By Tami Reynolds and Steve Oetting
Want to see a movie, watch a play, and ride the dark train into a labyrinth of horror, all for free? You need to attend an MWG book launch.
They say a rolling stone gathers no moss, a proverb which certainly applies to Den Valdron. Mr. Valdron wrote his first short story at the age of 13 and never stopped, and today he is the author of more than twenty books. The book launch event on November 2 highlighted his most recent work entitled Squad 13. It was a stellar event organized by Jessica Smithies, attended by about 20 people and creatively presented by Mr. Valdron and his team.
As always, the event began with introductions and the MWG Land Acknowledgement and Inclusion, Equity and Diversity statements by Jessica. Mr. Valdron then provided a comprehensive list of trigger warnings commensurate with a horror novel.
Mr. Valdron opened with an informative background to the growing genre of “slasher” movies and explained how these low budget films were metaphors for major societal issues, initially referring to the angst of teenagers as they transition to adulthood. He then provided a short film for his book and a play performed by three actors and narrated by him, an overview, and a questions and answers period. The entire event was immensely entertaining, a substantial credit to Mr. Valdron and his team’s creativity and energy. He summed up his purpose in writing Squad 13 this way:
“The thing with slashers is that they don’t talk. They are unknown and unknowable. They are like a force of Nature, they are anonymous terror. And when you think about that, maybe they are a reflection of life. When I started doing this, I had no intention of doing anything serious; I had no intention of saying anything. This book was supposed to just be wicked, nasty fun, you know, crazy, dial it up to eleven, just go hog-wild. But the thing is, when you encounter slashers within the book, they don’t talk to you, they don’t relate to you, they’re barely seen. They just show up and bad things happen. And in a sense, that’s actually life, isn’t it? So much of what goes on in life is far more horrible than anything slashers could do. You look at the genocides in Gaza or the Sudan. You could be a fisherman off the coast of Venezuala and get randomly blown up just for being there. So much of what happens to us today is impersonal, it’s faceless, it is an anonymous world, and I think maybe slashers are a metaphor for the worst things that happen in our world.”
After listening to his presentation, one might see this book being an extended metaphor for our times. It captures the never-ending angst of today, as we endure the economic disruption caused by the U.S., the growth in dictatorships, the on-going wars, the use of military to impose personal agendas, the helplessness people feel trying to effect positive change, and just the everyday difficulties of simply putting food on the table while billionaires reshape the world to their advantage. One person asked if there was any indication of hope, since the book portrays every manner of violent death imaginable. He said, yes, in his last line in the book. As small as that is, there is a glimmer of light shining through the dark tale that is Squad 13.
Squad 13 was published in 2024 by Fossil Cave Publishing and can be purchased as an e-book or print book through Amazon or as a print book through Barnes and Noble.