May's (Mostly) Marvelous Literary Musings

[Who's Wee Dug]

Going back to my anthology for a bit - currently reading Ursula Le Guin's The Rule of Names.

That was a neat little story, been a few years since I have read it neat little twist at the end if I remember rightly. another one is I think Mr. Underhill it may be in your anthology.

 

[Tillane]

Just got back from my New York trip (well, in body, anyway; the brain is still somewhere over the Atlantic...), during which I went through a few comfortable old familiars: Rankin's The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of The Apocalypse and The Toyminator, as well as Mieville's Un Lun Dun. Good books all, and ideal holiday reading.

 

[AE35Unit]

Welcome back Till,was the trip business or pleasure(never been to New York,can't see the attraction)
So you're a Robert Rankin fan? I've read a few of his,he's barking!

 

[j d worthington]

Have started on The Necronomicon: Selected Stories & Essays published by Chaosium and edited by Robert M Price. Have read the first three stories and it's very good thus far.

Clearly more reading to be hunted down, given the very detailed introductions to each story that offer it's background as well as other works by the author.

It's a dangerous business, Cat, opening up one of Price's anthologies. Set one eye on the page, and you never know where (or how far) he will take you.... Yes, Price is chock-full of odd bits of Mythos lore, from obscure tales to religious and philosophical connections. Can make for fascinating (and extensive!) reading....

Have finished After Dark, and begun another by Collins: Little Novels. The first tale in there, "Mrs. Zant and the Ghost", had all the proper ingredients, and the potential to be a truly terrifying ghostly tale, but lacked all the emotional preparation, so fell rather flat (as far as the supernatural manifestation is concerned). Unusual for Collins, that. Still, the writing otherwise was often quite good, and I've seldom been disappointed in his work and, from what I hear, I doubt I will be here, either....

 

[Tillane]

Welcome back Till,was the trip business or pleasure(never been to New York,can't see the attraction)
So you're a Robert Rankin fan? I've read a few of his,he's barking!

Very definitely pleasure. There's a lot to see in Manhattan (and probably the rest of New York, but I didn't go that far afield); some stunning architecture - not just the skyscrapers, either: some of the most interesting stuff is on the smaller buildings - and quite a lot of very impressive art on display. The Frick Collection was worth going to New York for on its own.

As for Rankin...yep, he'd mad as a box of frogs, and extremely funny with it. Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse is still a personal favourite.

 

[AE35Unit]

Ah i've yet to read that one,in fact the last one I read was The Garden of Unearthly Delights. Lot of catching up to do!

 

[Taltos]

Finished Butcher White Night - there is something to be said about Butcher sense of humor - I really like it - at some points I just can't do anything else than to put the book down and laugh. It's a effect that most of the comical fantasy books can't achieve. Oh well, I'm just a sucker for sarcasm. Now I'll have to make a decision - whether I can hold on until next year to get Small Favor or do I want to order it as a hardback (and whether it's possible here at all)

Now reading - I don't know - maybe Lynch maybe Moon maybe Baron - that will become apparent if a next few days.

 

[Who's Wee Dug]

Very definitely pleasure. There's a lot to see in Manhattan (and probably the rest of New York, but I didn't go that far afield); some stunning architecture - not just the skyscrapers, either: some of the most interesting stuff is on the smaller buildings - and quite a lot of very impressive art on display. The Frick Collection was worth going to New York for on its own.

As for Rankin...yep, he'd mad as a box of frogs, and extremely funny with it. Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse is still a personal favourite.

The new one is out in July, is Necrophenia looking forward to it.

 

[Tillane]

Me too, WWD. A new Rankin book is always a cause for celebration. Along with the inevitable drunkenness, gratuitous sex and violence and the odd running gag or three...

 

[AE35Unit]

I had the 3 Cornelius books of Rankin's but had to leave them behind to be sold when I moved. Do the new ones use the same characters? I have one upstairs i've yet to read,Apocalypso

 

[Tillane]

No, Cornelius and Tuppe only appear in those three, I think (I stand open to correction on this). However, the two main characters in Hollow Chocolate Bunnies and Toyminator, Eddie Bear and Jack, have a very similar relationship and repartee.

 

[AE35Unit]

I've not read either of those 2 Till,gonna look out for more of his.

 

[murphy]

The new one is out in July, is Necrophenia looking forward to it.

Me too, WWD. A new Rankin book is always a cause for celebration. Along with the inevitable drunkenness, gratuitous sex and violence and the odd running gag or three...

I had the 3 Cornelius books of Rankin's but had to leave them behind to be sold when I moved. Do the new ones use the same characters? I have one upstairs i've yet to read,Apocalypso

So, if you were just starting to read him, where would you start?

(The Chronicles strikes again)

 

[j d worthington]

In addition to Collins' Little Novels, I've been reading E. G. Swain's Stoneground Ghost Tales. Swain was an acquaintance of M. R. James, and wrote a series of tales "in the Jamesian manner". Well, sort of. There is much of the sort of thing James did here, but the stories are overall much tamer (James's ghosts could be quite nasty) and the stories' charm lies in their telling and in an occasional phrase or image that does send a genuine chill. I'd say they're well worth reading just for a well-told tale; the sort of thing one might tell in a circle of friends around a campfire or at a party when the subject of ghosts came up. But once in a while, there is a stroke of genius there, as well....

 

[TK-421]

Just finished Deadhouse Gates. What a great book but at 925 pages, it took me a while.

Now, reading No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy. I had read two of his previous books (All the Pretty horse and The Crossing). This one really sets a great pace and doesn't let up. What a great read.

 

[HoopyFrood]

Well, after a long stint where reading had to be put on hold, I'm almost able to get back into Deadhouse Gates.

And I think, finally, I'll dip into my Evelyn Waugh collection. I might go for Decline and Fall. I love that one.

 

[Tillane]

So, if you were just starting to read him, where would you start?

(The Chronicles strikes again)

Difficult one. You could start right from the beginning with The Antipope (part one of the Brentford Trilogy, which now comprises eight novels); alternatively, you could start with one of the Rex Mundi novels (Armageddon: The Musical being the first of those). Otherwise, I'd recommend either The Book of Ultimate Truths or The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of The Apocalypse.

 

[D_Davis]

This morning I finished Short Drive, Sweet Chariot, and started The Man With the Heart in the Highlands, both by William Saroyan - my favorite non-genre author.

The man was a genius, and could write like it was nobody's business.

 

[Who's Wee Dug]

So, if you were just starting to read him, where would you start?

(The Chronicles strikes again)

Personally I would start from the Brentford trilogy,which is The Antipope,The Brentford Triangle,& East of Ealing and Sprouts of Wrath but (there is now 8 books in it) the 1st three are where it all started.(if your are lucky you may find the omnibus edition by Acubus.

There are also stand alone novels, some people prefer the Armegeddon trilogy,his books have varied themes and topics the novels now are a lot different in ways and content from the early ones,but still really good it is all up to indivdual taste.

 

[Who's Wee Dug]

Me too, WWD. A new Rankin book is always a cause for celebration. Along with the inevitable drunkenness, gratuitous sex and violence and the odd running gag or three...

Are going to come down for the Book launch in sunny Brentford.