| Were we talking about winning the lottery then "it could be you" is a pretty positive statement, but we are not. Instead we're talking about Justin Robinson's Everyman, recently released upon an unsuspecting world by Books of the Dead press. If you're tired of vampires, werewolves, and the other tried and tested ghosts and ghoulies of popular fiction, then Justin's book may be just what you've been looking for, as here we are introduced to a relatively under-represented creature, the doppleganger, but with an undeniably modern twist. I can remember reading about Dopplegangers in primary school, the old legend stating that if you ever met your exact double, then your time in this life would soon be cut short. Robinson takes this idea and moulds into into his own through the character of Ian Covey, a man who can assume the likeness and identity of his victims with a view to stealing their lives, and escaping his pitiable own existence. Covey may be an unpleasant character, but there is an undeniable sadness to his own story that adds an extra element to both the story and the villain himself. The fate of those whose lives are stolen comes to be worse than death itself, as his victims remain alive, but dispossessed of their identity. This leads to an amalgamation of these lost souls into a combined entity, the story of which runs parallel to that of Covey. It's a complicated idea, and a many threaded novel, but Robinson does a great job of pulling it all together and keeping all of the strands coherent. To find out more about Justin Robinson and Everyman check out this interview by Weston Kincade |
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"I just can't believe, all the things people say. Controversy." OK, so now I'm quoting Prince, but in all truthfulness I can easily believe the things people come out with, as for every educated person out there, there's an idiot, and one persons idiot, can be another persons Messiah, or maybe just a very naughty boy. The thing is, is it wise to say something controversial, or best to keep your mouth shut? To say I'm opinionated is an understatement, throw in argumentative and you've got a combustible character that can soon get its owner into bother. There's a few things I'd like to spout off about, politics, items in the news, even sport, but I keep coming back to the question "is it wise?" Now I can be an idiot, but I'm not stupid. Controversy can bring attention, and if you want to increase your profile, as I need to do as a starting out author, then that can work for you. Alternatively, you could end up ruining your career before it's even started. I've heard it said that all publicity is good publicity, well that's nonsense. If your in business I doubt you'd be giving a pay award to your marketing department if the papers were full of headlines that your product was crap / didn't work / killed people just because "at least people know who we are." So I guess the way this is going is that I'm going to keep quiet, which may make for a more boring blog, but will keep me out of trouble. Suffice to say I've got my opinions, and if I ever get established, and have a fan base built up, I may feel a little more relaxed in sharing them. Then again, if you read my work you'll get plenty of opportunity to get an insight into what goes on in my head, you just might have to put in that little bit of effort to find it. |