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Rating: 
Summary: Very intense reading
Review: Maine has turned out a few really good writers (very quietly of course) and Doug Volk is actually one of them. This Vietnem/horror story is a bit hard to swallow at first, but the writing is just a shade from being realism so even the strangest parts eventually seem plausible. The misery dripping off the pages where our main character (David Collier) roams, is so disturbing that you want him to seek exacting revenge on everyone who scorned him. After being disfigured in Vietnam, Collier turns hateful and quite evil when he realizes his gift for invading dreams, but you don't care. You know he was a good guy before he lost an eye and got horrible burns on half his face. Read this book if you like Stephen King, I actually preferred this to King, but I'm sure many would disagree. The characters become more realistic as you read and the plot gets very scary. Several scenes made me cover my feet as I lay in bed reading--you should read this. Volk self-published, too, and I believe that he deserves to be heard. Be nice!
Rating:
Summary: Very intense reading
Review: Maine has turned out a few really good writers (very quietly of course) and Doug Volk is actually one of them. This Vietnem/horror story is a bit hard to swallow at first, but the writing is just a shade from being realism so even the strangest parts eventually seem plausible. The misery dripping off the pages where our main character (David Collier) roams, is so disturbing that you want him to seek exacting revenge on everyone who scorned him. After being disfigured in Vietnam, Collier turns hateful and quite evil when he realizes his gift for invading dreams, but you don't care. You know he was a good guy before he lost an eye and got horrible burns on half his face. Read this book if you like Stephen King, I actually preferred this to King, but I'm sure many would disagree. The characters become more realistic as you read and the plot gets very scary. Several scenes made me cover my feet as I lay in bed reading--you should read this. Volk self-published, too, and I believe that he deserves to be heard. Be nice!
Rating:
Summary: The Morpheus Connection
Review: The story is about betrayal. The chief protagonist, David, sufers several betrayals. First, he is betrayed by his own governement which takes him away from his young happy life and thrusts him into the killing fields of Vietnam. Then he is betrayed by the one person he loves the most in his life, his girl friend, who has a change of heart and loves another man. When he gets back to the States after he is wounded, he is then betrayed by his countrymen who treat him as though he were a coward. He is totally disillusioned about life, love, honor and duty. He has lost his faith in civilization and humanity. And, fianlly, when is psychiatrist betrays him for a self interest, it turns him into a killing rage.While serving in Vietnam, David is forced to kill a young Vietnamese soldier. He also witnesses the rape of a young native girl by his own buddy, and when the girl's grandmother tries to kill the buddy, David kills the old woman. His buddy then kills the girl. David is thus drawn deeper and deeper into savagery. The most dramatic transformation takes place by the joining of the eyes of the three living things at the scene of the rape: the green eyes of the cat, the cursing eyes of the dying grandmother, and the horrified eyes of David. As the old womam looks back at him with hate, an energy force from her eyes hit David as though it were an accusation and condemnation. From that moment on, David becomes filled with disgust for his own action, and this disgust turns into hate for mankind. The author hints that man's relationship with his fellowman could have been based on love and turst, striving for harmony and benevolence, instead of on conflict and and violence. This relationship can be achieved this way : the soul's message is communicated through telepathy (the Morpheus motif), and the body's message can be expressed through harmonious contacts, such as the sex act. Intimacy can be thus achieved, and inthis condition, man can let down his defense mechanism and feels at peace with himself and the world. But the damage to David's soul and body distorts and clouds his outlook on life. His telepathy becomes murderous. He expresses his disgust for civlization and mankind only through hate. HOw can this man be redeemed? During the last part of the book, his heart becomes the battlefield of animal hate and sanity. Finally, his native goodness trimphs when David kills himself instead of killing his girl friend. This supreme act of self-sacrifice redeems him. And how does the author carry this out? With a Bang! After reading the first two pages, you will not want to put the book down. The pacing of the ending is so terrific that it will leave you breathless. Catharsis is achieved when David kills himself; the climax is shattering and sad. You will feel flooded with pity, sympathy, and regret for him. Oedipus comes to mind. Another betrayal is also felt by Alix, when she is used by Dr. Mike for the sake of his research. I like to see her come back where she regains her faith in humanity with renewed commitment to help people. One word about the sex scenes. They are there, directly or in contrast, to show a possible intimacy when man is at his complete harmony with his fellow beings and at peace with his own existence.
Rating:
Summary: The Morpheus Connection
Review: The story is about betrayal. The chief protagonist, David, suffers several betrayals. First, he is betrayed by his own government which takes him away from his young happy life and thrusts him into the killing fields of Vietnam. Then he is betrayed by the one person he loves the most in his life, his girl friend, who falls for another man. When he gets back to the States after he is wounded, he is then betrayed by his countrymen who treat him as though he was a coward. He is totally disillusioned about life, love, and honor and duty. He has lost his faith in humanity. And when his psychiatrist betrays him for a self interest, he turns into a killing rage. While in Vietnam, David is forced to kill a young Vietnamese soldier in an ambush. He also witnesses the rape of a young native girl by his own buddy, and when the girl's grandmother tries to kill the buddy, David kills the old woman. His buddy then kills the young girl. Thus, David is drawn deeper and deeper into the whirlpool of blood and savagery. The most dramatic transformation takes place by the joining of the eyes of the three living things at the scene of the rape: the green eyes of the cat, the cursing eyes of the dying grandmother, and the horrified eyes of David. As the old woman looks back at him with hate, an energy force from her eyes hit David as though it were an accusation and a condemnation. From that moment on, David becomes filled with disgust with his own action, and this disgust turns into hate for mankind. The author seems to hint that man's relationship with his fellowman could have been based on love and trust, striving for harmony and benevolence, instead of on conflicts and viloence. This relationship can be achieved this way: the soul's message is communicated through telepathy (the Morpheus motif), and the body's message can be expressed through harmonious contacts, such as sex. Intimacy can thus be achieved when these two media merge. In this condition, man can let down his defense mechanism and feels at peace with himself and the world. But the damage to David's soul and body distorts and clouds his outlook on life. His telepathy becomes murderous. He can express his disgust for mankind only through hate. How can this man be redeemed? During the last part of the book, his heart becomes the battlefield, where the animal hate and the redemptive quality fight a fierce battle. Finally, his native goodness triumphs when David, kills himself instead of his girl firend. The supreme act of self sacrifice redeems him. And how does the author, Douglas Volk, carry this out? With a Bang! After you have read the first 2 pages, you will not be able to put the book down. The pacing of the ending is so terrific that it will leave you breathless. Catharsis is achieved when David kills himself; the climax is shattering and sad. You will feel flooded with pity, sympathy, and regret for him. Oedipus comes to mind. There are other betrayals. The big one is felt by Alix when she is betrayed by Dr. Mike who uses her for the sake of his research. I like to see her back where she regains her faith in humanity with even more commitment to her effort to help people. One word about the sex scenes. They are there to show the kind of intimacy that is possible when man is at his complete harmony with his fellow beings and at peace with his own existence.
Rating:
Summary: The Morpheus Connection!
Review: What happened to the review that I e-mailed to you on 02/10/2000? I thought a review would be put on within 5 days, but now it has been a month. Is it possible for you to respond?
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