John's Story

I look around me at the the world news and I see that a few days ago a man ran into a shop in Spain, picked a meat knife from the kitchenware section and used it to cut the head from a fellow shopper, a woman whom he didn't even know. He then ran out of the shop and threw the head away along the pavement before running off. I mean, it's not as if he even needed it for anything, (although there's a good recipe for brain pate in my novel Thaddeus), so why on earth did he take it? He's been apprehended now but I think the authorities will be looking at him long and hard before they figure out what motivated him to do what he did and I'll be waiting with baited breath to hear what he has to say. Apparently he's some kind of mentally ill vagrant who probably saw it as a good way to get free accomodation and four square meals a day for the rest of his life. The only way is up.
The point is that when he acted he probably behaved rationally from his own warped perspective. He obviously thought that his act was justified in some way, otherwise he wouldn't have done it. It seems pertinent to me now to use this tragic event as the lead in to this tale because it bears some similarity in that the main character, Dr. John Dante, is utterly deluded (or is he?) and yet at the same time entirely rational. It just goes to show that even the drooling psychotic nutter who sits in the corner of your bedroom while you sleep, gently and repeately stabbing the carpet with a butcher's blade can probably offer a valid explanation as to why he's there. So if you suddenly jerk awake in the wee small hours and notice him grinning in the darkness, ask him why he wants your liver and then drop me a line. I'd be interested to know.

John's Story - outline.

This is a part third person narrative, part dialogue driven tale with flash back scenes, about a poor deranged man who thinks he's a killer. This may be true of course, you'll have to read it and then decide for yourself. Apart from the explicit violence and bloodletting that I love so much, the key to this story is in the fact that it isn't clearly resolved. It's left uncertain then whether he's merely a deranged simpleton or a serial killing bastard. In the end, as far as John Dante is concerned the outcome is the same, although after the end may also be of some concern.


Characters.

Dr. Robert Mason. A lecturer in psychology who, using Dr. Dante as his model, attempts to explain the nature of his condition. Poor Robert has a limited perspective and tries to explain Dante's behaviour in his own terms. This is to some degree a mistake because he's not really equipped to live in Dante's world and so Dr Dante's treatment at his hands yields somewhat less than ideal results. Never mind. He tried.


Dr. John Dante. A very successful and accomplished physician with a dark secret that's slowly killing him. Dr. Dante believes he's done something very naughty indeed and no-one seems to be able to convince him otherwise. The problem is that he's now determined to make recompense for his misdeeds in an equally despicable and violent way.

A cast of tens. Various psychology students who all have their own opinion on the matter and serve to drive the discussion on the nature of delusion and how it is best approached.

Here's a link to the smashwords version.


John's Story is one of Uncle John's Bedtime Tales. The full collection of ten stories is available in ebook format on smashwords.

For those who really do prefer a print version Uncle John's Bedtime Tales is available from:

Amazon.com: Click here
Amazon.co.uk: Click here
Direct from Spinetinglers publishing: Click here