There is something about the printed word that appeals to
my personality. The feel and smell of
paper and ink add a sense of importance to almost any writing. Truth be told, I’m
a bit of a Luddite, and have had a hard time adapting to the “new media”
practice of reading book-length text on a digital screen, so it speaks to the
compelling nature of Mike Baron’s “Skorpio” that I blazed through it over a
weekend in October of 2013, reading from the screen of my work-issued Galaxy Note 2.
It is fitting, actually, that I’d prefer to read from a
codex, as it helped ingratiate to me the primary protagonist of “Skorpio”; Vaughan
Beadles is an anthropology professor of ancient Native-American cultures, a man’s
man blessed with good looks, a good reputation, a beautiful wife, and the envy
and admiration of his students. He
seems, at first blush, to have it all, and exudes the kind of self-deprecating
humility that is easy to maintain when one is privileged and looking down from
the top. However, when things go south,
as they invariably do when dealing with cursed artifacts of questionable
origin, Beadles character is revealed to be less than pure. His selflessness turns to selfishness, as he
seeks to justify and magnify his standing, and regain the reputation he’s
fought hard to maintain, even as we learn part of it was based on a lie.
In fact, all of the characters in “Skorpio” are like
broken decorative pots, at once beautiful and flawed, but clearly capable of
good if just subjected to a little repair.
There is Summer; the stripper with the heart of gold, whose poor choices
are quickly catching up to her in the form of Vince; her former boyfriend/pimp
whose life is a mess of thuggery and drugs. But still, if only he had been able
to break into MMA… Then there is Ninja, the tweaked out hacker whose exterior
belies a hidden genius. At various
times, I found my sentimentalities both drawn and repulsed by each of these
figures, and I appreciated that these juxtapositions kept me questioning each
character’s fate, even to the last page. Mike Baron’s strength is certainly in character
construction and dialogue, as it is in his comic-book work, and “Skorpio” flows
because of it. Even where events seem
unbelievable, the characters react believably, which kept me connected to the
story as a whole. There are few horror cliché
“dumb-ass” moves, and those that exist are punished appropriately.
Make no mistake, this is a ghost story, and terror lurks
throughout, though it often bares its claws, or rather stingers, in unusual
ways. The title character, and star of
the cover art, is exactly what the jacket details – A ghost who only comes out
in the sun. The mystery and fear comes
from trying to understand the motivations of this ghost, and the source of its
power. After an introductory chapter
that serves as a demonstration of Skorpio’s methods, the reader is subjected to
a kind of slow burn, as we learn the lore of the missing “Anasazi” tribe
Professor Beadles is seeking to discover, as well as the circumstances that
lead Beadles, Summer, Vince and Ninja into Skorpio’s realm and influence. The payoff is well executed, though with any knowledge
comes understanding and even a bit of sympathy.
By the time the final confrontation had reached its apex, I wasn’t
really sure who I was rooting for. However,
I was still satisfied by the denouement, though there is a tonal change
presented in the last paragraph which was at once exciting, but also a bit jarring,
turning “Skorpio” from a ghost story to a cliffhanger adventure story, with unresolved
futures waiting to be explored.
I’ve tried to remain vague on plot points, as the fun of “Skorpio”
comes with the shifting changes, like a desert in a windstorm. I do recommend digging in, and not just for the
plot twists and surprises. Despite the
slow-burn I mentioned, “Skorpio” is gripping and dripping with character. It’s
a great choice for a hot day stuck in air-conditioning, or a cold night wishing
for a blazing sun – sans ghosts, of course.
-Nas
