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San Francisco, 2:31 AM
Fri Nov 27
13 posts in the last 24 hours

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  • posts about #nickharkaway more →

    Paul Auster Finally Getting Recognition As A Science Fiction Author?

    Novels That Put The Fun Back Into The Post-Apocalypse

    A Post-Apocalyptic Comedy Features Ninjas Fighting Mimes

    Should Ninjas Mingle with Mermaids on the Battlefield?
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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of TrueCrime TrueCrime
    02/16/09

    In reply to Paul Auster Finally Getting Recognition As A Science Fiction Author?
    Depends on the ever-fluctuating definition of Science Fiction, I guess. Wasn't the Civil War in Man in the Dark just a framing device, one of his story within two other story things?


    I could see In the Country of Last Things, maybe Mr. Vertigo as Sci Fi, but it's a stretch.

     Reply
    TrueCrime was starred TrueCrime was unstarred
    Image of lightninglouie lightninglouie
    02/16/09

    In reply to Paul Auster Finally Getting Recognition As A Science Fiction Author?
    I'm sure Auster will be thrilled by the news.
     Reply
    lightninglouie was starred lightninglouie was unstarred
    Image of Moff Moff
    02/16/09

    In reply to Paul Auster Finally Getting Recognition As A Science Fiction Author?
    Could be ausome. Or could be auful.
     Reply
    Moff was starred Moff was unstarred
    Image of Grey_Area Grey_Area
    02/16/09

    @Moff: It's aubvious you get auf by making terrible puns.
     Reply
    Grey_Area was starred Grey_Area was unstarred
    Image of Nudemanatee Nudemanatee
    12/11/08

    In reply to Novels That Put The Fun Back Into The Post-Apocalypse
    Well, I recently read "Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse," and I found it wildly entertaining. A great read, and a humurous look at the horrible world of I-75 after the apocalypse. Frankly, I'm disappointed it isn't mentioned here, unless iO9 is planning a major 7 day series of posts just to laud this work of Victor Gischler. Of course, others might find it crap.
     Reply
    Nudemanatee was starred Nudemanatee was unstarred
    Image of Charlie Jane Anders Charlie Jane Anders
    12/11/08

    @Nudemanatee: @AbramWachter: Hmmm... a shocking oversight to be sure. I missed reading that book (though I had heard of it) and forgot to include it. Thanks for mentioning it though!
     Reply
    Charlie Jane Anders was starred Charlie Jane Anders was unstarred
    Image of Pope John Peeps II Pope John Peeps II
    12/10/08

    In reply to Novels That Put The Fun Back Into The Post-Apocalypse
    1) A new literary sub-genre is being born today, while you nap at your desk.


    2) To be sure, there have been funny books about the apocalypse forever.


    Just thought I'd point that out. In grad school, you'd get the red pen, and a couple of red pen exclamation points.

     Reply
    Pope John Peeps II was starred Pope John Peeps II was unstarred
    Image of Charlie Jane Anders Charlie Jane Anders
    12/11/08

    @Pope John Peeps II: Nope, the "To be sure" graf is a time-honored journalistic escape clause. It means "yes, there is evidence against the point I'm making here. I will now list it, and then go on to ignore it for the rest of the article."


    In any case, say there were two funny post-apocalyptic books in the past decade. And now there are two at the same time, and they're both getting a lot of buzz. Doesn't that seem like it's more of a subgenre now, and less a collection of flukes?

     Reply
    Charlie Jane Anders was starred Charlie Jane Anders was unstarred
    Image of Pope John Peeps II Pope John Peeps II
    12/11/08

    @Charlie Jane Anders: "Journalistic escape clauses" are one of the reasons journalists don't make great essayists. It just sounds like your hedging a bad bet, and trying to cover all your angles without making an opinion.


    If a couple of books of the same theme existed before, it seems like the genre existed before, regardless of the frequency of the occurrence.

     Reply
    Pope John Peeps II was starred Pope John Peeps II was unstarred
    Image of Charlie Jane Anders Charlie Jane Anders
    12/11/08

    @Pope John Peeps II: actually, the "to be sure" paragraph is a staple of essayists as well, I think. In any case, I'm sticking to my guns. Two books in a decade don't make something a genre, but when you start seeing more of them sprout up at the same time, it looks more like one.
     Reply
    Charlie Jane Anders was starred Charlie Jane Anders was unstarred
    Image of phoghat phoghat
    12/10/08

    In reply to Novels That Put The Fun Back Into The Post-Apocalypse
    Rogues will survive because they're better equipped to.
     Reply
    phoghat was starred phoghat was unstarred
    Image of Rasselas Rasselas
    12/10/08

    @phoghat: Unfotunately, I suspect that an examination of history would teach us that the most numerous survivors of any apocalypse are conformists, bullies and sneaks.
     Reply
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    Image of tetracycloide tetracycloide
    12/11/08

    @Rasselas: that's certainly what fallout taught me
     Reply
    tetracycloide was starred tetracycloide was unstarred
    Image of Dormouse: Corporate Tool Dormouse: Corporate Tool
    12/10/08

    In reply to Novels That Put The Fun Back Into The Post-Apocalypse
    Is Liberation good?


    I need shit to read over Christmas break.

     Reply
    Dormouse: Corporate Tool was starred Dormouse: Corporate Tool was unstarred
    Image of Charlie Jane Anders Charlie Jane Anders
    12/10/08

    @Dormouse II: The Wrath of Gryphon: I liked it a lot... with one or two minor reservations. You can read my review here: [io9.com]
     Reply
    Charlie Jane Anders was starred Charlie Jane Anders was unstarred
    Image of Grey_Area Grey_Area
    12/10/08

    @Charlie Jane Anders: I generally approve of Charlie's taste in books but I couldn't stand it. It does have a few fine qualities but the long rambling druggie slam poetry sequences really got on my nerves. And I usually like that gonzo Pynchonesque $h!t.


    Re-reading Jay Lake's Trial of Flowers at the moment and looking forward to the sequel coming out next week. Super-weird "Urban Fantasy" with creepy mystics, decadent fops, and SEX DWARVES.

    All a matter of personal taste, of course.


    And now my work here is done, Drunken Book Reviewer Awaaayy!

     Reply
    Grey_Area was starred Grey_Area was unstarred
    Image of Dormouse: Corporate Tool Dormouse: Corporate Tool
    12/10/08

    @Charlie Jane Anders:


    Oh yeah, I forgot about that review. I guess I'll give it a try.


    Is it the fun kind of satire, or the depressing kind? The cover and subtitle look fun, but the slavery shit sounds depressing.

     Reply
    Dormouse: Corporate Tool was starred Dormouse: Corporate Tool was unstarred
    Image of Charlie Jane Anders Charlie Jane Anders
    12/10/08

    @Dormouse II: The Wrath of Gryphon: I'd say it's mostly fun, but with a depressing undertone... there's a decent amount of assassin duels and zany set pieces. It really is true that some of the long passages where there's a party and somebody plays blues music and everybody dances are crying out to be skimmed. You get the feeling Slattery really likes parties.
     Reply
    Charlie Jane Anders was starred Charlie Jane Anders was unstarred
    Image of PeterFloyd PeterFloyd
    12/10/08

    In reply to Novels That Put The Fun Back Into The Post-Apocalypse
    You might also take a look at The Apocalypse Reader, an anthology of new and selected short fiction about the end of the world, which I edited, and which came out last year from Thunder's Mouth. There are a number of stories that fit in with the trend you're describing. A story called "Fraise Menthe et Poivre 1979" by a guy named Jared Hohl, is the best example of what you're talking about, but also check out Shelley Jackson's "The Hook" and Brian Evenson's "An Accounting." Plus, the rest of the book isn't bad either. Sorry to be such a commercial, but I just think/hope you might get a kick out of it.
     Reply
    PeterFloyd was starred PeterFloyd was unstarred
    Image of Charlie Jane Anders Charlie Jane Anders
    12/11/08

    @PeterFloyd: I will definitely go track that down. It sounds great!
     Reply
    Charlie Jane Anders was starred Charlie Jane Anders was unstarred
    Image of ShubhraKnuks ShubhraKnuks
    12/02/08

    In reply to A Post-Apocalyptic Comedy Features Ninjas Fighting Mimes
    I loves me my science fiction, but I put this one down after getting a third of the way in. I think Anathem had come out and I was lured away. Haven't felt inclined to go back, must say.
     Reply
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    Image of Charlie Jane Anders Charlie Jane Anders
    12/02/08

    @ShubhraKnuks: It gets better. I almost put it down after the first 1/3 of the book as well, but it picks up steam. And you really can skim past some of his not-quite-funny digressions.
     Reply
    Charlie Jane Anders was starred Charlie Jane Anders was unstarred
    Image of BrookeHolodyne BrookeHolodyne
    12/02/08

    In reply to A Post-Apocalyptic Comedy Features Ninjas Fighting Mimes
    So - from your first paragraph I have bought the book because it sounds intriguing. But I didn't read the "review" because you said there are spoilers in it.

    Surely if you are "reviewing" the book you should avoid spoilers - otherwise you are "discussing" the book, which is perfectly valid but not how this is labelled. Perhaps adding a line about what you thought about the book in the first paragraph might have helped (I went and read a few other actual non-spoilery reviews to see if it was worth buying).
     Reply
    BrookeHolodyne was starred BrookeHolodyne was unstarred
    Image of Charlie Jane Anders Charlie Jane Anders
    12/02/08

    @BrookeHolodyne: Sorry, in my world reviews almost always have spoilers. I didn't give away the major plot twist of the book, but it's hard to discuss what the book's about without getting into specifics. I've written book reviews for the SF Chronicle, Publisher's Weekly and various other places, and the only difference there was that we didn't have to include a spoiler warning.
     Reply
    Charlie Jane Anders was starred Charlie Jane Anders was unstarred
    Image of jackdavinci jackdavinci
    12/01/08

    In reply to A Post-Apocalyptic Comedy Features Ninjas Fighting Mimes
    no link?
     Reply
    jackdavinci was starred jackdavinci was unstarred
    Image of Charlie Jane Anders Charlie Jane Anders
    12/01/08

    @jackdavinci: [www.amazon.com]
     Reply
    Charlie Jane Anders was starred Charlie Jane Anders was unstarred
    Image of Pope John Peeps II Pope John Peeps II
    12/01/08

    In reply to A Post-Apocalyptic Comedy Features Ninjas Fighting Mimes
    Isn't "almost pure genius" just "less than genius"? Which is to say, not really genius at all?
     Reply
    Pope John Peeps II was starred Pope John Peeps II was unstarred
    Image of jaylake jaylake
    12/01/08

    In reply to A Post-Apocalyptic Comedy Features Ninjas Fighting Mimes
    Charlie, I thought it was an awesome book. Also, have you checked out Stephen Hunt's _Court of the Air_?
     Reply
    jaylake was starred jaylake was unstarred
    Image of Charlie Jane Anders Charlie Jane Anders
    12/01/08

    @jaylake: No, not yet... been hearing good things about it though.
     Reply
    Charlie Jane Anders was starred Charlie Jane Anders was unstarred
    Image of SybaRat SybaRat
    12/01/08

    In reply to A Post-Apocalyptic Comedy Features Ninjas Fighting Mimes
    Sure, I'll take a stab. The massive twist two-thirds of the way through is that the un-named narrator IS his friend, Gonzo Lubitsch. And the Fight Club they created is starting to get a little nutty.
     Reply
    SybaRat was starred SybaRat was unstarred
    Image of Charlie Jane Anders Charlie Jane Anders
    12/01/08

    @SybaRat: Hmmm... Well, sort of.
     Reply
    Charlie Jane Anders was starred Charlie Jane Anders was unstarred
    Image of Plague Plague
    12/01/08

    In reply to A Post-Apocalyptic Comedy Features Ninjas Fighting Mimes
    As long as Ninjas flip out, it's all good.
     Reply
    Plague was starred Plague was unstarred
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