Going from one end of the fantasy spectrum to the other!Quoting kuehnepips (view post)
Going from one end of the fantasy spectrum to the other!
I accidentally forgot to bring Jen's copy of "The Sun Also Rises" home with me, so I am thinking I will start reading "The Last Dragon" today.
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
That was your subconscious telling you to read something better.
Ernest Hemingway's high-flying wuxia classic "Bride With Dragon Fists".
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
Dark Delicacies didn't have John Dies at the End, but they're gonna put a copy on hold for me when it ships to them, and, in the meantime, they had a collection of Clark Ashton Smith for $10. Looking forward to that, although I should finish The King in Yellow first.
Really enjoying "Last Dragon".
Beautiful prose.
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
And having a problem with it: After some 80 pages into it, I realized I'll have to re-read book eleven to remember who-is-who and what's going on. Yes, it's been years and I'm old.
Read some Ligotti instead: My Work is Not Yet Done and the first three stories of Teatro Grottesco.
These are so good.
I find that I am enjoying "Last Dragon" much more as an exercise in style than I am a narrative.
Because frankly I'm finding it quite hard to follow each time line.
It jumps back and forth so frequently and with no actual declaration of what point in time each piece is following.
Just when I felt I was starting to understand approximately when the sections featuring Seth were taking place, now he's in another one of the time lines too.
Same thing happened with the character of Fest.
I'm almost feeling like - just 75 pages in - I'm going to have to go right back to the beginning and re-read everything, this time writing down notes on each time period so I can go back and remember just where (or rather, when) I am.
But I really can't say enough about McDermott's style. He has an incredible command of the language. His descriptions are succinct yet vivid, and I feel like I can see and feel and smell the world of the book yet he has not at any time described it at length.
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
Yeah - don't try to understand it. Just go with it. Remember, the story is being told by a woman who is dying. It's more about the style and how the style is used to convey the fickle nature of her memory. It's not a "story" as much as it is an exercise in atmosphere and mood. To try to put everything in order to "get it" would really do the book a great disservice.
Like I said in my review, reading this book is like watching a movie while falling in and out of sleep - your mind picks up on certain things that might make sense, but for the most part the entire experience is like a fever dream during which you become enveloped in a different world.
Let it go!
Yes I definitely get that. Hell, the opening sentence of the book practically tells you "these are my memories, and they're scattered and unreliable at best".
I will take your advice, though, and just forget about trying to make any narrative sense out of it all.
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
There's a lot of stuff that I don't understand about the narrative. I think it's a lot like Mind Game, or 2001, or Inland Empire in that future readings will reveal more things, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will become better; that first experience of being totally overwhelmed by a new voice is really something special.
Has anyone read Perdido Street Station by China Miéville? Should I read it?
I started it a few years ago, but couldn't get into it. I know people who swear by it.
It sounds kind of awesome. I think I'll give it a go.
I've only read The Scar and my 17 year old self loved it... Always wanted to read others by him but other things happened.
I'm slowly but surely making my way through "Last Dragon".
I'm finding his style significantly more interesting than much of the story or characters.
Maybe that's kind of the point.
It really does seem like more of an exercise in style than anything else.
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
The Light Ages - Ian R. MacLeod
Not recommended.
I read Kraken recently and liked it a lot. Might read this too, if I find it in my library.
The Heroes - Joe Abercrombie
I fucking love this guy.
New Norman Patridge book?
Yes please.
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
It's a very short collection of Halloween themed stories, and an essay about growing up while the Zodiac killer was doin' his thing. One of the stories is related to Dark Harvest. I think there are copies still available. The one I got is of 1500 signed copies.
Yeah, it's available on Amazon.ca, but it's $30.
Too much for me at the moment.
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
So I've chosen Johnny Halloween to read.
The first story, the title story, is OK. It's a small and simple tale with a neat character twist.
The second story, "Satan's Army," however, is awesome. No. Make that, incredibly awesome. So freakin' sinister! Oh man, does it ever end with a wicked punch. Loved it.
Those sound really cool, D. I'll have to check them out at some point.
I could see "Dark Harvest" being an annual read around Halloween time. I've read it two years in a row and I think I'll continue to do so.
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
Posting Permissions
forum
Reply With Quote
