February's Feast of Fantastical Fiction and Fact...

[j d worthington]

The Berkley editions would probably be exactly what I want ("virtual reproductions (other than typo correction) of the originally published form of the texts as they appeared in Weird Tales"), except they only got to 8 of the tales. Either way, it all gives me a better idea of what's what.

If you're meaning the old Berkley editions edited by Karl Edward Wagner -- yes, they are quite nice, and Wagner's introductory comments are also of interest. In fact, that entire line of Berkley Howard volumes is worth looking into....

 

[tangaloomababe]

Finally I am reading The Time Travellers Wife. I have been meaning to read this for ages but until now have not gotten around to it. I am about half way through and really enjoying it. It was worth the wait.

 

[Connavar]

Caught Stealing by Charlie Huston.

EDIT: im of course really meant to qoute soulsinging.....


I keep telling myself that but i keep getting new books

Two different book hauls and 7 new book only this week.

 

[gully_foyle]

Finished American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Very Good. Now contemplating reading Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

 

[soulsinging]

Finished American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Very Good. Now contemplating reading Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Don't contemplate, read it. That is a fantastic novel.

 

[GOLLUM]

Right now, I'm closing in on the end of Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams. I have a love/hate relationship with it. I enjoy reading it, but there are times I'm annoyed by the characters and everyone who says this book could be cut in half and lose nothing is pretty much right. But I'm still strangely addicted.

Well I had a similar reaction some 20 years ago when I read this series. Book 1, my first go at Williams, had me thinking this guy has some talent, so let's persist and I was well rewarded. The latter books see the plotline develop quite nicely and of course there's Tad's sparkling prose to look forward to. I've since collected all of Tad's published works and don't regret having done so. He's clearly one of the better contemporary fantasy authors in the market.

Please let me know how you fare.

 

[Sargeant_Fox]

I just finished Arthur Machen's The White People & Other Stories. Now I'm reading Lord Dunsany's The Dreamer's Tales.

 

[Lady of Winterfell]

Hey..another classic!.... You know you'll have to read the entire Majipoor series you lucky thing. One of the best Science fantary series I've come across. Meeting and getting autographs and a photo with Silverberg and hanging out with the man at Worldcon in Yokohama was definitely a highlight for me...

Sounds like I should enjoy it then! I'm only 35 pages in, but so far I'm enjoying it. I picked it up at the last Library Book Sale, it was $1 for the Hardcover. I read a short story by him which took place on Majipoor, it was in one of the 'Legends' short story anthologies, and I enjoyed it so I picked up his book when I saw it at the sale. How many books are in the series?

 

[GOLLUM]

Sounds like I should enjoy it then! I'm only 35 pages in, but so far I'm enjoying it. I picked it up at the last Library Book Sale, it was $1 for the Hardcover. I read a short story by him which took place on Majipoor, it was in one of the 'Legends' short story anthologies, and I enjoyed it so I picked up his book when I saw it at the sale. How many books are in the series?

Well here is the series in chronlogical order....Silverberg indicated at the time he wasn't planning any further books. It's not really a series in the normal sense of the word but rather almost stand-alone stories that are connected by the world of Majipoor although there are some books that follow the same characters.

The Book of Changes (novella, 2003)

Novels:
Sorcerers of Majipoor (1997)
Lord Prestimion (1999)
King of Dreams (2000)
Lord Valentine's Castle (1980)
Majipoor Chronicles (story collection, 1982)
Valentine Pontifex (1983)
"The Seventh Shrine" (novella, 1998)
The Mountains of Majipoor (1995)

 

[GOLLUM]

OK, trying to keep my mind off the bushfires a lot of my fellow Vics have been subjected to in southern Australia I've been revisiting Jeff Vandermeer's wonderful City Of Saints Of Madmen. as I never had a complete collection of Ambergis tales as per this edition. The best of Mieville M.J. Harrison and Gaiman with a dash of Conrad, Peake, Proust, Ashton Smith and Vance.......c'mon what more can you ask for?...

 

[AE35Unit]

OK, trying to keep my mind off the bushfires a lot of my fellow Vics have been subjected to in southern Australia I've been revisiting Jeff Vandermeer's wonderful City Of Saints Of Madmen.

Just saw about the bush fires on The news. My heart goes out to all those affected!

 

[D_Davis]

OK, trying to keep my mind off the bushfires a lot of my fellow Vics have been subjected to in southern Australia I've been revisiting Jeff Vandermeer's wonderful City Of Saints Of Madmen. as I never had a complete collection of Ambergis tales as per this edition. The best of Mieville M.J. Harrison and Gaiman with a dash of Conrad, Peake, Proust, Ashton Smith and Vance.......c'mon what more can you ask for?...

This totally reminded me of Cisco's The Divinity Student. I liked it, quite a bit.

 

[Lady of Winterfell]

Well here is the series in chronlogical order....Silverberg indicated at the time he wasn't planning any further books. It's not really a series in the normal sense of the word but rather almost stand-alone stories that are connected by the world of Majipoor although there are some books that follow the same characters.

The Book of Changes (novella, 2003)

Novels:
Sorcerers of Majipoor (1997)
Lord Prestimion (1999)
King of Dreams (2000)
Lord Valentine's Castle (1980)
Majipoor Chronicles (story collection, 1982)
Valentine Pontifex (1983)
"The Seventh Shrine" (novella, 1998)
The Mountains of Majipoor (1995)

Thanks for that Gollum! I may have started in the middle chronologically, but at least I started with the first story he wrote for Majipoor.

 

[ratsy]

I have finished "Ship of Magic" and have moved on to Lies of Locke Lamora

Seems interesting enough so far

 

[Sargeant_Fox]

Today I started Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. I'm enjoying it so far, and I have to say he has a wonderful, fluid prose.

 

[GOLLUM]

Today I started Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. I'm enjoying it so far, and I have to say he has a wonderful, fluid prose.

Huh?...you mean you've not read this before? I'm shocked..........no truly.... I presume you've read Jekyll and Hyde. I've got several of his works and they're all good.

Mr Davis: I've never read a signle word by Cisco other than that title, seriously as good as Vandermeer you say? Hmmm....well perhaps I should investigate this further.

 

[Lobolover]

Well: till now I have finished Ladislav Fuks' "The incinerator of corpses/corpse incinerator" a very fine and famous horror story of a crematorium employee turning to national socialism and oriental philosophy and, in order to save and spare his family, kill them.

Then I finished

"And thou shalt wring of their heads" (it has a beter title in the original, sigh) (the title is a quote from the Leviticus,by the way) by Pavel Řezníček, his latest prose and longest ive seen and though it was slightly tamer then his other surrealistic works, it was stil quite fine.

And of course, what youre all aking to know, yes, I had read and finished "They return at evening" by H.R.Wakefield, the review of which you shall find in the reviews section.

And just a few moments ago, I had finished "The Lost stradivarius" by J. Meade Falkner (1895), the novel which people say M.R.James would have written, had he written novels. Quite a fine possesion tale, slight and creeping and with some nice unnamable implications and hints, especialy at the end. Certainly a fine read for any M.R.James schollar.Expect a fuller review of it soon.

 

[D_Davis]

H
Mr Davis: I've never read a signle word by Cisco other than that title, seriously as good as Vandermeer you say? Hmmm....well perhaps I should investigate this further.

I think Cisco is much better, in terms of prose and narration. But I haven't read a lot of Vandermeer, so take that as you will. Vedermeer reminds me a little too much of Gaiman, and I'm just not into that kind of quaint voice, although Vandermeer is much darker than Gaiman, and a far better writer.

Maybe Cisco is just more of my thing - he's closer to Ligotti in terms of voice.

Cisco is probably my favorite living author (or at least for the moment he is), and The Divinity Student is an absolute masterpiece. I cannot recommend it enough. It's the most bizarre, twisted, exciting, haunting, and inventive story I've read. I am constantly thinking back upon it. But don't take my word for it, Thomas Ligotti is also full of praise for Cisco.

By Cisco, I've read:

Secret Hours - a collection of early short stories, mainly his Lovecraft inspired pastiche
The Divinity Student
The Golem
The Tyrant

I have The Traitor, but I haven't read it yet.

I think this comprises his entire bibliography.

 

[GOLLUM]

I think Cisco is much better, in terms of prose and narration. But I haven't read a lot of Vandermeer, so take that as you will. Vedermeer reminds me a little too much of Gaiman, and I'm just not into that kind of quaint voice, although Vandermeer is much darker than Gaiman, and a far better writer.

Maybe Cisco is just more of my thing - he's closer to Ligotti in terms of voice.

Cisco is probably my favorite living author (or at least for the moment he is), and The Divinity Student is an absolute masterpiece. I cannot recommend it enough. It's the most bizarre, twisted, exciting, haunting, and inventive story I've read. I am constantly thinking back upon it. But don't take my word for it, Thomas Ligotti is also full of praise for Cisco.

By Cisco, I've read:

Secret Hours - a collection of early short stories, mainly his Lovecraft inspired pastiche
The Divinity Student
The Golem
The Tyrant

I have The Traitor, but I haven't read it yet.

I think this comprises his entire bibliography.

OK, OK you've sold me. If Ligotti likes it and I'm a big Ligotti fan then I'm there. You sure you don't sell used cars or something?....

Is Student basically his masterpiece to date?

Can't agree on Gaiman in that I really like his stuff but each to their own. Far better than Vandermeer...hmmm...this should be interesting...

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[D_Davis]

Ligotti claims that The Tyrant is Cisco's masterpiece, but I enjoyed The Divinity Student far more. It's shorter, and thus told with more brevity, and it is also more bizarre and more inventive, IMO. I've never read anything quite like it, and many of its passages continue to haunt my imagination, now months later from my first read. Cisco wanted to write a book that would make the reader feel as though he were dreaming - and he succeeded. The book is entirely hypnotic; his prose simply washed over me, enveloping me in a world that was beautifully grotesque, frightening and alluring, and altogether fantastic.

So, beyond City of Saints and Madmen, what would you suggest I read from Vandermeer? I'd like to read more...Does he have anything close to novella length?

And yes, I know I am one of the only non-fans of Gaiman in genreland...I just don't dig his novels at all. His comic books are great though.

Speaking of cars, I've got a 1978 Dodge Caravan with only 250,000 miles on it...