Elvis and the Apocalypse
Author: Steve Werner
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 0-7388-5256-2 (hardback); 0-7388-5257-0 (paperback)
If I were able to attach sound to the printed word, you would now be listening to the "We-wah, we-wah, we-wah..." theme music that introduced each episode of the cult TV series, "The Twilight Zone."
Steve Warner has certainly come up with an unusual piece of Elvis fiction with "Elvis and the Apocalypse," simultaneously expanding that particular field and taking a dig at a number of cultish areas, such as interpretation of the Bible, the prophecies of Nostradamus, Egyptology... Well, just about everything that is somewhere on the sidelines! The story could well have been used as the basis for an excellent episode of "The Twighlight Zone."
Whether everyone will be equally happy with Werner's approach is an open question, of course. I, for one, have no problems with it at all, as I strongly believe that any interpretation you like can be manipulated to fit just about any prophecy and I think that this is the subtle point that Werner is trying to get across in a delightfully satirical fashion. Not that Werner is some upstart know-it-all who might be taking a shot at things he knows little or nothing about: he is an adjunct professor of religion and mythology, which places him in an ideal position to throw the odd brickbat!
"Elvis and the Apocalypse" couches Werner's jibes in a story about a traveller who stops off at a rather seedy diner late one light, only to be confronted with the theories of one Marie, waitress, Elvis fan and, as it turns out, amateur parapsychologist. Our traveller spends the rest of the night listening to what can only be described as the meaning of life as we know it and the part that Elvis plays in it, as explained by Marie, who uses Bible texts (the genuine article), a load of Nostradamus's quatrains (the real ones), some nifty numerology, a touch of Egyptology, some Greek mythology and numerous other far-flung ideas to do so. Not only are Marie's interpretations as believable as any others I've read -- yes, there really are people who go in for and publish these things for real! -- but Werner demonstrates his knowledge of this type of nonsense along with an excellent knowledge of Elvis's life and career, too.
Werner also seems to have a considerable collection of Elvis music, for he uses titles of Elvis songs as part of the narrative. Occasionally this leads to some fairly contrived sentences, but usually he manages to pull this trick off well. Indeed, it would be interesting to know just how many Elvis song titles are hidden away in the text and how many of these readers can actually find -- an idea for a club competition, perhaps! And don't think that Werner has limited himself to the "Greatest Hits" type of numbers -- there are some pretty unusual titles hidden throughout the book!
Almost all aspects of Elvis are subjected to Marie's interpretative nature One chapter is dedicated entirely to Elvis's film career and is appropriately titled "The Acts of Elvis." If Marie's hairbrained interpretations weren't enough, her misunderstanding of some names and expressions adds to the general hysteria and I suspect that this is another jibe by Werner, this time at the often less than scientific basis for claims made by many of the "real" soothsayers.
"Elvis and the Apocalypse" is an unusual, enjoyable, satirical piece of fiction. Don't take it seriously, enjoy it, laugh with it. But remember, someone out there might think it's for real.
We-wah, we-wah, we-wah...
David Neale copyright March 2002
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