J. Greg Deane
Mr. Deane's novel is an insightful study into the wonders of the autistic superman, a craven anti-hero who is an endearing, self-contained scoundrel, a constant contradiction who is truthful even when he lies, though he has no time for constancy. He lives for the annihilation of every moment, having no concern for fidelity or loyalty or the conservation of any social contract. He is a supreme villain who is ubiquitously loved and admired, until there is a suspicion bruited about by an unrequited lover that he is virtuous. Mr. Deane's ingenious creation, Gregorio il Glorioso Codardo Agitalancia, is a hilarious inversion of the heroic stereotype, glorious for his amorality and his poetic creativity. Identified as a high functioning autistic at an early age he was banished by his family who thereby denied themselves a claim to his renown reflected in his fame as a scientist, a sorcerer and magician all in one; that there would be brazen statues in his likeness throughout the Mediterranean uttering his verses and sing his praises; that there would be philtres and curing chalices emblazoned with his name found in hundreds of cathedrals, churches and chapels. Architectural projects built in his name would be found in every town and city and in many villages. However, there was a good likelihood his family would be embarrassed by his distinctive garb, which they would see as marking him out for his eccentricity rather than his creativity or superior abilities: a purple robe, tied with a golden girdle. He wore bronze slippers on his feet and a wreath of laurel crowned his head. However, thanks to the spiritual support Gregorio Agitalancia finds in self-sufficient solipsism, erotic promiscuity, inveterate, rabelaisian drunkenness, and the demiurge that drives him on to fulfil himself as a divinely inspired wordsmith, he is untroubled by the disregard and despite of his family and others whom his peculiarities disturb. Mr. Deane's paradoxical anti-hero, Gregorio Agitalancia,
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