Ouroboros Ouzo: A Johannes Cabal Story (Johannes Cabal series) by Jonathan L. Howard

Author:Jonathan L. Howard [Howard, Jonathan L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781311007490
Publisher: Jonathan L. Howard
Published: 2014-01-27T17:00:00+00:00

Author’s Afterword

I hope you enjoyed the preceding story. One of the nice things about Cabal is that he allows for a wide variety of narratives, including a more character driven piece like this. It’s hard to think of many other characters who live in a milieu where they can quite literally end up talking to themselves in a variety of modes. It’s a somewhat unusual story in that respect, and it has a somewhat unusual genesis.

Back in March of 2013, Messrs Chuck Wendig and Richard Kadrey, of Miriam Black and Sandman Slim fame respectively, were using Twitter to its best advantage, i.e. talking entertaining nonsense. I mentioned that following their logic on one particularly train of thought (that was showing signs of abandoning the rails altogether and crashing through the fireplaces of unsuspecting trackside properties) was like watching Ouroboros after it had been at the ouzo.

It seemed self evident to me that Ouroboros would drink ouzo, being Greek and alliterative. I use a similar logic myself; Jonathan drinks gin.

To this Mr Kadrey responded with, and I quote, “I expect to see a Cabal story within the year titled ‘Ouroboros Ouzo.’ Get on it.”

He daresied me, dear reader. He daresied me.

I had the fourth Cabal novel to get out of the way, but played with ideas as to what “Ouroboros Ouzo” might conceivably be about during that period. At first it was going to be a treasure hunt for the rare liquor, even though that struck me as an obvious idea and not one I felt very engaged with. Then I got to thinking why did Cabal want this stuff, anyway? Up until then, it had simply been a MacGuffin, an object of contention that has little narrative importance beyond that fact. As I imagined what Ouroboros Ouzo might be and what it might do, the original sub-par “Raiders of the Lost Ark” pastiche fell away and I realised that this was where the core of the story really lay. The result of those thoughts is what you have here.

Incidentally, when I sent the story to Messrs Wendig & Kadrey (who really ought to form a law firm, or at least run a haunted fairground with names like that), Mr Kadrey was astonished I’d actually written it (I repeat, I was daresied), and called me a madman. I consider that high praise.

Jonathan L. Howard, January 2014

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