The Writer's Life 5/11

Jon has purchased both Close to the Edge and Killing from me, so when he published a novel through Book Locker I gladly ordered it when it became available at Amazon. I just finished The Man with the Silver Skull Ring, part one of Paradise Lost. I enjoyed it, although it could stand some tweaking. It is more well-written than most self-published books, but not as strong as it could have been. I'm sure I could have eliminated a couple of thousand words from it in places where there is repetition or a bit of overkill. Most readers might not even notice the excesses. Jon, pseudonym Ole Romer, did everything but the cover himself. The story is told from a libertarian point of view, that is, leave people alone to pursue happiness, including vices such as drugs and prostitution. It is an argument for legalization of them, also for the elimination of gun control. Given the fact that a staunch conservative pundit like George Will recently wrote two columns on the futility of the war on drugs, the book couldn't have been more timely. This war has been a costly, abysmal failure that enriches thugs. It is Jon's opinion that legalization is a far better alternative. The hero of the novel owns an island where unadulterated drugs are available in exchange for work, and treatment is available to anyone who tires of usage. If such a measure were undertaken on a national scale, would it be better than what we have now? I'm not sure, but I do believe it would be more cost effective, although one despairs at the thought of a government agency handling it. The potential dangers are two-fold as far as I can see. Addiction would undoubtedly increase. The unknown factor is what something like this would do to our country's character. Behavioral boundaries have been receding since the late '60's. Would they recede even further? And there are always dastardly unintended consequences that few foresee. Think of all the damage the abuse of alcohol does. Would it be any different if drugs were legalized? It's a great argument. If not for my complete lack of faith in bureaucrats, I would definitely be in favor of legalization. Regardless, it may be an idea whose time has come.

What I enjoyed most about the novel is the background of the characters, even though in some instances it is rendered late in the narrative. The aspect I did not like was the buffoonish nature of the politicians. The President and Vice-President are obviously modeled after Bill Clinton and Dick Cheney, the former simply sleazy, the latter downright evil, a dealer who wants drugs to remain illegal so that he can continue to enrich himself. I admire Cheney, moreso since a Bill O'Reilly editorial on the charitable donations of politicians. One year, the former VP donated a stunning 77% of his earnings, something like six million dollars. Given my regard for him, I had to grin and bear the portrayal in the book.

When Jon first told me his novel was an indictment of the war on drugs, I suggested he send it to All Things That Matter Press, which published my short story collection, A Hitch in Twilight. It seemed the type of radical politics that small house supports. I was puzzled as to why Jon never received a response from them. Perhaps it was because of the depiction of those two men and its overall cynicism, which dwarfs even Martin Scorsese's. Jon went light years beyond where I went with Clinton in Killing. I did not use a pseudonym because it would have been obvious who it was, and he remains only on the fringe of the novel, as seen from the point of view of the protagonist. He has no dialogue, although he is giving a speech in the background in the next to last chapter. The Man with the Silver Skull Ring is completely uncompromising, hardcore, true to the vile nature of some of the characters, for mature audiences only. I'm not sure if it was a mistake to divide the book in two. Only time will tell. I will definitely purchase the second. The first is as good as most of the thrillers I've sampled the past few years. On a scale of five, three.

A middle aged gentleman paused at the floating book shop today, drawn by a Russian physics text book, which he claimed was outdated. I'd noticed that it wasn't fiction, but hadn't taken the time to try to figure out its subject. I thanked him and resolved to leave it in the lobby of my building in case anyone should want it. An hour later another gentleman spotted it, began waxing nostalgic, and overpaid for it, thanking me profusely. Weird how stuff like that happens. Spasibo, sir, and to everyone else who purchased books today.

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