orleans area and its culture, what investigative journalism entails (a lot of legwork), the dangerous profession of piloting huge cargo ships on the Mississippi River, and the horrifying aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Some political issues might provide food for thought, like whether high pay for dangerous jobs is justified and how much large companies' need to maximize profit affects the health and safety of local communities.

Good guys Ben and Marissa are normal, imperfect people who sometimes make mistakes but who strongly model long-term friendship and loyalty as well as the passionate pursuit of truth. After Hurricane Katrina, they took a small boat and rescued as many people as they possibly could. The villains are easily identifiable as the embodiments of evil, and other characters are good people who do the right thing.

Sexual interaction between characters (straight and gay) isn't so much the issue here as how much of the sexual imagery (about a dozen instances) is tied to violence. Only two interactions are directly narrated, one not violent and the other moderately so: A sweet kiss that's not described is accompanied by a sophisticated description of desire, and an attempt by a high-school boy to make out with his object of desire ends with him slamming her head into the side of a pool. Downloading pornography is mentioned twice, once by a character in high school, and masturbating to it is mentioned once. Sexual imagery includes a simile to describe the peak of an orgasm. A gay character arranges a hookup (a meeting for sex) online that becomes physically dangerous, and the character is saved only by supernatural intervention (no sex occurs). Sexual language is frank, such as a teenager's "painful hard-on," and the villain fantasizes about dark, violent, and sadistic sexual acts. He mentions that in high school his sexual experimentation with girls he did not value ("skanks") included penetrating them with beer bottles and staplers. 

Cars: Prius, Lexus, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Ford Explorer, BMW, Ford F-150, Mercedes, Toyota 4-Runner. Many alcoholic products, including Zima, Crown Royal, Corona, Goldschlager, Balvenie, Heineken, Southern Comfort, and Dixie beer. Cigarette brands Merit Ultra Lights, Virginia Slims, and Camel Lights. Soda brands Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi, Dr Pepper. Tech products: iPhone, Skype, and Myspace. A Hilton hotel is mentioned twice, and lots of everyday products like Maglites, Vicodin, Jacuzzi, and Albertson's are mentioned in passing. The band Cowboy Mouth is mentioned three or four times, and some of the lyrics to one of their songs are quoted. Cross-promotion on the back cover mentions author Christopher Rice's comedic Internet radio program, The Dinner Party Show.