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Silence
Dean O’Leary is a man who lives on the edge: of life, love, and happiness. After a bank robbery gone horribly wrong, Dean leaves his life of crime in Los Angeles and exiles himself to the cold grey sands of Las Vegas. A cruel and unusual twist of fate shows Dean a life filled with the love and hope that he has always thought impossible, and then rips it away. With nothing left to lose, Dean goes all in on one final crime.
“Many a yarn has been woven around the quest for love. But that familiar tale starts to fray at the edges when young Dean O’Leary, a bank robber whose pinstripe suit is a better fit than the age in which he lives, packs up his cigarettes and his battered heart to start fresh in Las Vegas. With a voice and style that drag you in, Brandon sets up a character whose neurotic, mile-a-minute mind echoes the desire, anxiety, depression, and insanity found at every intersection on the road to love. From Dean’s ultimate highs to his rock-bottom lows (making a quick pit-stop at the surreal), Brandon will take you on an emotional walk in a desperate man’s wing-tip shoes—and you’ll be hooked from the very first step.”
-Elise Portale, Editor
“Many a yarn has been woven around the quest for love. But that familiar tale starts to fray at the edges when young Dean O’Leary, a bank robber whose pinstripe suit is a better fit than the age in which he lives, packs up his cigarettes and his battered heart to start fresh in Las Vegas. With a voice and style that drag you in, Brandon sets up a character whose neurotic, mile-a-minute mind echoes the desire, anxiety, depression, and insanity found at every intersection on the road to love. From Dean’s ultimate highs to his rock-bottom lows (making a quick pit-stop at the surreal), Brandon will take you on an emotional walk in a desperate man’s wing-tip shoes—and you’ll be hooked from the very first step.”
-Elise Portale, Editor
112 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2014
10 people want to read
About the author
William M. Brandon III
9 books15 followersWilliam is a dad and a partner. He sees coercive relationships as the root of oppression.
His novels, 'Eternity: The Long and Short of It', 'The Exile The Matriarch & The Flood', 'Welcome to Spring Street', and 'SILENCE & Selene', as well as his short story 'The Atheist and the Rapture Button' are all available from Spaceboy Books (readspaceboy.com).
William’s synaptic meanderings have also appeared on his website (agentofdiscord.com) and: in technical form on WIRED.com and THALO.com, in review form at StatORec.com ('An Ongoing Confession') and TheRumpus.com ('The Last Book I Loved: Let the Great World Spin'), in short story form in Rain Crow Magazine ('Athens Diptych' – Issue #2), and in an anthology supporting the non-profit Mines Advisory Group ('The Atlantic').
From 2013 – 2021 William served as the Managing Editor for Black Hill Press and 1888. During his tenure he edited and curated 'The Cost of Paper' (The Cost of Paper: Volume II, Volume III, Volume IV), and edited '29 to 31' by Kevin Staniec, 'The Pit and No Other Stories' by Jordan Rothacker, 'Foster' by Scott Amstadt, and 'A Little Evil' by B. Tanner Fogle.
His novels, 'Eternity: The Long and Short of It', 'The Exile The Matriarch & The Flood', 'Welcome to Spring Street', and 'SILENCE & Selene', as well as his short story 'The Atheist and the Rapture Button' are all available from Spaceboy Books (readspaceboy.com).
William’s synaptic meanderings have also appeared on his website (agentofdiscord.com) and: in technical form on WIRED.com and THALO.com, in review form at StatORec.com ('An Ongoing Confession') and TheRumpus.com ('The Last Book I Loved: Let the Great World Spin'), in short story form in Rain Crow Magazine ('Athens Diptych' – Issue #2), and in an anthology supporting the non-profit Mines Advisory Group ('The Atlantic').
From 2013 – 2021 William served as the Managing Editor for Black Hill Press and 1888. During his tenure he edited and curated 'The Cost of Paper' (The Cost of Paper: Volume II, Volume III, Volume IV), and edited '29 to 31' by Kevin Staniec, 'The Pit and No Other Stories' by Jordan Rothacker, 'Foster' by Scott Amstadt, and 'A Little Evil' by B. Tanner Fogle.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 21, 2023
Disclaimer: This review is not a true review. It is more of a summary composed of the author’s own words. Call it an enthusiastic proclamation. I leave reviewing to the real reviewers. I am simply sharing my enthusiasm for the work with this summary / prose collage.
*
A man in a pinstripe suit stands outside a bank with a tucked 9mm in his slacks while Los Angelinos scamper about preoccupied by the threat of Y2K extinction. A gunshot rings out. Inside the bank, a bloodbath ensues.
Meet our anti-hero, Dean O’Leary. The point man in this insidious plan; the eyes, the spotter, all things at the same time. Nothing gets by Dean, except something did this time around. And when it did, it was simply too late, too out of his control to do anything about it. All he could do was stand and bear witness to the carnage that follows a typically botched robbery.
Dean is already set for life but he’s addicted to the rush. Robbery after robbery, he can’t seem to kick the habit, driving around in his 51’ Mercury, smoking entire packs of Pall Malls with his lucky silver whiskey flask not far away while pondering if he is losing his edge. The botched job shakes him up—rattles his cage. Instead of keeping a low profile, Dean decides to call it quits altogether and skip town. Donning a black suit, and a black hat, he splits for Vegas.
He leaves his old life behind. Including Helena, whom he couldn’t in good conscience, bring into his violent world. Vegas being the destination, the distant desert Gomorrah, the place of tasteless decadence and hedonism, where the din of slot machines bells becomes too much to endure.
To continue on and reveal anything else would be a betrayal of the story. A perfectly executed crime that would leave the readers furious, scarred by the cruelty of excluding the forewarning spoilers ahead. What one may state confidently without taking anything away from the readers, and I do trust this novella will undoubtedly find readers, is that this is a perfectly captured tale of trapped characters, trapped by their cages whose bars are just beyond their view and out of reach of their chisels. They didn’t ask for this and have no choice but to play it out to the end. And what an end it is, and what middle, and the novella as a whole, a breathless experience, a type of moment we wished we could seal in a bottle and cast out to sea, returning endlessly with the tide to remind us that this is what talent looks like, and that death is a truly tragic end to the lavish experience that is reading when one can read such sumptuous works of art.
There is a scene where Dean stares at a painting alongside his friend, Gaelin Gilbraunsen in a hole-in-the-wall restaurant on Sahara, where the Cuban cuisine was only mediocre, but did include on its wall an awe inspiring painting that very abstractly depicts the Bolshevik Revolution. They both loved to sit in the restaurant and stare at the painting as hours slipped away, sipping their drinks until the hues swirled together and compelled them to make their escape. The paint leapt from the canvas and forced passion and guilt and pain and hope to course through their bodies—a symbiotic understanding of the magnitude of the artist’s emotion. The feeling was not lost on me, and I certainly felt the magnitude of William M. Brandon’s emotions. Something that I hope you do as well, dear readers. I hope to catch your eyes sitting in the same hole-in-the-wall restaurant as Dean and Gaelin, as we exchange nods of appreciation for what William M. Brandon has painted here with his confident brushstrokes.
*
A man in a pinstripe suit stands outside a bank with a tucked 9mm in his slacks while Los Angelinos scamper about preoccupied by the threat of Y2K extinction. A gunshot rings out. Inside the bank, a bloodbath ensues.
Meet our anti-hero, Dean O’Leary. The point man in this insidious plan; the eyes, the spotter, all things at the same time. Nothing gets by Dean, except something did this time around. And when it did, it was simply too late, too out of his control to do anything about it. All he could do was stand and bear witness to the carnage that follows a typically botched robbery.
Dean is already set for life but he’s addicted to the rush. Robbery after robbery, he can’t seem to kick the habit, driving around in his 51’ Mercury, smoking entire packs of Pall Malls with his lucky silver whiskey flask not far away while pondering if he is losing his edge. The botched job shakes him up—rattles his cage. Instead of keeping a low profile, Dean decides to call it quits altogether and skip town. Donning a black suit, and a black hat, he splits for Vegas.
He leaves his old life behind. Including Helena, whom he couldn’t in good conscience, bring into his violent world. Vegas being the destination, the distant desert Gomorrah, the place of tasteless decadence and hedonism, where the din of slot machines bells becomes too much to endure.
To continue on and reveal anything else would be a betrayal of the story. A perfectly executed crime that would leave the readers furious, scarred by the cruelty of excluding the forewarning spoilers ahead. What one may state confidently without taking anything away from the readers, and I do trust this novella will undoubtedly find readers, is that this is a perfectly captured tale of trapped characters, trapped by their cages whose bars are just beyond their view and out of reach of their chisels. They didn’t ask for this and have no choice but to play it out to the end. And what an end it is, and what middle, and the novella as a whole, a breathless experience, a type of moment we wished we could seal in a bottle and cast out to sea, returning endlessly with the tide to remind us that this is what talent looks like, and that death is a truly tragic end to the lavish experience that is reading when one can read such sumptuous works of art.
There is a scene where Dean stares at a painting alongside his friend, Gaelin Gilbraunsen in a hole-in-the-wall restaurant on Sahara, where the Cuban cuisine was only mediocre, but did include on its wall an awe inspiring painting that very abstractly depicts the Bolshevik Revolution. They both loved to sit in the restaurant and stare at the painting as hours slipped away, sipping their drinks until the hues swirled together and compelled them to make their escape. The paint leapt from the canvas and forced passion and guilt and pain and hope to course through their bodies—a symbiotic understanding of the magnitude of the artist’s emotion. The feeling was not lost on me, and I certainly felt the magnitude of William M. Brandon’s emotions. Something that I hope you do as well, dear readers. I hope to catch your eyes sitting in the same hole-in-the-wall restaurant as Dean and Gaelin, as we exchange nods of appreciation for what William M. Brandon has painted here with his confident brushstrokes.
October 23, 2016
This review originally appeared on the February 12, 2016 issue of the Spring Creek Sun.
BY AMANDA MOSES
Dean O’Leary is a man truly out of time, both in a sense of his dapper 1940s pinstripe suit, gun-touting style and a time warp that leaves him in the not too distant future. The novella, Silence by William Brandon III, tells the story of O’Leary, a bank robber with an unquenchable thirst for life, love and a good glass of gin. In a tale woven like no other, Brandon takes you on one man’s quest to find that special something we all crave—satisfaction. Fulfilling the “more” you want, just over the bend, reaching over that one last stretch for contentedness.
Silence follows O’Leary around 1997, just before his last score, a bank robbery that leaves a blood trail and a bad taste in his mouth. With enough money to live comfortably for the rest of his life, he decides to leave behind his days of being the point man (lookout), and ironically, start a fresh life in the city of sin—Las Vegas. Gambling, booze and women seem to be the vices that O’Leary can’t get enough of. A sharp whit and an unrelenting desire to find a woman that completes him, O’Leary finds himself with his heart on his sleeve, and sometimes, his hand ready at the zipper. Brandon does a great job of presenting O’Leary, faults and all. His writing is a prose painting that captures every vibrant and colorful character, especially the women, like works of art: plump lips, flawless skin, sensual curves and eyes portraying the depths of their souls. But in reality, they are twisted and flawed on the inside like a Salvatore Dali painting; their mentality is surreal, bent like the sands of time.
Like a Shakespearean tragedy mixed with a little bit of the Twilight Zone, the woman of his dreams, with enough intellect, beauty, and a je ne sais quoi that O’Leary has never seen or felt before is bestowed upon him after falling through a time warp that leaves him in the year 2013. He may still be that man out of time, but not the man looking over his shoulder waiting for the trigger to be pulled. No, he was a man sent 16 years in the future, and given a glimpse of real love and life.
Brandon’s style of writing in this novella is timeless. He perfectly captures the humanity of O’Leary. Every puff of smoke, sip of gin and philosophical rambling has you questioning your life—your wants, needs and goals. Like O’Leary, we find ourselves wondering: if we reach that one last goal, will we be happy? But money is just a Band-Aid on a bleeding vein, and Brandon shows us that love, true, intoxicating love is what we really crave. Silence is so much more than a tale of romance and robbery. I recommend you give it a read; it may just open your eyes to the world around you, and give you some introspective on your life choices.
If you enjoy Silence, you will also be captivated by his short story Selene in 1888 Center’s The Cost of Paper Volume One. This story expands upon the world of Silence.
Link to original review: http://springcreeksunonline.com/willi...
BY AMANDA MOSES
Dean O’Leary is a man truly out of time, both in a sense of his dapper 1940s pinstripe suit, gun-touting style and a time warp that leaves him in the not too distant future. The novella, Silence by William Brandon III, tells the story of O’Leary, a bank robber with an unquenchable thirst for life, love and a good glass of gin. In a tale woven like no other, Brandon takes you on one man’s quest to find that special something we all crave—satisfaction. Fulfilling the “more” you want, just over the bend, reaching over that one last stretch for contentedness.
Silence follows O’Leary around 1997, just before his last score, a bank robbery that leaves a blood trail and a bad taste in his mouth. With enough money to live comfortably for the rest of his life, he decides to leave behind his days of being the point man (lookout), and ironically, start a fresh life in the city of sin—Las Vegas. Gambling, booze and women seem to be the vices that O’Leary can’t get enough of. A sharp whit and an unrelenting desire to find a woman that completes him, O’Leary finds himself with his heart on his sleeve, and sometimes, his hand ready at the zipper. Brandon does a great job of presenting O’Leary, faults and all. His writing is a prose painting that captures every vibrant and colorful character, especially the women, like works of art: plump lips, flawless skin, sensual curves and eyes portraying the depths of their souls. But in reality, they are twisted and flawed on the inside like a Salvatore Dali painting; their mentality is surreal, bent like the sands of time.
Like a Shakespearean tragedy mixed with a little bit of the Twilight Zone, the woman of his dreams, with enough intellect, beauty, and a je ne sais quoi that O’Leary has never seen or felt before is bestowed upon him after falling through a time warp that leaves him in the year 2013. He may still be that man out of time, but not the man looking over his shoulder waiting for the trigger to be pulled. No, he was a man sent 16 years in the future, and given a glimpse of real love and life.
Brandon’s style of writing in this novella is timeless. He perfectly captures the humanity of O’Leary. Every puff of smoke, sip of gin and philosophical rambling has you questioning your life—your wants, needs and goals. Like O’Leary, we find ourselves wondering: if we reach that one last goal, will we be happy? But money is just a Band-Aid on a bleeding vein, and Brandon shows us that love, true, intoxicating love is what we really crave. Silence is so much more than a tale of romance and robbery. I recommend you give it a read; it may just open your eyes to the world around you, and give you some introspective on your life choices.
If you enjoy Silence, you will also be captivated by his short story Selene in 1888 Center’s The Cost of Paper Volume One. This story expands upon the world of Silence.
Link to original review: http://springcreeksunonline.com/willi...
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May 6, 2014Conflict of interest :)
May 26, 2014
creates an atmosphere!
December 19, 2022
A twisty, topsy-turvy ride with bad people making bad decisions.
September 20, 2025
Awesome book my old friend I’ll have to read it again.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews