The Apex Digest Interview with Barry Maher

By Jason Sizemore, Editor Apex Digest



Barry Maher is the author of "Legend," a book that
has attainted cult  status in many science fiction circles.
"Legend" is the dark urban fantasy's  answer to "Dune."
The novel will electrify readers, challenging their  views
on such societal concepts as group-think and religion.

After reading "Legend", I had the opportunity to
ask Barry Maher  about his novel, his work as a consultant,
and whether he'll consider  returning to the world of
speculative fiction.


Q1:  One of the most striking aspects of "Legend"
is the  remarkable job you did in creating the story's
universe.  The City, the  "Big Eaters", and the Regent (the
poor, the privileged, and the  Religious/superstitious) are
fully realized representations of the type of  social
fracturing you'd expect in a dying world.  Did this stem
from a vision of a post-Cold War environment, or something
greater?

Absolutely, Jason, the world of "Legend" is dying.
The City is  isolated and feeding on itself. What passes
for a government has become  divorced from the people it
should be serving. It's entrenched, self-serving  and
uncaring. Brutal. And while the area the Disciples control
is  vigorous and powerful, it's a cancerous power, one
that's twisted and  perverted. And even more brutal than
the inept stupidity of the  government.

The world of Legend is a world of constant,
unremitting fear and  danger: Everyone is in danger: Martin
and Gena, the bureaurers, the  Disciples, the folkers-
everyone. Ironically the danger was generated by the
society's obsession with security. The City isolated
itself only to find  that it was trapped inside that
isolation with something even worse than the
unknown horror lurking outside.

Civilizations, cultures, governments, religions,
individuals:  don't we all want to protect ourselves from
the dangerous of the outside  world: Dangerous people,
dangerous ideas, dangerous otherness? The dangerous
unknown.

The vague place on the map where "Here there be
monsters." It  might be an actual place, or it might be the
dark areas of stranger's mind  that nurture unsettling
beliefs and, quite possibly, unpredictable and  threatening
behavior. Of course it's only by exposing ourselves to
that  otherness that we both test and nurture ourselves and
our ideas. That's how  we adapt. That's how we grow: at
least it's how we grow in a way that tries  to adapt to
outside reality.

But In "Legend" there's only isolation. The
isolation of the bureaurers  leads only to atrophy and
ultimately death. The isolation of the Disciples  leads to
the twisted, perverted, brutal growth of a cancer, which
of  course ultimately devours the life that feeds it.


Q2:  An interesting maxim you put forth and
realized by Gena  is that of the power of collective
thought.  Through our own  superstitions and beliefs, we,
ourselves, are the 'ties that bind'.   Does this ideology
represent personal belief or a commentary on the  sometimes
one-mindedness religion creates in large sectors of
individuals?

It was intended more as commentary on the way we
all tend to  think, rather than simply a commentary on
religious thinking.

To me, the more conformity in thought a society
has, the more  danger it's in. That's because "What we all
know to be true" so often turns  out to as wrong as many of
the commonly accepted truths of the ancient  Egyptians or
Roman or Druids or Aztecs. In 2,500 B.C., the Egyptians
"knew" that the best use of their wealth and labor was to
providing  their pharaohs with ludicrously massive tombs
filled with huge stashes of  treasure for the afterlife.
Not that long ago, we all knew the sun revolved  around the
Earth. In 1939, Germany knew that Hitler was a hero. In
1966,  we knew the Viet Cong and Ho Chi Min were such an
imminent threat to  American society we sacrificed 50,000
American lives to stop them.

What terrifies me is that even the most
independent of us can  easily be swept up in this kind of
collective thought: no matter how  vigilant we might be.
Even our dissents fall into certain accepted channels.
Individual divergences are often pathetically slight.


Q3:  A common criticism of "Legend" is that Martin
is able  to endure many horrible trials and tasks, yet you
never bestow Martin with  anything more than a regular
man's persona and endurance.  What do you  say to this
criticism?

I say it's absolutely correct. I'm interested in
the  extraordinary heroism of ordinary people rather than
the ordinary heroism of  extraordinary people.

If James Bond or Superman endures and overcomes,
who cares?  They're suppose to. They aren't like the rest
of us mere mortals. But if the  guy across the street
triumphs against overwhelming odds, that hits home.  That
could even change what I believe I can do and what I
believe I can  become. Hey, if that schmuck can do it, why
can't I?

In "Legend," Martin is a bit of a schmuck. And, in
that sense,  maybe the book could be considered a triumph
of the schmucks. I hope it can  inspire "regular men" – and
women. Superman and James Bond can look  elsewhere for
inspiration.


Q4:  What is it that draws Gena to Martin?

I think it is just that: that extraordinary
strength and courage  of an ordinary guy, the fact that
this most ordinary folker somehow taps  into something
inside himself to become far more than he or anyone else
ever imagined he could be.

Someone asked me recently if Martin really was the
Jefuson. I  said I didn't think so. But that perhaps the
real Jefuson wasn't  either.


Q5: Across the internet, "Legend" has attained a
cult  status.  I'm sure many would love to see a sequel,
prequel or anything  that expands on the "Legend" universe.
Any hope of this  happening?

Both a prequel and a sequel have possibilities.
I'd love to  discover the details of how the world of
"Legend" came to be. I'd be even  more interested in what
happens to Martin and Gena and this strange world  from
this point on.

There has been a group of dedicated "Legend" fans
who have spent  a great deal of time and effort spreading
the word and promoting the book. I  truly appreciate their
efforts. If it wasn't for them, this new edition  would
never have been released. If there ever is a sequel or a
prequel,  it would probably be due to the buzz they created
as well. Because of their  efforts, by the way, I've
authorized the writing of a screenplay based on  the book.


Q6:  You write one critically lauded novel, then
drop out of  the literary world.  What happened?

As you might know, when "Legend" was first
released, it made the  UPI's "Ten Most Underrated List" for
that year along with the New York  Knicks, who never even
made the playoffs, and a Meryl Streep movie about a  dingo
that ate a baby. It stayed underrated for quite a while,
building  up a following only gradually. As I said, that
following is wonderfully  devoted but the book still isn't
that widely known, perhaps it never will  be.

After "Legend" was initially released my agent
approached me with  an idea for a quirky, funny, off-beat
non-fiction book. The book proposal  sold immediately. The
book did well and is in fact still selling today.  Other
books followed, including "Filling the Glass: The
Skeptic's Guide  to Positive Thinking," a book "for anyone
with a job or anyone who knows  anyone with a job." Among
other things "Filling the Glass" was cited by  Today's
Librarian as "[one of] The Seven Essential Popular
Business  Books." From that point on, the number requests
for me to speak to  businesses and other groups exploded.

In many ways, all my books and speeches are in the
same mold as  "Legend," exploring the same problems and
ideas. Too many of us today have  lives that aren't what
they could be. Hell, too many of us even have jobs  that
aren't all that much different from Martin's job as a
bureauer.


Q7:  You've become a highly success corporate
speaker.   What do people say when they learn you once
wrote a dystopic urban fantasy  novel about the perceived
second coming of Christ?

I  speak not only to businesses but to associations
and groups of all types. (I  try to speak to at least one
writer's conference per year.) What's  astonishing to me is
how much interest even the people at those business
meetings have in "Legend." They may not face the kind of
adventure,  danger and excitement that Martin and Gena do,
but they can all relate to  the characters in "Legend."
The worlds may be vastly different but the  lives are more
similar than it might first appear. We could all use a
touch of the heroic in our "regular guy" or "regular
woman" lives.


Q8:  What are some of your favorite sci-fi and/or
horror  novelists?

There are so many, I would hate to list them and
accidentally  leave anyone off. But I do have to cite Frank
Herbert. "Legend" has been  compared to "Dune" which is
always flattering. But it some ways the story in  "Legend"
is a commentary on the story, the theme and the action in
"Dune."


Q9:  I've read rumors you might be thinking about
returning  to your writing roots?

I hope that those who read my non-fiction would
say I've never  really left those roots. But yes, I do
expect to return to fiction.


Q10:  As a successful business consultant, what
would your  advice be to all the upstart small press
fiction  publications?

My advice for them would be similar to my  advice
to any small business.

1) Turn out the best books you possibly can,
books you're  proud to put your imprint on.

2) Focus on your clientele, what they want and
need and what  will satisfy those wants and needs.

3) Have the best possible answer to the
question "Why should  someone buy my books as opposed the
thousands of other choices they have?"

4) Promote, Promote, Promote.

5) Never forget that the best possible
promotion is a  satisfied reader.

With "Legend," I completely ignored steps 3 and 4.
But thanks to  the book's readers it's still around today,
with the best edition yet just  coming off the press.
Speaking of which, used book sellers are selling  copies of
early editions of "Legend" as collectibles and asking
ridiculous prices. The new edition retails for $19.95 and
usually  discounts online for about $13.50. If you see a
price on a website that's  out of that range, click on
"Other Editions" to find the latest edition of  the book at
a reasonable price.

    # # #

Jason Sizemore is the editor of Apex Digest, an acclaimed
science  fiction and horror magazine. Apex Online is at
_www.apexdigest.com_ (http://www.apexdigest.com ) . This interview  originally
appeared in
Apex Digest. Used by permission.