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Warlock: A Novel of Possession
Warlock, A Novel of Allen Barrow, a shy bank clerk, dresses out of discount stores and has a small penis that embarrasses him. One night at a noisy, popular bathhouse in Manhattan he meets Destry Powars-commanding, vulgar, seductive, successful-who pulls Allen into his orbit and won't let go. Destry lives in a closed, moneyed world that Allen can only glimpse through the smoky windows of popular media and tabloids. From generations of impoverished drifters, Powars has been chosen to learn a secret language based on force, deception, and nerve. But who chose him-and what does he really want from Allen? What are Mr. Powars's dark powers? These are the mysteries that Allen will uncover in Warlock, a novel that is as paralyzing in its suspense as it is voluptuously erotic.
226 pages, Paperback
First published November 14, 2001
34 people want to read
About the author
Perry Brass
38 books43 followersPerry Brass has published 23 books, including poetry, novels, short fiction, science fiction, and advice books (How to Survive Your Own Gay Life; The Manly Art of Seduction; The Manly Pursuit of Desire and Love). A member of the New York Gay Liberation Front, he has been involved with lgbtq rights since 1969, shortly after the Stonewall Uprising, co-editing Come Out!, GLF’s groundbreaking newspaper. In 1972, with two friends, he co-founded the Gay Men’s Health Project Clinic, the first clinic specifically for gay men on the East Coast, still thriving as the Callen-Lorde Community Health Service. His sexually frank novels are visionary: they include Albert or the Book of Man, 1995, which prefigured the rise of a White Christian Party that would control America, curbing reproductive, gay, and women’s rights; The Harvest, 1997, about the wholesale use of “harvested” human organs; The Substance of God, a Spiritual Thriller, 2004, about the rise of a powerful religious fundamentalist network of business interests; and Carnal Sacraments, 2007, about a mega-corporation (Amazon?) that would rule the world. His latest book is A Real Life, “Like Mark Twain with Drag Queens,/b>,” a memoir. He can be reached through his website, http://www.perrybrass.com or on Facebook.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 3, 2015
This can be a hit or miss depending on your familiarity with the dark side of folklore and the repercussions of making deals with other beings.
Allen is a forty-something gay man working at a dead end job, and he has come to terms with the fact that, just as his penis will never get bigger, his life won't ever get grander. Destry chooses him, of all people, to bring into his world of money and power.
Their relationship is gripping in an uncomfortable way. Allen is submissive to Destry because he lacks confidence. His penis being small becomes symbolic, a constant reminder that Allen is a nobody in a world of successful, virile men. He objectifies himself, and it's scary because he has a void Destry can exploit. Allen is magnetized to Destry, almost against his will. Destry, meanwhile, is overbearing and domineering, putting Allen in highly awkward situations, and when Allen tries to lash out, Destry begs for forgiveness. You want to hate him, but you can't.
Destry is a warlock, as the title implies. He's a business man who is ruthless when it comes to manipulation, but he didn't get to be this way on his own. When you bargain with supernatural beings, you lose more than you gain. Allen finds himself immersed in this world of supernatural, and the "others" are quick to start their schemes against him as well.
The colorful descriptions are paired with a stream of consciousness I can relate to. It's that urge to step outside of yourself paired with the burden of a low self-esteem. The roller-coaster of emotions Allen feels is coupled by the constant questions of Why. The answers, however, come at a high, painful cost.
I would have given this novel five stars if it weren't for two reasons:
1) That cover. As awesome as it is to look at, it captures only a fraction of what the story is about. Additionally, I couldn't read it on the train for this reason.
2) The narrative is supposed to wrap around itself because it starts at the end, but it doesn't quite achieve this (at least for me). Don't get me wrong, the beginning is highly compelling and the ending evokes intense emotions with great closure. I just think it works best as a purely linear narrative.
{Check out this review at Entropy Alarm Reviews}
Allen is a forty-something gay man working at a dead end job, and he has come to terms with the fact that, just as his penis will never get bigger, his life won't ever get grander. Destry chooses him, of all people, to bring into his world of money and power.
Their relationship is gripping in an uncomfortable way. Allen is submissive to Destry because he lacks confidence. His penis being small becomes symbolic, a constant reminder that Allen is a nobody in a world of successful, virile men. He objectifies himself, and it's scary because he has a void Destry can exploit. Allen is magnetized to Destry, almost against his will. Destry, meanwhile, is overbearing and domineering, putting Allen in highly awkward situations, and when Allen tries to lash out, Destry begs for forgiveness. You want to hate him, but you can't.
Destry is a warlock, as the title implies. He's a business man who is ruthless when it comes to manipulation, but he didn't get to be this way on his own. When you bargain with supernatural beings, you lose more than you gain. Allen finds himself immersed in this world of supernatural, and the "others" are quick to start their schemes against him as well.
The colorful descriptions are paired with a stream of consciousness I can relate to. It's that urge to step outside of yourself paired with the burden of a low self-esteem. The roller-coaster of emotions Allen feels is coupled by the constant questions of Why. The answers, however, come at a high, painful cost.
I would have given this novel five stars if it weren't for two reasons:
1) That cover. As awesome as it is to look at, it captures only a fraction of what the story is about. Additionally, I couldn't read it on the train for this reason.
2) The narrative is supposed to wrap around itself because it starts at the end, but it doesn't quite achieve this (at least for me). Don't get me wrong, the beginning is highly compelling and the ending evokes intense emotions with great closure. I just think it works best as a purely linear narrative.
{Check out this review at Entropy Alarm Reviews}
July 24, 2015
I think the author has potential, but I wasn't able to enjoy this book. First of all, the character development is micromanaged. There are pages and pages describing how small and insignificant Allen is. Even when you think he's been patheticized to death, there is another paragraph about his small penis, small apartment, bad job. Destiny is similarly overdone in his crudeness.
Then there is the insta-love, which is bad enough when it isn't used to describe abused partners who can't say no. I know, this isn't really a romance, but I didn't get a feeling of purposefulness from it, just kind of confused indecision. Allen thinks he's in love with this scary guy and the author is not at all sure he isn't, because despite being abusive and not nice, he's cute and that makes a big difference! If the author was aiming for a twisted obsession rather than insta-love, it didn't work for me.
I like books with bad characters, even as protagonists, so it isn't that. It is the failure to distinguish between the feelings one feels for an abuser and the feelings one feels for a lover. Those of us who have experienced both can say that they are not at all the same thing, even if they can have similar intensity.
And really, what adult doesn't know what an abusive relationship looks like? People get involved in them anyway because the person in question makes them feel something positive even among the negative- loved, respected, wanted, less alone, whatever. This was someone getting involved in an abusive relationship that made him feel worse. Huh? Maybe it was supposed to be magic, I don't know, it didn't make any sense or work, even in a "fatal attraction" way. I quit after only a couple of chapters.
Then there is the insta-love, which is bad enough when it isn't used to describe abused partners who can't say no. I know, this isn't really a romance, but I didn't get a feeling of purposefulness from it, just kind of confused indecision. Allen thinks he's in love with this scary guy and the author is not at all sure he isn't, because despite being abusive and not nice, he's cute and that makes a big difference! If the author was aiming for a twisted obsession rather than insta-love, it didn't work for me.
I like books with bad characters, even as protagonists, so it isn't that. It is the failure to distinguish between the feelings one feels for an abuser and the feelings one feels for a lover. Those of us who have experienced both can say that they are not at all the same thing, even if they can have similar intensity.
And really, what adult doesn't know what an abusive relationship looks like? People get involved in them anyway because the person in question makes them feel something positive even among the negative- loved, respected, wanted, less alone, whatever. This was someone getting involved in an abusive relationship that made him feel worse. Huh? Maybe it was supposed to be magic, I don't know, it didn't make any sense or work, even in a "fatal attraction" way. I quit after only a couple of chapters.
October 18, 2011
Perry Brass certainly knows how to weave a fantastical story of eroticsm, sensuality combined with a stimulating story and unforgettable characters.
A sad poignant start to this story begins with a non-descript man who is described in many, many terms as small, mild-mannered man with a small endowment, who leads a quiet life of unadorned annonymity within the gay community. A dead end life, with a dead end job. He is 'captured in spirit and body by a powerhouse of a man - wealthy, strange,powerful - a madly in love with this small man. A different love story (if you like these for a change of pace) Destry Powars loves like no other. Too late for everything. An ending like I have never read before!! Sad, powerful, enigmatic characters, poignant.
Be prepared to have your feelings pulled from you in this heartbreakingly wonderful story of love, passion and self-realization. I was left stunned and gasping.
A sad poignant start to this story begins with a non-descript man who is described in many, many terms as small, mild-mannered man with a small endowment, who leads a quiet life of unadorned annonymity within the gay community. A dead end life, with a dead end job. He is 'captured in spirit and body by a powerhouse of a man - wealthy, strange,powerful - a madly in love with this small man. A different love story (if you like these for a change of pace) Destry Powars loves like no other. Too late for everything. An ending like I have never read before!! Sad, powerful, enigmatic characters, poignant.
Be prepared to have your feelings pulled from you in this heartbreakingly wonderful story of love, passion and self-realization. I was left stunned and gasping.
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May 31, 2013If you'd like to know what I thought of this book, please contact me directly and I'd be happy to discuss it with you.
All the best,
- TB
All the best,
- TB
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews