James P Blaylock

[AE35Unit]

Anyone read his books? The only one I have read is Land of Dreams which I loved,one of the few fantasy books I enjoyed! Very memorable and supposedly compares with Bradbury's Something Wicked this Way Comes. But has he done any SF?

 

[Connavar]

I only know him as fantasy writer. His most famous books seem to be steampunk,science fantasy. I saw a book of his called The Elfin Ship and seem to be set in another world but then the Philip K Dick cover blurb says its a magical world,magicly presented.

I think his sf is very soft,fantasy like. He has a short story in The Years Best SF 20 years special.

 

[AE35Unit]

Yes I've heard of that Elfin Ship now you mention it! BTW Conn,i love the hat in your avatar!

 

[Connavar]

Yes I've heard of that Elfin Ship now you mention it! BTW Conn,i love the hat in your avatar!

The hat ? You do know its Robert.E Howard himself

I have it as respect for one of my literary heroes. You might have heard about Conan,Solomon Kane and co

 

[AE35Unit]

The hat ? You do know its Robert.E Howard himself

I have it as respect for one of my literary heroes. You might have heard about Conan,Solomon Kane and co

Yea I know,you've used it before. I just want one of those hats tho maybe with a narrower ribbon.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Blaylock's best work is his contemporary fantasy (a sub-genre I usually don't care for, but like very much when he's writing it). He can take something familiar and look at it from a slightly different angle and suddenly you see mystery and hints of magic in the mundane world.

If you liked Land of Dreams, you'll probably enjoy The Last Coin and The Paper Grail.

 

[AE35Unit]

You know I'm sure I tried to read The Last Coin a few years ago but couldn't get into it. May have been me tho as I have phases when I can't get into a book.

 

[GOLLUM]

The hat ? You do know its Robert.E Howard himself

I have it as respect for one of my literary heroes. You might have heard about Conan,Solomon Kane and co

UMMM......No. Please elaborate....

I've got a print of that picture Conn. Very cool.......

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

May have been me tho as I have phases when I can't get into a book.

That happens to me, too. Sometimes it's just the wrong book at the wrong time; then I'll pick it up later and enjoy it so much I can hardly believe that it's the same book.

 

[GOLLUM]

Land Of Dreams is the only Blaylock I have to date and I did quite enjoy that. I may look at purchasing Last Coin but beyond that probably nothing more.

 

[AE35Unit]

I see he's done some steam punk stuff that looks quite good

 

[Connavar]

Blaylock's best work is his contemporary fantasy (a sub-genre I usually don't care for, but like very much when he's writing it). He can take something familiar and look at it from a slightly different angle and suddenly you see mystery and hints of magic in the mundane world.

If you liked Land of Dreams, you'll probably enjoy The Last Coin and The Paper Grail.

When you talk about his best works do you include Humonculus,other books in the same series and The Digging Leviathan ?

Those books seem get most critical acclaim,Philip K Dick Award,fan appreciation. I thought about reading one of those books as my first read of him.

 

[AE35Unit]

When you talk about his best works do you include Humonculus,other books in the same series and The Digging Leviathan ?

Those books seem get most critical acclaim,Philip K Dick Award,fan appreciation. I thought about reading one of those books as my first read of him.

I looked up those two books,they sound interesting. Neil Gaiman even praises him too.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

When you talk about his best works do you include Humonculus,other books in the same series and The Digging Leviathan ?

Those books seem get most critical acclaim,Philip K Dick Award,fan appreciation. I thought about reading one of those books as my first read of him.

In my own opinion, these books do not rise to the level of his contemporary fiction. (And yet as a general rule I much prefer steampunk.)

Perhaps this is why: Blaylock can write about places I know and things that are quite familiar to me, places and things that in my mind are distinctly unmagical, and he makes them fantastical. It's altogether likely that these books may not have the same effect on people who are not in a position when reading them to see their own personal world come alive with wonder.

 

[Connavar]

In my own opinion, these books do not rise to the level of his contemporary fiction. (And yet as a general rule I much prefer steampunk.)

Perhaps this is why: Blaylock can write about places I know and things that are quite familiar to me, places and things that in my mind are distinctly unmagical, and he makes them fantastical. It's altogether likely that these books may not have the same effect on people who are not in a position when reading them to see their own personal world come alive with wonder.

Since the library dont have any of his novels and just a short story collection of his i was thinking about buying one of his most famous works just to be on the safe side. Usually i always read library book of an author i havent read.

Which would you say are his strongest of contemporary works ? Doesnt matter which type of his books i read. Im just looking to find out if his writing is to my taste. Like Tim Powers im looking for a fantasy writer in him who has his own style and his own type of stories.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Powers and Blaylock often collaborate on short fiction, and although their styles are different, I would say that their influences are much the same.

I think of all his books, The Paper Grail impressed me the most, so you might want to start there.

 

[Connavar]

Powers and Blaylock often collaborate on short fiction, and although their styles are different, I would say that their influences are much the same.

I think of all his books, The Paper Grail impressed me the most, so you might want to start there.

Thats why im eager to try him. Powers is one of my biggest favs. He mentions Blaylock often,their influences and so on.

 

[Toby Frost]

I've read Homunculus and The Digging Leviathan. I enjoyed the first immensely, although I can see it had flaws. It was a fast-moving, light story aware of its own silliness and full of daft, ingenious ideas. The Digging Leviathan I found less immediately likeable, but still quite enjoyable. It seemed more downright surreal, and made me think of magical realism a bit. But still worth a look.

 

[antiloquax]

Only recently heard of Blaylock. I'm reading "The Anubis Gates" and learned that he and Powers both write about the character William Ashbless. I have got hold of a copy of "The Elfin Ship" and I have heard good things about "The Digging Leviathan".
Any other thoughts on his books would be appreciated ...
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[williamjm]

Only recently heard of Blaylock. I'm reading "The Anubis Gates" and learned that he and Powers both write about the character William Ashbless. I have got hold of a copy of "The Elfin Ship" and I have heard good things about "The Digging Leviathan".
Any other thoughts on his books would be appreciated ...

I've read Homunculus, Lord Kelvin's Machine and The Last Coin out of his books, I do intend to read more sometime. They were all entertaining reads, I think The Last Coin was the best. He does have a lot of similarities to Powers, although he tends to be more whimsical (at least in the books I've read).