5/5, not for this book necessarily but for the entire series. What a saga. Holden and Naomi and Amos vs Laconia and Duerte, humanity surviving Laconia5/5, not for this book necessarily but for the entire series. What a saga. Holden and Naomi and Amos vs Laconia and Duerte, humanity surviving Laconia and the mysterious interstellar aliens, the protomolecule and all that. Such a page-turner...
The Expanse grew into my favorite space opera series, among the very best science fiction of the 21st century, and while the adaptation didn't (yet) show the final three novels I'm glad I got to read the epic conclusion. An amazing journey!...more
Firstly, a disclaimer. I am very much a fan of Grant Morrison who is pretty much my favorite comic book writer. I have always loved their chaotic punkFirstly, a disclaimer. I am very much a fan of Grant Morrison who is pretty much my favorite comic book writer. I have always loved their chaotic punk sentiment, since the 80s proto-Vertigo era of Animal Man and Doom Patrol that deconstructed superheroes in fresh and interesting ways post-Watchmen/Dark Knight Returns (that is, without the lazy grimness of so many contemporaries), all the way to JLA and New X-Men and the high-concept mainstream work of the 2000s written with depth and enthusiasm for the genre, while also experimenting with more literary explorations of the medium published by the aforementioned Vertigo and later Image.
So, suffice to say, I was very intrigued when it was announced that Grant Morrison would be publishing their first prose novel, Luda. And, that does mean I would be reading this with certain preconceived notions and expectations. Perhaps this is unfair, like I should be trying harder to simply read a novel fresh and without any baggage, and that’s enough, but like it or not that’s the context. For me.
The point is, Luda is not a psychedelic science fiction story. Of course I wouldn’t have expected the superhero genre specifically, but even something adjacent along the lines of space opera, or time travel, or spy adventures—no it’s none of that. Rather, Luda is an ambitious novel indeed but somewhat more grounded in a somewhat real-world setting, in the city of Gasglow (get it?), focused on the drag queen scene and the world of musical theatre showbiz.
That’s fair. In fact, Grant Morrison came out as nonbinary in recent years and certainly that makes for a valid inspiration to study such themes, especially for such a cerebral writer. And I have enjoyed reading the occasional queer memoir very much, don’t get me wrong. It’s just, after years and years of reading exciting Grant Morrison graphic novels, it is a bit jarring how different is the novel Luda.
One more thing worth nothing, in the Scots author’s 90s conspiracy fiction opus of The Invisibles there was a trans character called Lord Fanny, a shamanic and anarchic witch who flipped gender roles upside down. This was indeed very ahead of its time. Comparisons for those who are familiar with this work are therefore are unavoidable.
Anyway, with that necessary preamble out of the way, now on to the specifics: Luda is a mentor-protégé story from the point of view of the mentor—drag queen superstar Luci who is the incredibly witty and snarkily vulgar narrator. Luci is an outright celebrity but now in middle age and somewhat over the hill, and the bulk of the “plot” is about the production of a comedic and outrageous pantomime play based on Aladdin. Throughout the novel, the play is rehearsed and the reader gets to see that story unfold. Then, the eponymous and impossibly beautiful Luda shows up and steals the show.
Luci takes this mysterious new superstar under her wing, and they get into some outrageous adventures together involving a grand and haunting sex party, as Luci explains it all. There are endless occult references, referred to as the “Glamour,” with the narration going on and on jumping around from irreverent pop culture to extremely dense treatises on literature and identity and the magickal tradition.
This is all profoundly well written. Too well written. With a modicum of dialogue, the novel is much more about the author’s playing with language than it is about plot or even character. There are so many killer lines, brilliantly clever works of prose in paragraph after paragraph. And it is too much, copious amounts of showing not telling which is unfortunate for a scriptwriter. With every page shouting at you with the most badass turns of phrases you’ve ever come across, in very lengthy paragraphs mind you, there’s no room to breathe and it’s a struggle to maintain that energy.
Check this out, I will open the book to a random spot and there will surely be a perfect example. Let’s try page 136…
The mood was mock-Arthurian. The Questing Best. The Unicorn. The White Hart. Sacred and heraldic beasts cantering through a profane Cumalot. We both knew we were honour-bound to follow the lowing cry all the way to the shadiest of Hades if need be.
See what I mean? I can do this again, totally randomly here’s page 233—
I applied the finishing touches to Luda’s latest makeover, an airbrushed mist of glitter on the perfectly-emphasized letter-opener blade of her left cheekbone. Where previously I’d applied the pink-frosted, lip-glossed doll-sheen of a wide-eyed ingénue on the Bad Ship Lollipop, this time I was serving the seductive, experienced mask of a bloodsucking, eternally young vampire countess with succulent midnight-blue lips. A three-hundred-year-old teenage black widow blinking in stripped-back starlight as I pinned her Louise Brooks copper bob in place.
Or page 292,
When Luda wasn’t here, she might as well be nowhere. Her whole life could be subtracted into a single bag of clothes and shoes, cosmetics and condoms. It was why she borrowed my heels, however reluctantly. She owned nothing.
Like I said, Luda was a quantum event, existing only when she was observed.
It’s a lot. Frankly, there are too many ideas and it overwhelms. How can any one scene stand out, when it’s all trying so hard to stand out?
Anyway, after 400 pages of this with several violent scenes strewn in, I was able to decipher some kind of disturbing mystery surrounding Luda’s origins, and then there’s the shock ending. Although the novel defies classification, the narrative mostly turns out to be a kind of horror. But by that point, after the various revelations and attempts at topping itself which is a feat when everything is gauged at 11, most readers are going to be exhausted.
The nature of this novel, however frantically written, requires a slow reading. Repeat viewings. Like Jocyean studies, with deep dives into the poetic rhythm of the words. There’s tremendous artistry and craft, and for the diligent reader I’m sure it’s very rewarding. I am glad I made it to the end, not just because I’m a Morrison completist but because I got to experience a book unlike anything else I’ve ever read. Yet, I still have to admit it, this was quite a challenge and therefore just not as fun....more
Police procedurals generally aren't my thing, but Irvine Welsh's take on it makes for a good read.
More conventional than most of his books about decePolice procedurals generally aren't my thing, but Irvine Welsh's take on it makes for a good read.
More conventional than most of his books about decedent sex addicts and drug addicts in Scotland, he does use his twisted imagination to come up with some gripping scenarios. Note that it's more a sequel to the Crime TV series than it is the quite different Crime novel.
Ray Lennox may be something of a cliché of the messed-up grim detective protagonist, but for fans of the Welsh-verse it's worth reading. Long Knives is also worth reading as an introduction to these books, because not despite its adherence to the more mainstream mystery genre. So I still recommend.
A fine novella from a writer of my generation (recalling the 2000s), about getting older and trying to keep up with the glory days. As much as the maiA fine novella from a writer of my generation (recalling the 2000s), about getting older and trying to keep up with the glory days. As much as the main character tries to stay fit, there's a big contrast with others who get out of shape and descend into loserdom.
For those who peaked in high school, for sports fans missing the old days, this tight short book expresses those feelings of those of us who aren't even that old realizing that time goes so fast before you know it......more
Just when I thought there was no more Stephenson worth reading, and went back and read this book co-written by Nicole Galland and enjoyed it so much. Just when I thought there was no more Stephenson worth reading, and went back and read this book co-written by Nicole Galland and enjoyed it so much.
The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. is such a hilarious and clever take on historical fiction, with treatises on how magic might really work with regards to the many worlds theory of quantum physics, full of time travel and witches, and lots of government bureaucracy. Been a pleasure to read...more
Springs Behaving Badly defies genres, it's kind of a children's-style comedic book, but it's also very much for MillenniWhat an original short novel.
Springs Behaving Badly defies genres, it's kind of a children's-style comedic book, but it's also very much for Millennials who grew up on 80s and 90s cartoons more than for modern kids.
It's silly, in a good way, as mischievous cartoon characters team up with a precocious child (whose tragic circumstances are almost fairy tale-esque archetype already) and cause havoc. Full of imagination, zany adventures, and there's even a racist villain so that's something of a deeper message.
It reads quickly and feels familiar to anyone of this generation. In fact, if it could be time traveled to 90s kids who would read it while still a child, that's ultimately the perfect audience. Still, it's sure to be entertaining to readers of all ages. ...more
Bret Easton Ellis was, of course, one of the great young American authors of the 80s and every early 90s. However, his 21st century output has been veBret Easton Ellis was, of course, one of the great young American authors of the 80s and every early 90s. However, his 21st century output has been very sparse and honestly he is not the writer he once was.
From the beginning, there have been certain themes that have arisen in Ellis's works: the overlap of privilege and violence. Along with metafictional writing, in which 2005's Lunar Park the protagonist was the author himself (and his breakout Less Than Zero was always considered semi-autobiographical), and we have the formula for his new novel: The Shards.
It's an overwritten tome about his life as an upper-crust teenager in Los Angeles in 1981, full of queer experiences as well as high school drama that unfolded for the aspiring writer as he navigated the adult world for the first time. It was a time at the private school Buckley, when apparently everyone constantly took copious amounts of drugs and had almost no consequences. Parents were basically nonexistent. And the parts about the process writing of writing his first novel are genuinely interesting. Then, after hundreds of pages about him cheating on his girlfriend with men--including with his girlfriend's film producer father, which was rather proto-Me Too--a subplot about a serial killer and a mysterious troubled new student eventually takes over the narrative. By the climax, with much unreliable narration herein, there's so much death and it's a complete bloody and intense horrorshow.
Ellis writes with excellent precision, he's an experienced author in total control of his voice and has always been a master of prose in this sense. He also drags on too much, a common problem with older established writers who don't get edited anymore, and the book did not need to be at that length.
It doesn't have the power of American Psycho, it won't be remembered as an iconic novel. It is a pretty good read for fans of Bret Easton Ellis who have waited a long time to read something new. He writes about what he knows, himself, and his descriptions of Southern California go on for quite a while. When he gets into driving from this road to that road, comparisons to the SNL sketch 'The Californians' are inevitable.
No literary masterpiece. Like it or not, that era is over for Ellis. But I am glad to read his new works and for me as a fan it was worth getting into his world again. And for such a personal, memoir-eque book, one does wonder which parts are true and which are embellished... and we can only hope that the violent murdering sections are but imagination......more
Superheroes are hard to translate into prose. The genre works best in comics, secondly in animation. (and a distant third in film but most of which arSuperheroes are hard to translate into prose. The genre works best in comics, secondly in animation. (and a distant third in film but most of which are actually bad).
This Deadpool novel is a worthy effort, combining the humor of the character with his fourth-wall breaking narration to make something quite entertaining.--and that almost works as an audiobook too. So it does as well as it can, but ultimately I'd rather read a comic or even watch a movie.
Also, should have had more R rated humor. That's what we expect of the character these days. Still, the author is very clever and witty, a whole lot of references therein. All in all a worthy effort, if you're a big Deadpool fan then I guess worth a read....more
Not recommended for everyone, but for fans of Game of Thrones/Song of Ice and Fire then this fictional history tome is an excellent read.
So much storNot recommended for everyone, but for fans of Game of Thrones/Song of Ice and Fire then this fictional history tome is an excellent read.
So much story packed in, no wonder only about a third of it is the inspiration for such an excellent adaption series now: House of Dragon.
I can understand how some people who expected a conventional model may have been disappointed by Fire & Blood, especially those not heavily invested in this world. But for readers who enjoy the immense world-building of R.R. Martin, this is a very satisfying read.
The only thing I can say, relating to the story of the Targaryens and their conquests and civil wars and political battles, is how extremely messed up it all gets. But I shall say no more spoilers than that... ...more