Baanquer's Point
by
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Only once in all time did the land of Eard cross strands with the evil empire Zerp. Baanquer's Point is the story of that encounter, recorded for all time on the Stone. Eard is a land of casual but very real magic while Zerp is stridently materialistic, crumbling under its own corporate weight. Eard and Zerp are not planets and they are probably not parallel universes. They are Real, however, in contrast to Elsewhere that lies between. The story turns on Nice, the stuff that greases Reality. Zerp's villainy boils away Nice prodigiously while Eard's ubiquitous wizardry soaks it up. This accumulating imbalance of Nice attracts the attention of One, a paternalistic diddler who runs Elsewhere. One, who defines power in his virtual realm but lacks sensation in Real places, projects an imperfect alter ego, Baanquer, into Real to straighten things out. Baanquer's misbegotten but ultimately successful efforts propel the story, climaxing at Baanquer's Point. The main characters are Rubb, an unemployed cabaret wizard and Prime Minister of Eard by lottery, and Sam Mentor, Eard's foremost but aged classical wizard. Their antagonist in Zerp is Pentecost Darn-Watts, a social dropout who rises to power through the machinations of Stump, a burned-out Brain with an agenda mysteriously linked to Baanquer's own. Baanquer opens his plan with Gus who owns all Eard through a military-industrial empire built on supplying military materiel for a war that exists only on paper. To maintain the illusion of war, Baanquer discharges the war's hapless "casualties" into Elsewhere. Meanwhile in Zerp, Pentecost Darn-Watts grows rich merchandizing Gus' discharged casualties, "Thud", as a food supplement to the reigning Brains who suffer from the IQ virus. The Brains, you see, hold power because the IQ virus makes their brains work far faster than normal, but they also burn out far more quickly than normal. A daily dose of Thud controls the burnout. Gabriel, a free-lance meddler, Stump, the discoverer of the IQ virus, and Slumpblock the Traitor round out the story's ensemble. Unwittingly consummating Baanquer's plan, Rubb and Sam execute the first successful Flang ever, a hole blasted through Elsewhere into Zerp. That hole allows Nice to flood back into Zerp and restore the balance of Nice. Rubb is the blastee. Baanquer finally pulls the plug at precisely the right point in time, Baanquer's Point, setting everything aright and sealing our heroes' doom. Sam and Rubb do not really understand what's going on and often cloud rather than resolve the situation, frustrating Baanquer, aggravating One and amusing the Devils who make a killing. Their doom is to be their end; they will be no more. That doom turns out to be losing their magical powers due to the flush of Nice back into Zerp. Rubb and Sam are condemned to a mundane, magicless life in a magicless Eard as working class civilians forevermore. The story opens in the Library where all events are recorded, and ends there with a glimpse beyond Baanquer's Point.
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About the Book
Only once in all time did the land of Eard cross strands with the evil empire Zerp. Baanquer's Point is the story of that encounter, recorded for all time on the Stone. Eard is a land of casual but very real and pervasive magic while Zerp is stridently materialistic, crumbling under its own corporate weight. Eard and Zerp are not planets and they are probably not parallel universes. They are Real, however, in contrast to Elsewhere that lies between. The story turns on Nice, the stuff that greases Reality. Zerp's villainy boils away Nice prodigiously while Eard's ubiquitous wizardry soaks it up. This accumulating imbalance of Nice attracts the attention of One, a paternalistic diddler who runs Elsewhere. One, who defines power in his virtual realm but lacks sensation in Real places, projects an imperfect alter ego, Baanquer, into Real to straighten things out. Baanquer's misbegotten but ultimately successful efforts propel the story, climaxing at Baanquer's Point. Unwittingly consummating Baanquer's plan, Rubb and Sam attempt the first successful Flang ever to restore the balance of Nice. Baanquer finally pulls the plug at precisely the right point in time, Baanquer's Point, setting everything aright and sealing our heroes' doom. Sam and Rubb do not really understand what's going on and often cloud rather than resolve the situation. Their doom is to be their end; they will be no more.
About the Author
My experience in writing a book draws from a quarter century in public schools, and a quarter century in insurance marketing. Writing insurance sales training materials is a great foundation for writing humouous fiction. Also, reading the daily newspaper thoroughly provides a wealth of source material. I read fiction and non-fiction voraciously. Most fiction I find great fun but too often lacking in a satisfying resolution to the story. Hence my story which satisfies me immensely, and I hope you as well. I am a native born and raised Iowan, but totally urban. I admire farmers but I cannot cope with anything agricultural but the eating. I have four children, all long since out on their own. I am now retired.