When I first started writing the kernel of what ultimately became Adam’s Stepsons, the multiple/mixed genre story The General in His Labyrinth had just been published, by Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
I’d been searching for character names, desperate not to have them all sounding like the people I knew at the time (i.e., white guys in my rural hometown).
So “Marquez” sounded like a great name. I had a general in the story. General Marquez fit. Why not.
Ironically, the general (and the other characters, as well) do actually find themselves caught in a labyrinth – just like “The General,” Simon Bolivar – and it is a labyrinth of their own making. In their attempt not to lose a war, they break their own religious rules by twisting logic and ignoring ethics, and once the Pandora’s box is opened, they can’t stop it.
I’d add something more insightful here, but due to time limits I’ll just say that, yes, the image is from “The Labyrinth,” not Mr. Marquez’s book.
Hail, David Bowie! Although I still think “The Man Who Fell to Earth” is his best movie.
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