richard kadrey

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The New Noir Fantasy Shows Magical Cities In Decay
L.A. Is A Magical Cesspit, And Sandman Slim Is Its New Champion
Who Won Comic Con's Buzz Wars? Our 10 Picks
Cthulhu In Love: The Fetish Art Of Richard Kadrey [NSFW]

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Brdf
09/18/09

In reply to The New Noir Fantasy Shows Magical Cities In Decay
So is it worth sticking with The Steel Remains then? I've read a few of Morgan's other books and enjoyed them, but kept finding myself unmotivated to pick up The Steel Remains again. I think it was the interminable sections dealing with the third (heterosexual) character and his utterly dull sex with his young girlfriend that bored me most. But even the other threads failed to intrigue me very much; the good guys too good (despite the veneer of anti-hero), the bad guys too bad, maybe. But does the plot pick up in the second half and make it worthwhile?
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The Curse of Millhaven
09/19/09

@Brdf: I'd stick. In fact, I think that there is only one such scene with that character. that said, I always find Morgan's sex scenes to be interminable.
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BrighamIke
09/18/09

In reply to The New Noir Fantasy Shows Magical Cities In Decay
Arthur Cover here. Years ago (1982) my friend J. Michael Reaves wrote a novel called Darkworld Detective, about a hero/detective named Kamus of Khadizar. In fact, John Shirley even wrote a sequel. Naturally Michael's book was a mash-up between noir and Leiberesque fantasy. The existential connection between noir and our hero's name should be obvious.
Then there's Glen Cook's long running series, which I believe began around the same time. So like most new trends, this one has roots that go back a long way, roots that some of the authors whose work is included in your discussion probably aren't even aware of.
Noir isn't a genre so much as it is a feeling, a philosophy, contained within a story with melodramatic elements. The movie Odd Man Out has an IRA sponsored bank robbery in it, but it's really about a dying man trying to find a place to die in an unsympathetic world. You can't get bleaker or more noirish than that.
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Doctor Who?
09/18/09

In reply to The New Noir Fantasy Shows Magical Cities In Decay
At least while reading Carey's Felix Castor books, I was continually reminded of Butcher's Harry Dresden books. They're not that different in terms of tone. Your mileage may vary, though.
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ClaraSketch
09/18/09

In reply to The New Noir Fantasy Shows Magical Cities In Decay
"Inter urinas et faeces nascimur," is a French saying? Er, St. Augustine was not only speaking in Latin, but was from modern-day Algeria. Unless he's a hard-right Pied Noir, I think Kadrey is a bit confused on geography there.
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Rasselas
09/18/09

In reply to The New Noir Fantasy Shows Magical Cities In Decay
The classics of fantasy and urban mystery share roots in the First World War (Tolkien, Lewis, the screen detective's iconic trench coat; Paul Fussell's The Great War and Modern Memory is a terrific book about WWI literature), while the common experience of the books listed seems to be eight years of George W. Bush as Uncool Suburban Dad.
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Pope John Peeps II
09/18/09

@Rasselas: Actually that's not exactly correct. Noir has roots in post-first world war angst and uncertainty. Noir generally fades a little bit when the great issues of society are galvanizing. It seems a pretty good fit for the angst of today.
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Edited by Pope John Peeps II at 09/18/09 1:49 PM Pope John Peeps II was starred

Rasselas
09/18/09

@Pope John Peeps II: Noir has its roots definitively in post-first world war angst and uncertainty.

Which I think makes some of these works a bit decadent, because, e.g., the protagonists and author of The Steel Remains suffer from a surfeit of certainties, and bait and bully secondary characters and the reader, respectively, with them recurrently.
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Pope John Peeps II
09/18/09

@Rasselas: Well, I don't know that book much. But I'd guess that given the climate of our world today, it maybe makes a book more appealing to have heroes be slightly more certain, and the world in decay, rather than people in decay simply thrust together in an adventure? Eh. I don't know. I guess it makes sense to someone, since it's gotten such good reviews. I'll have to read it.
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Rasselas
09/18/09

@Pope John Peeps II: I think I have my copy away, or I'd offer to send it to you. I liked Morgan's SF urbanized worlds more than his F one, even though everyone likes knights who say "fuck."
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The Curse of Millhaven
09/18/09

@Rasselas: I didn't see quite as much certainty as you did. The main character, Ringil, seems particularly divided between the horrors that his barbaric society has inflicted upon him for being gay and his desire to protect it. In fact, I am not at all sure that he does care to protect it. I think he might just really like to kill things, and directs that energy as appropriately as he can. Several characters definitely suffer from the kind of postwar issues that are hallmarks of noir.
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Edited by The Curse of Millhaven at 09/18/09 4:08 PM

The Curse of Millhaven
09/18/09

@The Curse of Millhaven: I am going to throw in another thing that The Steel Remains had going for it: Morgan makes the magic really plausible. I don't think that it is much of a spoiler to say that the "sorcerous" villains so far seem to be using the same sort of no-tools-needed technology that the Incanters from Neal Stephenson's Anathem employ.
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MargaretMoony
08/26/09

In reply to L.A. Is A Magical Cesspit, And Sandman Slim Is Its New Champion
I was going to turn up my nose to this, but how can I resist "L.A. is what happens when a bunch of Lovecraftian elder gods and porn starlets spend a weekend locked up in the Chateau Marmont snorting lines of crank off Jim Morrison's bones. If the Viagra and illegal Traci Lords videos don't get you going, then the Japanese tentacle porn will..."

HOW CAN I?
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bookling
08/26/09

In reply to L.A. Is A Magical Cesspit, And Sandman Slim Is Its New Champion
I just read this book, and it is indeed awesome. I definitely recommend it.
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Eldritch
08/26/09

In reply to L.A. Is A Magical Cesspit, And Sandman Slim Is Its New Champion
This came into my bookstore a few weeks ago and I keep wanting to get it, except that it is a TINY hardcover and still the full hardcover price. No idea why, but I'm not gonna shell out $20 for a hardcover the size of a mass market paperback. Maybe when it's out in paperback I'll try it.
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William Mercado
08/26/09

In reply to L.A. Is A Magical Cesspit, And Sandman Slim Is Its New Champion
Just finished it last week

It's a good read, if you've been around the block gritty fantasy wise there's nothing new. If you're a fan of Gaiman, Westlake and Tarrantino this is recommened.
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Batmanuel
08/26/09

In reply to L.A. Is A Magical Cesspit, And Sandman Slim Is Its New Champion
Didn't Desolation Jones have a similar premise, except LA was a dumping ground for retired secret government agents?
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Grey_Area
08/26/09

@Batmanuel: Only in the sense that the protagonist comes back to take revenge on the people that screwed him over. And that plot has been done before as well. At least twice.
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GershamBabbit
07/28/09

In reply to Who Won Comic Con's Buzz Wars? Our 10 Picks
Thanks for the nod to Stargate Universe. It is going to be a great new ride. October 2, 2009. Mark it on your calendars.
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Michael Ferrante
07/28/09

In reply to Who Won Comic Con's Buzz Wars? Our 10 Picks
Kadrey's Sandman Slim should be out now.
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Lampbane
07/28/09

In reply to Who Won Comic Con's Buzz Wars? Our 10 Picks
I think Marvel got some good buzz too, between Marvelman and the Marvel Anime line. Especially after that Iron Man test animation. Whee.
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BadUncle
07/28/09

In reply to Who Won Comic Con's Buzz Wars? Our 10 Picks
Right fucking on, Kadrey!
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juustuunder
07/28/09

In reply to Who Won Comic Con's Buzz Wars? Our 10 Picks
I love that Felicia Day is cool now but still remains the nerdiest nerd in Nerdtown.
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