TWiT Review
Reading Rainbow
By Bob Dineen
This Week in Texas
(Vol 2, Issue 1) June 23 – 28, 2007
We already live in a world in which the very idea of gays and
lesbians achieving equal rights is an anathema to segments of the
population that acts of violence and outright displays of
discrimination are common-place, but imagine a world in which our
community is targeted by a Christian terrorist group –
God’s Army to
Purge Homosexuality – which sole purpose is to completely eradicate
every gay and lesbian from the planet.
Such is the premise of
B. Alan Bourgeois’ seminal first novel,
God’s
Army to Purge Homosexuality, recently released by Houston’s
Wizard
Consulting and Publishing group. Begun more than a decade ago, the
first effort by the author was finally completed in 2002, soon after
homeland terrorism became a daily front-page news item and the lead
stories on television news programs across the country.
On February 22, 1997, a bomb was detonated at an Atlanta nightclub
by the name of the Otherside, which was lesbian owned and frequented
by members of both the gay and lesbian community in the city. The
bar owner’s brother owned an abortion clinic, and both the clinic
and the club were targeted and bombed by the hate group, The Army of
God, which stated purpose is to save unborn babies, but which actual
activities have included acts of aggression – terrorism, if you will
– against the GLBT community throughout the United States. It is
this single act that forms the foundation of
Mr. Bourgeois’ book.
In present day Houston, security specialist Nicole McCormick and
private detective, Brent Walsh are summoned to the home of their
employer, Charles MacDougale, a multi-millionaire businessman,
family man and Republican activist whose connections to and power
over the conservative wing of the party is legendary. What is not so
legendary; however, is the fact that Charles
MacDougale is gay. And, he’s also very concerned about a bombing at
a gay and lesbian nightclub in Atlanta. And…he also knows who was
responsible for the bombing - God’s Army to Purge Homosexuality, or
GAPH. And, he wants the bombings to stop.
Enter Nicole McCormack and Brent Walsh, who seem the perfect team to
put an end to GAPH's plans. Not only are they highly trained and
experienced in their professions, but they also happen to be
“family.” But, posing as a married couple interested in furthering
the efforts of GAPH to exterminate gays and lesbians, the pair
triumph, GAPH is disbanded and gay men and lesbians are left,
presumably to continue their pursuit of life, liberty and happiness
unfettered by fears of pipe bombs and other incendiary devices.
Would that life were but simple.
What is simple is the book. It’s a basic thriller with a basic cast
of characters and basic story line. It may not set the literary
world on fire, but it also won’t cause the masses to begin building
pyres in the town square upon which to burn copies of the book.
Similarly, devotes of Proust may not see their ironic guru wrestled
from his precious pedestal any time soon, but Fred W. Hunter and
Michael Carson may want to secure their legions of fans, lest they
desert camp in favor of
B. Alan Bourgeois. And, while it exhibits no
new brilliance of prose and breaks no new ground in literary style
or form, it certainly is far superior to the mindless drivel that
seems to perpetually find its way to the shelves – virtual and
otherwise – of book vendors around the world.
Despite this seeming ambivalence, I must admit that I enjoyed the
bloody thing. I fell immediately in lust with Brent Walsh, and am
desperate to have Nicole McCormick become my new best friend. I
turned each page, desperate to see what would happen next, and I
finished the novel sincerely hoping that it would not be the last
time that Nicole and Brent were teamed together to right wrongs,
defend the defenseless and preserve the American way.
God’s Army to Purge Homosexuality is a good beginning to what I’m
sure Alan Bourgeois would love to be a long and fruitful writing
career. With time, and the natural seasoning that comes with it, I’m
sure that he will realize that goal. Until then, his first effort is
just the ticket for a leisurely read by the pool or at the shore
during the hot summer months ahead.
God’s Army to Purge Homosexuality may be purchased online though
Wizard Consulting and Publishing website at wizardcandp.com or
online at Amazon.com.
Reprint of this review has been granted by the
publisher of This Week in Texas.
God's Army to Purge Homosexuality
Click Here for Readers Club Reviews
Publishers Price $12.95 Suggested Retail Price $14.95
