An interview with the author of The Devil with the Spiraled Horn: “Why I’m Writing About Unicorns and the First World War”

So…unicorns and World War One…uh, what’s that about? Tell us more.

Basically, this is a fantasy historical satire. The German and Austro-Hungarian Armies are deploying unicorns on land and air in much the same way they did U-boats, to stymie civilian transport, merchant shipping and terrorize people. It’s their secret weapon. The British Expeditionary Force counters the threat by raising several special forces units of anti-unicorn brigades. When these units are all wiped out, they bring in legions of Saysquacks (Bigfeet) from America to train as front line and special forces soldiers. The Germans in my story also have terrifying mechanized weapons that only exist in the realm of Diesel-Punk Sci-fi…but I don’t want to give too much away.

So, it’s kind of like Bigfoot versus Unicorns in WWI?

It’s more complicated than that, but yes. There is action and fighting between Saysquacks and unicorns involving some of the methods and weapons of WWI.

Theodore Roosevelt is in here too?

He is. He’s a main character and part of a special forces unit along with other recognizable figures such as Frederick Russel Burnham, Ernest Shackleton, Robert Baden-Powell and Allen Quatermain. In reality, Theodore Roosevelt desperately tried to get himself sent into combat in WWI, but President Wilson refused to allow it. One of the questions I wanted to answer — in a funny way — is what if Teddy had got his heart’s desire — and the war fairy granted his wish to get him sent overseas serving in the military during WWI. How might the reality have been a bit different from his dream of riding into the trenches on horseback? And then, how funny would it be to have a special forces unit comprised of aging men the youngest of whom was 46 and the oldest was 87 to go behind enemy lines in rough conditions and fight a guerilla war against unicorns?

Where on earth did you get the idea for this?

I wrote a short story a while back in epistolary format, called Die Einhorn Jäger (The Unicorn Hunters, in German), in the form of letters and dispatches from the front from a British anti-unicorn Brigade. They were deep into enemy territory and cut off from supply lines, slowly getting wiped out, but they began with utmost confidence that their tools and toys and war machines would not only save them, but make them overwhelmingly victorious. It was homage to the sci-fi horror movie Aliens. The Devil with the Spiraled Horn is a bit more complex than that. Large portions of the book deal with government corruption and the incompetence of military leadership, and how ordinary people are exploited and victimized by it. It shows the absurdity of having a never-ending arms race. There is also graphic, tragic and ironic violence in the book. I wanted to show that just because the book is a satire about war that has unicorns in it, it doesn’t have to trivialize sacrifice, minimalize brutality, or gloss over the ultimate senselessness of war. That said, it doesn’t revel in the violence or dwell in it either, but it’s there.

Why are you writing this book?

I suppose the concept of war has always been powerful for me. As a kid, my introduction to classic literature was through war books like All Quiet on the Western Front, Johnny Got His Gun, and Catch-22. When I was a boy, I wanted to be a soldier for a long time until I talked to soldiers about what war and combat are actually like. As a kid living in a broken family, being a soldier at war might seem like hell, but life and its problems appeared simpler and more direct than those I was dealing with. As an adult, I’ve worked for many corrupt and inept companies and government agencies, and their callous disregard and lack of compassion for other people was strikingly similar to what I read about in many war books. I’ve always been fascinated with the psychology of corrupt and inept leadership, and also why people follow orders and why they rebel against them.

What do unicorns have to do with that?

Unicorns are the ultimate symbol of virtue, justice and purity. In some legends, they can only be approached by virgins. In modern pop culture, unicorns represent the ultimate in cute, frivolous, childish. I thought why not take this symbol and turn it into a creature of menace — evil even. There’s no rainbows around my unicorns. They have acid for blood. Bigfoot (the Saysquack) is another creature with great symbolic value, one who represents the exploitation of childlike innocence as they are trained and sent to the battlefield in a war that has absolutely no concern for them. In my mythology, the Saysquack is a naturally passive creature that wouldn’t hurt a fly.

Are you worried you won’t be taken seriously?

I think all you need to do is say the word “unicorns” and there is a risk of not being taken seriously. Long ago I decided that imagination is a gift and to not use it is a crime. There will always be people who don’t understand your vision, but we should not allow those people to narrow the scope of our vision. Instead, we should seek out those who are open to exploring weird ideas, and see things in novel ways. There is a silly and a serious side to everything in life, and anyone who gives my writing a chance will quickly come to understand that I’m able to focus my lens on both.

Is this book a sequel?

This book is a sequel to Squabble of the Titans, Recollections of Roosevelt and His Rival’s Hunt for Bigfoot in the Olympic Rainforest, the events of which take place about six years prior to The Devil with the Spiraled Horn. In both books, many of the main characters are the same, and there are similarities in the tone of the books although the settings are vastly different. Also, The Devil with the Spiraled Horn doesn’t focus as much on the rivalry between Theodore Roosevelt and Horace S. Browntrout as Squabble of the Titans did. I’d like to point out that squabble of the Titans debuted in June and is now available at Amazon.

Who is this book intended for, war buffs, unicorn fans?

Anyone who likes sci-fi fantasy in a historical context with some action will enjoy the book. The unicorns and Bigfeet are presented in a realistic, authentic political as well as historical context. The book deals with the idea of how we would integrate these strange creatures into our societies and their war efforts — and how they would end up exploited in the process. If this premise sounds interesting, this book might be for you.

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