February's Fantastic Folios and Fascinating Fables

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knivesout said:
I'm not sure how well horror and whimsy would go together. Then again, Tim Burton turned Goth into the new twee, so who knows!
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Well some people regard Thomas Disch as a good example of this.

Slightly off-topic: What of Pynchon have you read? I still haven't got around to reading my copy of Gravity's Rainbow and I'm told its a masterpiece.......:(
 
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Damn you're right....can't even spell anymore!

I've read Camp Concentration by Disch and it's not exactly light. That comment is something I read once about him. I haven't really read enough by the author to know what examples may be appropriate here.

So changing topic, have you read Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow for the record?

I'm sorry about the mix up with my posts, perhaps my eventual review of Amir Hamza shall prove worthy recompense, assuming you enjoy a good adventure story?....:eek:
 
I must be on something particularly strong today....I'm starting to see things.....:eek:
 
knivesout said:
Looks like that Amir Hamza book is pretty potent stuff. :)
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Well it certainly appears to have had an "interesting" effect upon me so far today...:p

It's almost 1,000 pages long on the scale of LOTR. It's also comprehensively annotated, which means it is proving to be quite an education in Indo-Persian Islamic culture (it appears to be attributed to all 3) and in particular the Urdu language to boot!...:)
 
knivesout said:
I started Gravity's Rainbow and er...lost my way. My pride demands a rematch but I'm not sure I wouldn't rather read War And Peace instead.
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So you are suggesting it is terribly convoluted, a challenge like Joyce's Ulysses or what exactly?
 
Well, it was just that, a few hundred pages in, and with several hundreds of pages to go, I still had no idea about the plot or much interest in any of the situations or characters at hand. I'll probably try again at some point. Ulysses might be equally mammoth and challenging, but it is much more lyrical and entertaining, in its own unique way, I think.
 
Sounds like a challenge I can't pass up to be truthful , so I may bump it up to the first rung of my TBR pile.

Cheers...
 
When Charlie Huston decides to end the world - you know it’s going to be bleak.
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Ok, I don't know who Charlie Huston is, but the name could be anything--when I read this, I said to myself, "that is a terrific first sentence to something!" Must go ponder....
 
Finished Glen Cook's SHADOWS LINGER and continuing with the series THE WHITE ROSE, can't seem to put this series down, good stuff all the way!
 
Finished John Wyndham's "Chocky" (which was good but not his best) and back for a few more stories from Italo Calvino's "Cosmicomics".
 
Still plodding through "The little black book of stories" by A.S. Byatt. She has a gorgeous writing style, and the descriptions are really nice...but the vocabulary is at times a bit above my understanding of the English language. It's understandable, since a lot of the adjectives are more for the co national rather than the foreigner (don't know if you understand what I'm referring to).
Great book though...even if a bit plodding.
 
About 1/2 way through Ken Bruen's - Priest same awesome Jack Taylor :)
 
Hypnos164 said:
About 1/2 way through Ken Bruen's - Priest same awesome Jack Taylor :)
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Charlie Huston and Ken Bruen in a row you make me so jealous :)

I saw you rate Sleepless highly which was nice because i wondered how it would be compared to his other books.
 
Connavar said:
Charlie Huston and Ken Bruen in a row you make me so jealous :)

I saw you rate Sleepless highly which was nice because i wondered how it would be compared to his other books.
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I read an interview where he said he wanted to write in different viewpoint and tenses - rather than being "the 1st person present" guy all the time.
He creates two really contrasting viewpoint characters - one being far too much the rational "thinker", the other the instinctual survivor - and works the narrative very well between them.
It doesn't have the "immediacy" of the Hank Thompson or Joe Pitt books buy it shows some nice skill and flexibility.
The (bio-)science is plausible and the required SF info-dumps are handled well.
All in all a good effort by a maturing writer imo.
(Some reviewers were put off by the online gaming aspect ... but as my avatar might indicate that didn't bother me much)

murphy said:
Just about finished with Hunter's Moon by David Devereux a very gritty, dark urban fantasy.
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I enjoyed both of the Devereux books a lot - "urban fantasy" that certainly won't ever get shelved in the "paranormal romance" section - well worth a look.
 
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