W. Watts Biggers - Novels

Novels

In 1968, Ballantine Books published Biggers' The Man Inside as an original paperback. At the time, because of the author's name and the tale of a quest for higher consciousness, some readers believed the novel had been written under a pseudonym by Alan Watts. Along with a description of the characters, the story was only briefly described on the back cover as "Strange, hallucinatory, following its own inner logic down unexpected paths, The Man Inside is a novel of startling originality, a journey towards wisdom—like Hermann Hesse's Steppenwolf—that culminates in revelation." However, the opening page blurb elaborated:

The Man Inside is a novel of startling originality. It could be read as a parody of the Horatio Alger story—the orphan boy whose struggles lead him down and down until success comes at the bottom. Or a Kafkaesque pursuit of Purpose, the ceaseless quest for the meaning of life—always baffled by the cruel traps of mankind. Or a journey toward wisdom—in the manner of Hermann Hesse—that culminates oddly: satori achieved inside a robot. But such suggestions can give only a faint indication of the strange and haunting powers of The Man Inside. The rest the reader must discover for himself.

In 1999, it was reissued by Bamberger Books as a hardcover. It was optioned as a feature film by One Brick Films. His novel Hold Back the Tide concerns a lovelorn police chief who wants a hypnotist to eliminate his obsessions so he can continue solving crimes. It was published February, 2001, as a 1st Books Library ebook.