What I’m Reading: ‘Victory’
Rabid Star Wars fans from Boston
Once I was so upset with my wife that I said to my friends we should just get away for a while. We started making plans for a road trip to Vegas getting more excited by the moment contemplating what we’d do. But as we got closer to the county line reality came crashing down on us. We all had work the next day and we’d spent the day helping a friend get his house ready for his new born child. So we didn’t take the trip and since one member has past and another has moved away.
Most people have similar stories of risks not taken desires unfulfilled. The novella ‘Victory’ by Allen Drinkwater of grabbing desire by the balls and ridding it over the edge. The narrator, a verbose slacker nerd who over analyzes every situation, convinces his friend Willams, an ego maniacal philosophy professor (what other kind is there) to slip the leash of convention after a night of literally taking life by the balls.
Two more unlikely heroes you’d be hard pressed to find. The narrator mind is obviously set on hyper drive causing him to continuously pprocess the data around him. Williams on the other hand has fits of brilliance that he must keep track of in a journal to organize his convoluted thoughts. Thou seemingly unsympathetic it becomes apparent they are archetypes of the overly intelligent and under stimulated masses the pervade fandom.
As an editor there were times I would have said to cut down the dialog and tighten up the story but When I focus on just reading I can see that this is the narrators personality coming through. He only has the one friend because He uses big words and over analyzes everything just like many fan boys and sudo intellectuals. Williams speaks in a more concise manner because he arrives at conclusions before he speaks and thinks himself in charge of any situation, which is not always the case. Further more their life affirming missions are to embarrass and old flame and get a movie icon to admit hes a money grubbing hack. The third member of this expedition introduced about 2/3rds into the story Jamie, an Afro-American Vietnam Vet. who found salvation in sci-fi, is much more plane spoken and is a enjoyable contras to the more intellectual members of the trio translating much of the other pompous bullshit into layman terms.
This is not the fluffy piece of escapism found on the shelves of your local mega book dealer. This is a story written by a fan about a fan for fans. Breaking with convention each character we meet speaks with his own voice without regard of commercial norms. Though well rooted in fantasy we are always reminded that everything has a consequence though sometimes far fetched are always satisfying.
If your not scared by words you should go to www.victoryisyours.net and enter a fantasy world were if your answer to who’s Nietzsche is “He’s de guy who said God’s Dead” will earn you a well deserved nut shot.
-CJ
