This book, 'Vexed to Nightmare' is a sequel to a self-published novel, 'Slouching Towards Eden'. This story is self- contained but continues the career of Phillip Todd, in his progress into Godhood, psychosis, or both. Phillip, an eighteen year old army brat returns from Germany to an America that is God driven, God invested, and godlessly materialistic, immersed in sexual dysfunction dispensed with over abundant juvenile sexual imagery glorifying sanctimonious abstinence. Phillip, a junior, and his brother Frankie, a senior, are enrolled at Erwin High School in El Paso, Texas while his father is stationed at Fort Bliss. A series of events infused with dark humor and improbable sexual imagery ensue, uniting the schizophrenia and infantilism Phillip orchestrates with his impossible mind control over all sentient beings.
Within two weeks of arrival Phillip leaves a trail of mayhem, destruction, and even death that affects anyone in range of his powers. Starting with a bull fight in nearby Juarez, Mexico everything and everybody seems to spin out of control in Phillip's orbit of control. A voluptuous teacher attempts to corrupt him, considering him an ordinary pliable student and gruesomely pays for her mistake. The officious and venal high school principal dramatically diminishes his life expectancy and quality of life after annoying Phillip. The Fort Bliss commanding General endures inhumane levels of humiliation after temporarily besting Phillip.
Phillip believes he has no credible human antagonists and imagines, unlike superheroes in comic books, there exists no super villain to counter his whims, but nonetheless he suffers bouts of nightmares and self-doubt. He even fears a return to hallucinations that plagued him in Germany. He has no confidant so he increasingly depends on his self-created super hero, Dr. Fear, who coincidentally possesses Phillip's mental powers but has a beautiful female sidekick. He creates lurid story scenarios which please the Dr. Fear he increasingly hallucinates. But even the imaginary Dr. Fear cannot assuage his trepidation when learns of an unknown assailant aware of and apparently impervious to Phillip's powers.
Phillip Todd is either a god or a self-deluded, extremely randy psychotic who firmly believes he alone, of all of humankind, possesses free will. To him the rest of humanity have no free will but are simply empty vessels to be filled by, who else, Phillip Todd. And fill he does with no more moral or ethical compunction than a child disrupting an ant colony. No force can stop him except the unknown person, or can it be an even higher level god controlling Phillip. Nothing is sure for Phillip just as he believes nothing is sure for the rest of humanity.
