February's Fantastic Folios and Fascinating Fables

[Montero]

Shortly after I wrote that got an email from Amazon to say they were shipping it 2 days earlier.
So what can I say here, that will make them ship it NOW?

Just have to say it - this is a magic thread.

Today, 6th Feb, Amazon sent an email to say my book has shipped. Now since their previous email said "estimated delivery date 13th Feb" (which was two days earlier than 15th Feb as originally promised), all I have to do now is hope Royal Mail doesn't take seven days to deliver. I could be tempting fate by writing that here.
(Especially good if it could turn up during next week, since I've got days off and can sit and read by the hour.)

 

[Robin Goodfellow]

Reading "A Song of Ice And Fire," Currently on book two and am pissed at myself for not reading them sooner as they are orgasmic.

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

The Shilappadikaram is making for very interesting reading, full of vivid descriptions of life, landscape, legends and beliefs in southern India in the the first century AD. The story itself annoys me though, so far - a young man cheats on his wife, spends all his fortune on his mistress, breaks up with her as the result of a hissy fit, goes crawling back to his wife, who of course welcomes him back as 'a wife should hold no deity higher than her husband' and then decides, since he has disgraced himself and spent all their money, to drag the two of them off to Madurai to start again. I believe they're still using these character stereotypes in contemporary Indian soap operas.

The Walter Pater book is quite delightful and illuminating. About halfway through it now.

 

[GOLLUM]

I have started reading Soldier of the Mist by Gene Wolfe.

The memory loss issue is an old cliche from movies,books that i find uninteresting but im hoping the writing,the world,story make the book a good read.

Since i will be judging if Wolfe is worth reading by this book.

OOPS....maybe you should have picked New Sun or Fifth Head Of Cerberus then..... This is still one of his better works though, so I hope the story, prose etc. keeps you happy.... Still pound for pound my favourite writer in SFF going around today from what I've read, which admittedly for SF is a little lmited to date but soon to be rectified...

 

[Connavar]

OOPS....maybe you should have picked New Sun or Fifth Head Of Cerberus then..... This is still one of his better works though, so I hope the story, prose etc. keeps you happy.... Still pound for pound my favourite writer in SFF going around today from what I've read, which admittedly for SF is a little lmited to date but soon to be rectified...

I have heard too much about New Sun first cycle,its comparison to Dying Earth by Vance makes unfair against Wolfe. I would have too much expectation.

I choosed this book because its more new to me and already i see good prose,interesting world.

Plus in case i like his writing, i rather get his famous series as new book than old,damaged library books.

 

[GOLLUM]

I have heard too much about New Sun first cycle,its comparison to Dying Earth by Vance makes unfair against Wolfe. I would have too much expectation..

Well my personal view is that Wolfe is a superior writer to Vance, which is saying something I know as Vance is certainly excellent but then he is that for most of the writers in the Genre...Waits for iron rod over head.....

Night now....

 

[Connavar]

Well my personal view is that Wolfe is a superior writer to Vance, which is saying something I know as Vance is certainly excellent but then he is that for most of the writers in the Genre...Waits for iron rod over head.....

Night now....

Well now you have forever ruined Wolfe for me

I'm more of the view of that writer who wrote about Vance in New York Times,saying he was a Genre Artist that would be hailed in no-genre circles if he didnt write SFF.

 

[murphy]

Reading "A Song of Ice And Fire," Currently on book two and am pissed at myself for not reading them sooner as they are orgasmic.

Don't worry about it. He hasn't finished the series yet, so you won't have to wait as long for the next book as those of us who started earlier.

 

[Talysia]

Unfortunately, once again I couldn't get into Anne McCaffrey and Margaret Ball's Acorna's Quest so I've put that one down for now. I'm staying with McCaffrey, though, and rereading The Crystal Singer.

 

[j d worthington]

Connavar: I don't know if you've run across it elsewhere, but there is a fair strain of Dunsany's influence in that set by Wolfe, as well (at least in the original set). And yes, it is a very good series of books.

Finished that reread of The Rituals of Infinity -- never among my very favorite Moorcock books, but one I still quite like, nonetheless; even though it is in some ways an alternate version of the themes and ideas in The Blood Red Game, with a dash of Ballard thrown in for good measure....

 

[Fried Egg]

I've only read the first three books of Gene Wolfe's "Book of the new sun" and I haven't read any of Dying Earth at all but from what little I've read by both authors, so far Vance has the edge in my opinion. But like I say, it's early days and opinions might change...

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Vance is a pure storyteller, a gardener of worlds in Clute's memorable phrase, cultivating worlds of the imagination which his readers visit as travellers seeking wonders. Wolfe, while his proclivity for archaic or obscure vocabulary at times might suggest a kinship with Vance, is a more philosophical man, and his aims in writing his novels are often influenced by this. He is also a deeply religious man, and on many levels the New Sun books, at least, are a very subtle Christian allegory.

My two favourite Wolfe books are not really parts of his epic cycles but two standalone novels: Free Live Free, a strange modern-day tale of lives intersecting in mysterious ways, and There Are Doors a tale of love and parallel worlds.

I finished reading the Shilappadikaram. This is one of the central epics of my own people, the Tamil-speaking people of South India. It was an interesting experience, and I found myself enjoying all the detail by the way rather than relishing the central story especially. My review is on my blog, for those who are interested: aaahfooey

 

[GOLLUM]

Yes, that's a good summation of the differences between Vance and Wolfe. Both are superb writers IMO but which one is better or preferred, as has already been noted, probably comes down to a matter of taste.

I agree There Are Doors is one of his best novels along with Peace, New Sun series and Fifth Head Of Cerberus. I confess, although I have the entire Wolfe canon, I'm yet to read Free Live Free; another aim I hope to rectify in 2010.

On your point regarding Vance Conn, I can assure you Gene is looked upon by at least some critics as one of the greatest writers in America today independent of Genre, so perhaps you'll discover an alternate Vance....

Joking aside, I'm going to be interested to view your comments once you have completed this book...

 

[GOLLUM]

Still reading Rodenbach's Bruges-la-Morte and really quite enjoying it so far. It's only a short novel but I've had several interruptions this weekend, so I'll review this along with some other recent reads in the coming days.

 

[Connavar]

Vance is a pure storyteller, a gardener of worlds in Clute's memorable phrase, cultivating worlds of the imagination which his readers visit as travellers seeking wonders. Wolfe, while his proclivity for archaic or obscure vocabulary at times might suggest a kinship with Vance, is a more philosophical man, and his aims in writing his novels are often influenced by this. He is also a deeply religious man, and on many levels the New Sun books, at least, are a very subtle Christian allegory.

My two favourite Wolfe books are not really parts of his epic cycles but two standalone novels: Free Live Free, a strange modern-day tale of lives intersecting in mysterious ways, and There Are Doors a tale of love and parallel worlds.

I finished reading the Shilappadikaram. This is one of the central epics of my own people, the Tamil-speaking people of South India. It was an interesting experience, and I found myself enjoying all the detail by the way rather than relishing the central story especially. My review is on my blog, for those who are interested: aaahfooey

I wouldnt disagree about Vance and gardener of worlds but i think he is mostly in his sf or fantasy about social,human condition stories. Far future,far in to the space or in fantasy world. An elegant,prose stylist version of social sf writers. Sure i admire his writing ability,prose but i like most how his stories is almost always about humans,social structure. Creating human cultures that is so alien to us. Not just copy our real world like many SFF writers do.

Maybe not in Dying Earth type fantasy but in short stories,sf novels like Demon Princes,Blue World,Empyhrio etc

Not comparing to any other writers but how i see Vance of everything i have read so far.

 

[j d worthington]

As something of a change from my usual pattern, I am currently reading an old (July 1974) issue of Whispers, certainly one of the more famous of the semi-pro 'zines to come out of the fantasy and horror fields. It's an interesting experience, this, as I can remember much mentioned in the various departments (about which more in a moment), and the contrast with today both in quality and tone makes it very much like a visit to an alient world....

The fiction here (so far) is somewhat varied; "The Inglorious Rise of the Catsmeat Man" I found to be rather dull -- a sort of modern-day take on parts of The String of Pearls (a.k.a. Sweeney Todd) with a little Oedipus thrown in for good(?) measure; "They Will Not Hush", by James Sallis and David Lunde is less a story than a prose poem or nearly plotless mood-piece, beautifully written but somewhat unsatisfying as a whole (unusual for me to feel that way about a Sallis piece, as I generally like his work quite a bit). And Fritz Leiber's article on Lovecraft's Dunsanian pieces ("The White Ship" in particular, as this issue is a "White Ship" issue) is slighter than most of his work on HPL (e.g., "A Literary Copernicus", "Through Hyperspace with Brown Jenkin"), but still of interest.

But the gem of the issue is a facsimile reprinting of Lovecraft's holograph manuscript of "The White Ship", with his final revisions -- slightly different from any version published up to the period of the magazine's issuance. Parts of the outer edges are a bit difficult to decipher, as they have browned seriously over time and are quite dark, but it is still a treat to see. (And HPL's handwriting here is rather larger and more easily read than was usual by this point in his life; obviously a carefully prepared manuscript.)

There is also a beautiful art folio of works based on that story, including work by Steve Fabian, Frank Utpatel, Vincent Di Fate, Lee Brown Coye (who here shows he could do beauty as well as grotesquerie and horror... perhaps even better), and many others.

As for the departments and that feeling of distance in time (at least)... here's a bit from the "News" section which certainly should make several of the people here groan at the differences:

Centaur Press continues to provide superior SC [soft-cover] books in the realms of heroic fantasy by Howard, Mundy, Friel, and the like. The following titles are still available[...]: Caesar Dies, by Talbot Mundy, $1.25; City of Wonder, by E. Charles Vivian, $1.25; The Moon of Skulls (Solomon Kane), by Robert E. Howard, 60¢ (a bargain!); The Pathless Trail, by Arthur O. Friel, 60¢; The Hand of Kane, by Robert E. Howard, 75¢; The Treasure of Atlantis, by J. Allan Dunn, SC-75¢, HC-$5.00; Solomon Kane, by Robert E. Howard, $1.25; The Wolf in the Garden, by Alfred Hill, 75¢; Tiger River, by Arthur O. Friel, 75¢; and Swordsmen and Supermen, an anthology, 75¢. Please include 25¢ postage for the first two books ordered and 10¢ for each additional title when ordering[....]

 

[dask]

Finished COMPLETE WESTERN BOOK MAGAZINE, April 1938. While all the stories adhere to the same cattle ranch/cow punching formula, they are well-paced, well-told and exciting. I suspect editor Ward Marshall saved the best for last: "When Death Rides Drag" by James P. Olsen. Yeah, I know what you're thinking but it's NOT about that. The title refers to riding behind the cattle drive where the level of dust is most burdensome. This is the grittiest tale of the bunch and really makes you think twice about rustling cattle. (Never know when the urge will strike.) If you get the chance, try some of these old western pulp yarns. They're great.

 

[GOLLUM]

OK just briefly I've completed or am in near completion of 4 books and all are excellent.

The atmospherically repressive and melancholic Gothic novel Nada by post-war Spanish writer Carmen Laforet, the somewhat cerebral, some may say profound and certainly finely lyrical NYRB collection White Walls by Tatyana Tolstaya, Georges Rodenbach's marvellously symbolic, evocative and haunting Bruges-la-Morte with imagery that will stay with you long after the book has been put down, the book that inspired Hitchcock's Vertigo, the best book I've read so far in 2010 and as near as I have come this year to a masterpiece and last but not least Yukinari Kawabata's Palm Of The Hand (distilled plots) collection, a possible candidate for my first story collection masterpiece for 2010 but I'll need to complete that before passing proper judgement...

Fuller reviews will be posted on all 4 of these books by the end of this week for those who are interested in these titles. Suffice to say, I have no hesitation in recommending any one of these books.

2010 has certainly started off well for me and next up is another promising collection, the NYRB edn of My Fantom by Theophile Gautier.....

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Well, I'd like to read all those books!

 

[GOLLUM]

Well, I'd like to read all those books!

Well, I wasn't going to mention this in my review, as I don't know enough about W.G. Sebald but this may be of additional interest to you and other members here. Rodenbach uses 35 half-tone B&W images of Bruges throughout Bruges-la-Morte to great atmospheric effect. The critics I've read all draw immediate and specific comparison to one W.G. Sebald resurrecting the use of mixing fictional text and documentary photography a century later to similar acclaimed effect....

Bruges-la-Morte IMHO is a must-read. More shall be elucidated on in my review.

Night.