Most people live their lives as the star of their story; the hero pitted against the world. There comes a time though, when you start to realize that while you may be the hero in your story, you may well be the villain in someone else’s, and in some cases, aren’t even the hero you hoped you were in your own story. To quote Flannery O’Connor, “It’s no real pleasure in life”.
From the outset, author Maher makes clear what “The Great Dick: And the Dysfunctional Demon” is about, as a character mention that “The Great Gatsby” and “Moby Dick” are the two greatest American novels, and that all others are just variations on those themes. While things aren’t that overt, the themes of those books are woven into this story, in part as a nod to them, and their greatness, and in part as a sign that sometimes the universe is just having one over on us.
“The Great Dick: And the Dysfunctional Demon” is the story of a wanderer. The main character is a former hippie who has discovered that the world has no use for the idealistic hopefulness of the ’60s and instead is more interested in the consumerism of the 1980s. A failed songwriter, the main character “Steve” (which we find out is not his real name) is floating through life. When he gets embroiled in a crime that goes sideways, he finds himself a wanted man and, on the road and trying to get as far away as possible. Steve hitches a ride with a woman desperate for her own hope, after being abused by her husband and separating from him, but we learn very quickly that our hero can’t bring himself to be that hope, or in fact anything to the woman but a passing stranger. As he tries to make another escape, this time from a woman he worries could fall in love with him when he has no interest in her, he happens upon a woman being attacked nearby by a madman and becomes embroiled in the conflict, against his instincts. After he and the victim get away from the attacker, Steve is talked into staying with the woman and accepts an offer to work for her. He is desperate for money, and more than that, is utterly captivated by the beautiful, high-class woman who believes saved her the night before. She bought a nearby church to renovate it. He soon learns though, that renovation is the last thing the woman, Victoria, has in mind, as she is more interested in rumors of a hidden treasure, and perhaps, a grimoire of dark secrets. Steve is a man pretending to be someone he isn’t to bed a woman he cannot resist, and rejection is about to be the least of his worries.
The book is a story of blind lust, obsession, and the very bitter pill it is to discover how flawed and damaged you are. Steve is a jerk, a nicer term than he uses for himself, and he cannot help himself but be drawn to, and obsessed with Victoria. For her part, Victoria seems happy to lead Steve on, so long as he keeps searching for the grimoire, but there is something about her search that seems strange, as what at first seemed a casual interest turns into its own obsession. The story follows Steve, and his painful self-hatred as he struggles with his past, his present, and what, if anything, his future looks like. As Victoria’s interest in the grimoire deepens, she insists to Steve that he will get paid, eventually. but he cannot shake a feeling that something is wrong here, and perhaps with this woman he is so drawn to.
The horror in the novel is on slow burn, but grows as we learn more about the grimoire, and its former owner, and things come together with dawning dread as we finally see what is really happening right in front of Steve.
The book is very well written, and moves easily along, as it propels us forward. It really is no fun being in Steve’s head, but it’s a fascinating, and gutsy angle to take. It’s easy to write a kind, loving, humble main character, but creating a flawed, damaged, and unrepentantly horny main character who we are tied to, for the good, bad, and the ugly, isn’t easy, and was bold. It sets the work apart and makes it unique in the genre. It doesn’t always work, but it works more than it doesn’t, and I applaud Maher for taking the risk. As the book comes to its climax it steps very much into horror, let there be no doubt about that.
The book hints at bigger, and darker truths and things happening just out of view, but the author chooses not to go there, focusing instead on a smaller, and more intimate story. Again, it works. There are many doors we see that are just never opened, both in idea, and in overt hints at a future we just aren’t meant to know.
“The Great Dick: And the Dysfunctional Demon” is an unconventional novel, with an unconventional lead, and is a breath of fresh air for those looking for something different in the horror and speculative fiction genre. Author Maher has crafted Pandora’s Box of a book, that may not show you all of the horrors within but shows you enough to make you really curious about what’s creeping around just out of sight because what we can see is pretty creepy as it is.
Recommended.
The book is available now through Crystal Lake Publishing.
Listen to my conversation with the author here.
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