The Caster

Michael Alvarez is trapped in the impending collision of two forces, past and present: the first, a recurring but murky nightmare about the tragedy twelve years earlier that landed him in a New Orleans group home for orphaned and abandoned children; the second, a recent freak accident that leaves him uniquely empowered and his loner-by-choice existence radically altered. Michael discovers before he even leaves the hospital that he can far surpass merely creating mental images in his own mind—since his injury he can now also “cast” them into the minds of others. He is no Svengali and this is not traditional telepathic “mind control.” He does not transfer words or thoughts, but instead, extremely intense visual, sound, tactile and olfactory images and sensations so real they instantly shape the victims’ thoughts and actions. Michael jealously guards the secret of his remarkable new ability. As he perfects what he calls his “maximum interface” skills, his impulse-control problems increase, his good judgments decrease. He recklessly launches a “foolproof” crime spree that eventually places him in the crosshairs of mystified and frightened police; a ripped-off and pissed-off biker gang; a sadistic bully on a personal vendetta from the past; shotgun-wielding store clerks; and a blackmailing neighbor. But angels with savage weapons are also at work inside him, tempering the egotism and dark impulses. They inspire Michael to use his power in the nick of time to spare a child from lifelong trauma. That heroic act also triggers the crisis moment when he finally confronts the truth about that recurring nightmare from the past and defeats an orphan’s most personal crucible, the fear of his own nothingness.