I just finished reading Ilium by Dan Simmons. 592 pages in less than 3 days, and I worked eight hours a day each of those days. Think I liked it much?
This book is the fucking bomb. Dan Simmons is the fucking bomb.
Simmons is a really interesting author. He writes science fiction. He writes mysteries. He writes horror novels. He writes noir thrillers. He writes fantasy. In 1986, he won the World Fantasy Award for his first novel, Song of Kali, beating out The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice and Clive Barker's first novel, The Damnation Game. In 1990, he won the British Fantasy Award and the Bram Stoker Award for his pretty fucking amazing pseudo-vampire novel, Carrion Comfort. That same year, he won the Hugo for his first science fiction novel, Hyperion.
Hyperion was the first book in a series of four novels known as the Hyperion Cantos. And they're some of the best science fiction novels ever written, especially the first two books. When I first read them, they grabbed hold of my imagination and made me realize that I could really love science fiction novels. They were full of big bold ideas but the tales were told through brilliantly crafted characters. And the whole thing was set up against a background that required you to have at least a bit of knowledge of literature to see the whole story. Keats and Chaucer echoed through the stories.
Simmons has been off writing in other genres for a few years now, but he's back to science fiction big time and he's totally on his game. ILIUM is crazy good.
Imagine a far future solar system. The moons of Jupiter are colonized by 'moravecs', organic robots who spend their downtime debating Proust and Shakespeare. Earth is home to only a few hundred thousand 'post technological' humans, who live carefree spoiled lives, but they have no knowledge of technology or literature or simple common sense anymore. And they're going to need all of that soon.
Meanwhile, the 'post humans' have disappeared. They may be on Mars. Something's on Mars. The Greek Gods are on Mars. A twentieth century scholar has found himself resurrected in this future to observe the Iliad being reenacted, or possibly unfolded for the first time... on Mars. There are also Little Green Men on Mars, who spend their lives building giant stone heads.
The Internet has grown and been modified and mutated and is a living entity. The Earth's biosphere is alive. Gods walk the Earth. Gods walk Mars. Time is being manipulated. Other worlds may be intersecting with this one.
Is your head exploding yet?
Reading this book was like shooting heroin. Buy it. Read it.
Meanwhile, I'll be waiting for OLYMPOS, the sequel due out next year.
But soon, I'll have ABSOLUTION GAP to tide me over in the meantime...
Saturday, July 26, 2003
I just stumbled across a blog by a guy I've seen around New Orleans, and it seems like he's got an attractive brain in his head, so I added a link to it...
Tuesday, July 22, 2003
I was pleasantly surprised to find this in this morning's Times Picayune here in New Orleans.
Who says the South is behind the times? Not that New Orleans is really part of the South...
Who says the South is behind the times? Not that New Orleans is really part of the South...
Monday, July 21, 2003
grrr... Jonno says I have to blog this...
So... I went to dinner tonight with this boy who I may or may not have a crush on. Afterwards, we stopped by my apartment and for some reason we decide to watch the J-Lo episode of South Park on my computer.
I start to look for the file and realize that I don't necessarily want him to see the porn files I have on my computer. So, I remember the episode is called "Fat Head" and something. I search my harddrive for the word "fat" to find it, thinking it'll be a bit safer that way.
And what is the first thing that pops up as a search result? "Big Fat Cock Piss in Mouth.mpg."
*sigh* I need to delete some files from my computer...
So... I went to dinner tonight with this boy who I may or may not have a crush on. Afterwards, we stopped by my apartment and for some reason we decide to watch the J-Lo episode of South Park on my computer.
I start to look for the file and realize that I don't necessarily want him to see the porn files I have on my computer. So, I remember the episode is called "Fat Head" and something. I search my harddrive for the word "fat" to find it, thinking it'll be a bit safer that way.
And what is the first thing that pops up as a search result? "Big Fat Cock Piss in Mouth.mpg."
*sigh* I need to delete some files from my computer...
Saturday, July 19, 2003
Poppy Z. Brite was one of the bright lights of the horror fiction genre back in the early to mid 1990s. Her first novel, LOST SOULS was a neogothic decadent tale of vampires set mainly in New Orleans. It was soaked in liquor and blood, dripping with a an exorbitant excess of lush adjectives and descriptive imagery. The characters were big and bold and demanded your attention. The author herself describes it as purple prose.
But, it worked. Boy, did it work. It earned her a somewhat rabid following that she has to this day. At the time when it came out, I thought that I had embraced this book with a passion. With time, I discovered that there were other people out there who felt their lives had been changed by this book. At the heart of the novel was Nothing, a young teen who felt he was always outside of what was normal. Over the course of the novel he discovers a dark corner of the world where he belongs for the first time. And how many teenagers couldn't relate to this?
I recently met and sort of briefly almost dated a 19 year old gay scenester who had just moved to New Orleans. I actually met him in a bar on his first night in the city. I spotted him across the bar at Good Friends and was compelled to cross the bar and find out the story behind this tall thin rail of a boy with his skinny tie and big dark smudges of eyeliner. On our second date, conversation turned to literature. When I asked if he had read Poppy, he sort of mumbled and said, "Yeah, but I can't talk about her." I, of course, pressed onward and he responded that LOST SOULS was a novel that he had loved so much for so long that it sort of embarrassed him. It had been his manifesto of sorts, a guiding force in his life.
A year later came DRAWING BLOOD. It was on the surface a tale of a haunted house but underneath a surprisingly compelling gay love story was what drew most of my attention. DRAWING BLOOD was made up of bits of the subculture of the times... underground comics and computer hacking for the most part, and again it was dark and lush imagery that dominated. The thing that stood out about this novel in contrast to LOST SOULS to me was that I cared about the characters. In LOST SOULS, I found the characters fascinating, but ultimately unlikeable. I might want to be them, but I wouldn't want to know them. Zach and Trevor were characters that spoke a bit more to my heart. I wanted them to succeed, I wanted them to be together.
Three years passed before we saw the next novel from Poppy. EXQUISITE CORPSE marked a big step forward for her. Still decadent and perhaps darker than anything she'd written before, this novel brought us an author who was growing into a more literate style. Set once more fully in New Orleans, it told of the passionate coming together of two serial killers. But it was also the story a young Vietnamese teen who may become their next victim and his former lover, an angry writer living with AIDS. It was an explosive dynamic in-your-face novel that seduced you with the beauty of dissected corpses. But it also explored the inner worlds driving all of these characters.
I thought it was big and bold and brilliant. Unfortunately, her publisher didn't agree with me. They refused to publish the novel. It was too much for them, despite the fact that they were a 'horror' publisher. Her UK publisher followed shortly behind, saying that the main characters were too 'admirable.' Other, more forward thinking, publishers stepped in and saved the day.
Next came a biography of Courtney Love. Yeah, that's right... a biography of Courtney Love. I think Poppy had some fun and made bank from this venture. I've never read it though, despite being fans of both of them.
Next came a novel set in the world of the movie, THE CROW. It was called THE LAZARUS HEART. I loathe this movie. Always have. Always will. So, I didn't purchase or read this novel when it came out. The fact that I liked Poppy's work couldn't outweigh my utter contempt for the movie. So, I skipped it.
Well, a couple of years later, I was looking for something to read and I thought, "oh hell.. I'll give it a try." Imagine my surprise to discover that I LOVED this book. Set once more in, you guessed it, New Orleans, the book simply used the background idea of THE CROW film as a backbone for it's story. It was far superior to the movie (and, IMO, the comic book).
THE LAZARUS HEART was a terribly tragic story with some of the most memorable characters that Poppy had ever put into a novel. Once more, the city of New Orleans itself was a character, dark lush gothic and oozing with excess. It's a far better novel than the franchise it's a part of would ever allow you to believe possible.
A couple of years later came a novella, PLASTIC JESUS. Imagine... a world where John Lennon and Paul McCartney were lovers instead of just bandmates. I'm not particularly fond of the Beatles. So, I found that I wasn't particularly fond of this story.
Another short novel appeared this past year, THE VALUE OF X. Something had changed. Everything had changed. The main characters are Gary and Rickey. Teenage residents of New Orleans. But, now the settings have changed. Instead of a gothic decadent French Quarter, the story is set mainly in the lower Ninth Ward of the city. There's not a drop of eyeliner or an all black wardrobe in sight. The streets are tough, the dialogue true to the distinctive 'yat' dialect spoken on them. The characters are two best friends who are beginning to realize the depths of their love for one another while also discovering the passion that will guide their life... food.
It's an ever so sweet, but never cloyingly so, story about real life... about discovering your place in the world. Instead of the fevered rush her earlier novels gave me, this book made my heart ache. I fell in love with these two boys, but also with their families, the streets they roamed and their city. It's the truest depiction of the real New Orleans that Poppy had written up to this point.
Except that's not quite true. THE VALUE OF X is a prequel to another longer novel called LIQUOR. Poppy wrote LIQUOR before she wrote TVOX.
So, where is this novel called LIQUOR? It hasn't been published yet.
PLASTIC JESUS and TVOX were published by Subterranean Press. A small press as opposed to one of the major publishers. That means they were sold at a higher price and printed in smaller numbers. Poppy didn't want LIQUOR to be a small press book. It's her next big book. And she finished it over 2 years ago.
So, again, where is it?
Well, the stupid publishers wouldn't buy it at first. She's a horror novelist, they said. This isn't a horror novel, they said.
Well, finally Three Rivers Press came along and had the good sense to purchase it. So, here's LIQUOR, coming to a bookstore near you in March 2004.
Well, I just happen to be a bookstore manager in New Orleans. And Poppy just happens to be a regular customer of mine. So, guess what I've already had the opportunity to read?
Only one of the best novels ever written about the city of New Orleans. Gary and Rickey have grown up... mostly. Gary is now G-Man, a nickname he earned working in the kitchens of New Orleans restaurants. They now live in uptown New Orleans and LIQUOR is the story of how they come to open their own restaurant.
The characters are the most realistic portrayals of New Orleanians in a novel since CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES. The dialogue is spot on. And New Orleans is, simply, New Orleans... a city of eccentricities and a city in a full on love affair with food and liquor.
Gone completely is the early sensual 'purple prose', replaced with a lean stripped down style of writing that exposes us to a new sensuality. Poppy no longer needs to romanticize the city of New Orleans through adjectives. She's found a better way. The exotic nature of New Orleans is layed out to us this time through the characters, through both their passions and their simplicities.
And the food... oh, the food... There's probably no other city in this country who worships food more than we New Orleanians. And every note regarding this love affair in the book rings completely true. It's not just about the wonderful descriptions of dish after dish in the book that more than once had my tongue protruding slightly from my mouth in lust. It's also about the way the characters, from most minor to the most central, all lead lives in which food is a defining factor of their lives. Food and liquor. And that's New Orleans... food... liquor.
No, I'm not going to tell you any details about the novel, except that it's marvelous. It takes Poppy to a whole new level. You'll fall in love with Rickey and G-Man. If you don't already love New Orleans, you'll fall in love with it. You'll be ravenously hungry time and time again as you read the book.
LIQUOR. March 2004. Make a note...
But, it worked. Boy, did it work. It earned her a somewhat rabid following that she has to this day. At the time when it came out, I thought that I had embraced this book with a passion. With time, I discovered that there were other people out there who felt their lives had been changed by this book. At the heart of the novel was Nothing, a young teen who felt he was always outside of what was normal. Over the course of the novel he discovers a dark corner of the world where he belongs for the first time. And how many teenagers couldn't relate to this?
I recently met and sort of briefly almost dated a 19 year old gay scenester who had just moved to New Orleans. I actually met him in a bar on his first night in the city. I spotted him across the bar at Good Friends and was compelled to cross the bar and find out the story behind this tall thin rail of a boy with his skinny tie and big dark smudges of eyeliner. On our second date, conversation turned to literature. When I asked if he had read Poppy, he sort of mumbled and said, "Yeah, but I can't talk about her." I, of course, pressed onward and he responded that LOST SOULS was a novel that he had loved so much for so long that it sort of embarrassed him. It had been his manifesto of sorts, a guiding force in his life.
A year later came DRAWING BLOOD. It was on the surface a tale of a haunted house but underneath a surprisingly compelling gay love story was what drew most of my attention. DRAWING BLOOD was made up of bits of the subculture of the times... underground comics and computer hacking for the most part, and again it was dark and lush imagery that dominated. The thing that stood out about this novel in contrast to LOST SOULS to me was that I cared about the characters. In LOST SOULS, I found the characters fascinating, but ultimately unlikeable. I might want to be them, but I wouldn't want to know them. Zach and Trevor were characters that spoke a bit more to my heart. I wanted them to succeed, I wanted them to be together.
Three years passed before we saw the next novel from Poppy. EXQUISITE CORPSE marked a big step forward for her. Still decadent and perhaps darker than anything she'd written before, this novel brought us an author who was growing into a more literate style. Set once more fully in New Orleans, it told of the passionate coming together of two serial killers. But it was also the story a young Vietnamese teen who may become their next victim and his former lover, an angry writer living with AIDS. It was an explosive dynamic in-your-face novel that seduced you with the beauty of dissected corpses. But it also explored the inner worlds driving all of these characters.
I thought it was big and bold and brilliant. Unfortunately, her publisher didn't agree with me. They refused to publish the novel. It was too much for them, despite the fact that they were a 'horror' publisher. Her UK publisher followed shortly behind, saying that the main characters were too 'admirable.' Other, more forward thinking, publishers stepped in and saved the day.
Next came a biography of Courtney Love. Yeah, that's right... a biography of Courtney Love. I think Poppy had some fun and made bank from this venture. I've never read it though, despite being fans of both of them.
Next came a novel set in the world of the movie, THE CROW. It was called THE LAZARUS HEART. I loathe this movie. Always have. Always will. So, I didn't purchase or read this novel when it came out. The fact that I liked Poppy's work couldn't outweigh my utter contempt for the movie. So, I skipped it.
Well, a couple of years later, I was looking for something to read and I thought, "oh hell.. I'll give it a try." Imagine my surprise to discover that I LOVED this book. Set once more in, you guessed it, New Orleans, the book simply used the background idea of THE CROW film as a backbone for it's story. It was far superior to the movie (and, IMO, the comic book).
THE LAZARUS HEART was a terribly tragic story with some of the most memorable characters that Poppy had ever put into a novel. Once more, the city of New Orleans itself was a character, dark lush gothic and oozing with excess. It's a far better novel than the franchise it's a part of would ever allow you to believe possible.
A couple of years later came a novella, PLASTIC JESUS. Imagine... a world where John Lennon and Paul McCartney were lovers instead of just bandmates. I'm not particularly fond of the Beatles. So, I found that I wasn't particularly fond of this story.
Another short novel appeared this past year, THE VALUE OF X. Something had changed. Everything had changed. The main characters are Gary and Rickey. Teenage residents of New Orleans. But, now the settings have changed. Instead of a gothic decadent French Quarter, the story is set mainly in the lower Ninth Ward of the city. There's not a drop of eyeliner or an all black wardrobe in sight. The streets are tough, the dialogue true to the distinctive 'yat' dialect spoken on them. The characters are two best friends who are beginning to realize the depths of their love for one another while also discovering the passion that will guide their life... food.
It's an ever so sweet, but never cloyingly so, story about real life... about discovering your place in the world. Instead of the fevered rush her earlier novels gave me, this book made my heart ache. I fell in love with these two boys, but also with their families, the streets they roamed and their city. It's the truest depiction of the real New Orleans that Poppy had written up to this point.
Except that's not quite true. THE VALUE OF X is a prequel to another longer novel called LIQUOR. Poppy wrote LIQUOR before she wrote TVOX.
So, where is this novel called LIQUOR? It hasn't been published yet.
PLASTIC JESUS and TVOX were published by Subterranean Press. A small press as opposed to one of the major publishers. That means they were sold at a higher price and printed in smaller numbers. Poppy didn't want LIQUOR to be a small press book. It's her next big book. And she finished it over 2 years ago.
So, again, where is it?
Well, the stupid publishers wouldn't buy it at first. She's a horror novelist, they said. This isn't a horror novel, they said.
Well, finally Three Rivers Press came along and had the good sense to purchase it. So, here's LIQUOR, coming to a bookstore near you in March 2004.
Well, I just happen to be a bookstore manager in New Orleans. And Poppy just happens to be a regular customer of mine. So, guess what I've already had the opportunity to read?
Only one of the best novels ever written about the city of New Orleans. Gary and Rickey have grown up... mostly. Gary is now G-Man, a nickname he earned working in the kitchens of New Orleans restaurants. They now live in uptown New Orleans and LIQUOR is the story of how they come to open their own restaurant.
The characters are the most realistic portrayals of New Orleanians in a novel since CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES. The dialogue is spot on. And New Orleans is, simply, New Orleans... a city of eccentricities and a city in a full on love affair with food and liquor.
Gone completely is the early sensual 'purple prose', replaced with a lean stripped down style of writing that exposes us to a new sensuality. Poppy no longer needs to romanticize the city of New Orleans through adjectives. She's found a better way. The exotic nature of New Orleans is layed out to us this time through the characters, through both their passions and their simplicities.
And the food... oh, the food... There's probably no other city in this country who worships food more than we New Orleanians. And every note regarding this love affair in the book rings completely true. It's not just about the wonderful descriptions of dish after dish in the book that more than once had my tongue protruding slightly from my mouth in lust. It's also about the way the characters, from most minor to the most central, all lead lives in which food is a defining factor of their lives. Food and liquor. And that's New Orleans... food... liquor.
No, I'm not going to tell you any details about the novel, except that it's marvelous. It takes Poppy to a whole new level. You'll fall in love with Rickey and G-Man. If you don't already love New Orleans, you'll fall in love with it. You'll be ravenously hungry time and time again as you read the book.
LIQUOR. March 2004. Make a note...
Wednesday, July 16, 2003
Friday, July 11, 2003
Ok... since I earned another link from Jonno this week and it's music related and you've possibly come here to sit in awe of my mighty musical mentoring skills... here's what I'm listening to lately...
Mew "Half the World is Watching"
2Raumwohnung "In Wirklich"
Adult. "Anxiety Always"
Alpinestars "White Noise"
Black Box Recorder "Passionoia"
The Dandy Warhols "Welcome to the Monkey House"
Death in Vegas "Scorpio Rising"
Erlend Oye "Unrest"
Goldfrapp "Black Cherry"
Homy "Music Box"
ok... jesus christ... i'll continue this in a bit.. the sun just came out!
Mew "Half the World is Watching"
2Raumwohnung "In Wirklich"
Adult. "Anxiety Always"
Alpinestars "White Noise"
Black Box Recorder "Passionoia"
The Dandy Warhols "Welcome to the Monkey House"
Death in Vegas "Scorpio Rising"
Erlend Oye "Unrest"
Goldfrapp "Black Cherry"
Homy "Music Box"
ok... jesus christ... i'll continue this in a bit.. the sun just came out!
Earlier this week, I got a phone call from a friend of mine asking me to drop by the nightclub he manages. I was sort of iffy about leaving my house until he said the magic words, "Elimidate is filming here tonight."
I left burnt rubber marks on my street.
Elimidate is one of those guilty pleasures that I think just about everyone indulges in, on an at least irregular basis. I don't really watch tv anymore, but I used to eat episodes of this show like popcorn.
So, I went by his club and sat at the downstairs bar for a bit drinking Citron. They were filming in the upstairs of the bar and it was closed to the public. But, finally, my friend appeared and he brought me up the stairs to watch.
So... Elimidate has been forever ruined for me. I know that you, gentle reader, will have a hard time believing this... but, it's very very very fake! I arrived just in time to watch the guy make his final decision between the last two girls. And there was an amazing amount of coaching going on from the show's staff.... "ok, let it all out when he chooses... if he doesn't choose you, make your feelings well known." After the decision was made, they reshot the couple telling each other why they chose one another about five times. The little kiss between them you'll see on the show? That could be the first one they exchanged, or the sixth...
And you know how it always looks like they're in a busy club or restaurant when they make their decision? And you know it's busy, cuz there's a crowd of fun people behind them carrying on conversations and having fun? Well, you'll see that on this episode as well... except the crowded bar consisted of about twenty lame ass mother fuckers fake talking just to have the opportunity to be in the background on a tv show. There was no "fun" crowded club. It was empty and closed to the public. The crowd consisted of a bunch of fake talking idiots and the crew.
A few other people were hanging out watching the show tape. I overheard this really cute blond chick talking about the fact that she was going to be a contestant on the show the next week. So, of course, I had to engage her in conversation about this. Imagine this... the casting people had told her, "ok, you're going to be the bitch." Grrrr. They tell them how to act as well?
The blond chick was pretty blase about the whole thing. She said she had no intention of being the bitch. And that she was hoping that the guy on her episode would be a guy she'd been dating, who was also going to be on the show...
Y'all... tv is fake!
Oh well... a couple of days later my friend who manages the club told me that the blond chick had asked about me... she thought I was cute...
I left burnt rubber marks on my street.
Elimidate is one of those guilty pleasures that I think just about everyone indulges in, on an at least irregular basis. I don't really watch tv anymore, but I used to eat episodes of this show like popcorn.
So, I went by his club and sat at the downstairs bar for a bit drinking Citron. They were filming in the upstairs of the bar and it was closed to the public. But, finally, my friend appeared and he brought me up the stairs to watch.
So... Elimidate has been forever ruined for me. I know that you, gentle reader, will have a hard time believing this... but, it's very very very fake! I arrived just in time to watch the guy make his final decision between the last two girls. And there was an amazing amount of coaching going on from the show's staff.... "ok, let it all out when he chooses... if he doesn't choose you, make your feelings well known." After the decision was made, they reshot the couple telling each other why they chose one another about five times. The little kiss between them you'll see on the show? That could be the first one they exchanged, or the sixth...
And you know how it always looks like they're in a busy club or restaurant when they make their decision? And you know it's busy, cuz there's a crowd of fun people behind them carrying on conversations and having fun? Well, you'll see that on this episode as well... except the crowded bar consisted of about twenty lame ass mother fuckers fake talking just to have the opportunity to be in the background on a tv show. There was no "fun" crowded club. It was empty and closed to the public. The crowd consisted of a bunch of fake talking idiots and the crew.
A few other people were hanging out watching the show tape. I overheard this really cute blond chick talking about the fact that she was going to be a contestant on the show the next week. So, of course, I had to engage her in conversation about this. Imagine this... the casting people had told her, "ok, you're going to be the bitch." Grrrr. They tell them how to act as well?
The blond chick was pretty blase about the whole thing. She said she had no intention of being the bitch. And that she was hoping that the guy on her episode would be a guy she'd been dating, who was also going to be on the show...
Y'all... tv is fake!
Oh well... a couple of days later my friend who manages the club told me that the blond chick had asked about me... she thought I was cute...
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