"More Than Human" is bloody masterful, IMO.
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"More Than Human" is bloody masterful, IMO.
The Moon Pool, by A. Merritt
The Moon Pool is a classic adventure story. One might say it is cliche, if one didn't know that it was Merritt who helped to invent everything that we now consider cliche in these kinds of stories. There are secret worlds to explore, lost races to meet, and strange, wondrous, and dangerous sites to behold.
It does tend to go on for a little too long, and parts of it could definitely be trimmed. It feels as though it was written in chunks, as some chapter-groupings are exciting and feel necessary, while other chapter-groupings are somewhat dull and meandering.
However, the good out-does the bad, and Merritt delivers an incredibly tale. I'd love to see a film made of this, perhaps even an animated film; the world in which the characters explore is brimming with imaginative locales and wild creations.
My over-all rating my possibly be closer to 3.5 than 4 out of 5, but there are definitely moments of excellence, and so I'm averaging it out.
Started this morning...
http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1298111699l/750532.jpg
So good!
The Circus of Dr. Lao....wow! What a discovery! Cannot believe I stumbled upon Charles G. Finney and Wellman in the same year; the literary gods are definitely smiling upon me.
Dr. Lao is one of the most bizarre and strange things I've ever read, and it is so well written. For the life of me I can't figure out why Finney isn't more popular now; once again I discover a new favorite author who's works are sadly OOP and somewhat hard to find.
The book doesn't really have a plot. It's about a circus that comes rolling into a small Arizona town (I think most of Finney's books take place in a fictional Arizona, and are more like weird westerns than anything else). The circus is unlike anything the town folks have ever seen.
The first 20 or so pages focus on the circus parading around the town and introduces the reader to the main characters. Then the remaining pages detail an encounter each of the characters has with Dr. Lao or one of the many sideshow freaks like a gorgon, Apollonius the magician, the hound of the hedges, a satyr, a werewolf, etc.
Written in the early 1930s, I imagine the book was considered extremely risque; there is open talk about deviant sex, and lots of "hells" and "goddamns." It also deals with xenophobia and fear of the other; Finney was way ahead of the game.
I'm not done with the book (about 1/4 left to go) but I know it will end up being one of the very best books I'll read this year, and I cannot wait to read more from Finney.
The Circus of Dr. Lao, by Charles G. Finney
The Circus of Dr. Lao is a haunting, bizarre and enigmatic literary experience completely unlike anything I've ever read. I loved every single page of this strange tale, but I'll be damned if I know what it's all about.
Finney works wonders with words, and crafts a story revolving around a weird little traveling circus arriving in the small, po-dunk Arizona town of Abalone. Abalone is populated by all manner of people, and as the circus parades around the town before properly opening, Finney details the population's perception of the strange creatures on display. There is the thing that is either a man or a bear, a golden ass, a satyr, an sea-serpent, a green leaf-colored dog, and all kinds of seemingly-real monsters.
But they can't be real. Can they? They must be fakes. Right?
There are many, many layers to The Circus of Dr. Lao, and as each is peeled away Finney simply introduces more oddities and questions. The story itself deals with sexual deviancy, occult worship, the power of suggestion, the fear of otherness, and the self-discovery of truth, and sometimes we don't like what we learn.
And what's more, the weirdest part of the book is found in the appendix (coming right after one of the most incredibly befuddling endings I've ever experienced), entitled: The Catalogue (an explanation of the obvious which must be read to be appreciated). In this mysterious addendum, Finney describes every character that appears in the book, and many that don't, sub-divided into sections including sex and archetype, animal and deity and so one.
This novel has haunted me for a week, and I doubt it will leave the corners of mind any time soon. It is, indeed, like many have said, a masterpiece of fantasy. It is rare to read something truly different and unique, but Finney's The Circus of Dr. Lao is such a thing, and it is simply a treasure to be cherished.
I watched the movie a year or two back, and I wasn't too taken with its bizarre mood shifts and Oriental mysticism, although the concept itself seemed interesting. The book sounds deeper and more confident.
The movie has very, very little to do with the book. It shares the basic premise and the title.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dead & Messed Up
However, I also really like the film.
I'd say the film is OK to good, while the book is an absolute masterpiece.
Picked up some cool Horror/Fantasy anthologies yesterday. All on sale. Featuring stories from Wellman, Lansdale, Poe, Le Fanu, Lovecraft, Smith, Aickman, etc.
Phantastic Book of Ghost Stories - ed. Richard Dalby
100 Hair-Raising Little Horror Stories - ed. Saeeantonio & Greenberg
The Vampire Archive - ed. Otto Penzler
The Mammoth Book of Extreme Fantasy - ed. Mike Ashley
Vampires and Other Horrors - Chancellor Press
The American Fantasy Tradition - ed. Brian M. Thomsen
Just finished Dan Simmons' "Song of Kali", about a journalist's descent into personal (and physical) hell during a few days in Calcutta.
It's a terrific little novel. The star is Simmons' evocative description of the city itself, with its chaotic sounds, smells, sights, pervasive poverty and degradation, violence. But what stuck with me was the central premise, that cities like Calcutta are like black holes of misery and violence -- of evil -- that rend the very fabric of space and time and pull visitors into their orbit in order to spread that evil.
I haven't read any Simmons, but he's been on my radar for a long time.Quote:
Originally Posted by Chac Mool
Really looking forward to starting this this week:
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I like this collection very much. Varied authors, great for quick reading.Quote:
Originally Posted by D_Davis
Yeah, it looks great. Many of these B&N anthologies are excellent; good survey of authors and styles.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dead & Messed Up
Whoa. Sounds neato. I have only read Hyperion and its sequel and both were amazing, the first especially.Quote:
Originally Posted by Chac Mool
Now, this surprises me really.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sven
I was waiting waiting waiting for A Dance with Dragons and now I'm disappointed.
Someone pass me a bottle please.
Started Lonesome Dove this afternoon. Hope I like it; it's a long one.
50 pages into Lonesome Dove, and I can tell I'm going to like this one quite a bit. Right now it's just focusing on introducing the characters, and there are a lot of them. I've enjoyed Lorena's chapter the best, and I hope there her and Gus's relationship continues to be interesting.
The first 90 pages of LD have totally sucked me in. Wish I could sit outside and read it all day long. Things get really good when Deets and Jake show up.
Quote:
Originally Posted by D_Davis
McMurtry, right? I got that one for 50 cents at the library a few years back but never got around to reading it because of its daunting length. I guess I should get around to that.
Yep. It's sooooo good.Quote:
Originally Posted by megladon8
It really takes its time with the characters.
So Lonesome Dove is basically The Lord of the Rings, except rather than a quest to take a ring to a volcano, the quest is to take a heard of cattle to Montana. And so far, I like it more than LOTR.
No. Really. Just no. LD is nothing like LoTR. Seriously, just stop that shit.
Carrie is nicely short by King standards, and if I'm not mistaken it was his first book. Its a bit unnerving that King is so good at writing really creepy, at times rather disturbing, material. The book after all begins with Carrie being pelted with tampons, followed later on by her own mother committing rather stark and brutal child abuse that had me raising my eyebrows. There is something to be said about a novel covering a teenager with growing powers she doesn't even understand, and King wisely builds up the growing storm to come, until it explodes in a rage that is both terrifying and startling. Considering that he started his career with this and then 'Salem's Lot, I'd say he was off to an excellent start early on.
It's actually a lot like it. They are both pulling from and building upon the myths of their countries of origin. Both are stories about assembling a party of characters to take something somewhere to better themselves and their land. LOTR takes it's time with the characters, especially at the beginning; it takes a long time for the quest to begin and for them to leave the shire. LD is similar, in that it is almost 200 pages before the party leaves Lonesome Dove to start its quest. The parties in the two books are assembled, and each of the main characters has his own specialty or "power."Quote:
Originally Posted by Irish
Yes it is. Thanks for the recommendation.Quote:
Originally Posted by D_Davis
Have you ever read Potocki's Manuscript found in Saragossa?