Larry. Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 That article certainly made me want to give it a try. Hopefully he writes better then he blogs. If nothing else, it'll make it easier to yell at Dylanfanatic in these literature threads. He writes very, very well. But are you sure you can keep up with my reading? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookWyrm Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 I happen to think he's up there with Gene Wolfe, if that helps. It does, thanks! I've been swearing by Gene Wolfe these days. I'm looking forward to giving MJH a try now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry. Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Hope you enjoy at least half as much as I'm enjoying the re-read of the stories right now! Between him and Peake, I feel as though I'm being spoiled by what I'm re-reading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isis Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Why do people insist on starting with Viriconium anyway? Read something else by him instead. Then if you enjoy that give Viriconium a try. I think his collection of shorts is a good starting place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry. Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 I started with Light when it came out in the UK in 2002, liked it, then read Course of the Heart and Signs of Life before reading the Viriconium stories a couple of years ago. Agreed that those other stories might be at least equally good starting places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry. Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Just posted my review of the second novel, A Storm of Wings. Enjoyed it more than many others here seemingly did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Just posted my review of the second novel, A Storm of Wings. Enjoyed it more than many others here seemingly did. I thought A Storm of Wing was one of Harrison's best books. It strikes a good balance between being imaginative and being comprehensible and still having some semblance of a plot. I liked it more than the third Viriconium novel because I did feel I understood most of what Harrison was trying to convey in A Storm of Wings but in In Viriconium I was often unsure what point Harrison was trying to make, I felt I was missing something but I wasn't sure what. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry. Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 True, it's as though we're witnessing the molting of a very strange creature, with each layer being stranger than the one before. Going to write my review of In Viriconium in the next couple of days. Need to reflect upon it a bit more first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierce Inverarity Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Positively envy the man's prose. I mean, the guy can write. What I can't fathom is his insistence on using outmoded, intellectualized aesthetic values, let alone the embarrassment of actually evangelizing for them. But then most everyone confuses "I would" with "you should," I suppose. As far as I can see, all you actually accomplish by defecting from traditional storytelling norms (many of which seem to be hardwired in) is assuring that the people who read you pretty much share all your attitudes to begin with. You become an entertainer, which is okay, so long as you don't make noises otherwise. "Aesthetic alienation" doesn't make for more "critical" readers as much as it makes for compartmentalized sub-cultures, little self-congratulatory cliques, IMHO. Entertainers who pose as radicals. On a personal note, I had a direct run in with him on Claude Lalumiere's board years back, and a particularly nasty one at that. This was when I actively hunted out people trashing Epic Fantasy on the web, so I suppose I was asking for it. I was as naive as Obama back then - still believed in the power of rational discourse and all that. He seemed to lose interest awfully quick when I made it clear that theory-speak was my mother-tongue. That said, the man can write... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry. Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 *ahem* Scott, uh...you wouldn't be casting that at me, would you? I do understand the sentiment and can see where you're coming from there on that clique-forming, but for myself, I happen to love a multiplicity of prose forms, some of which would seem to be contradictory. Perhaps that's the case with others (not all, but with many)? After all, can't one love what's being transgressed while appreciating the transgression? I still wish that debate had been preserved, as that would have been something to behold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Scott, uh...you wouldn't be casting that at me, would you? If the shoe fits... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry. Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 But it doesn't, so...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serious Callers Only Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 This board is great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry. Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Perhaps, but I'm not actively seeking to become a member of a self-congratulatory clique! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serious Callers Only Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 Just saying - i felt the need to express it. You sound so defensive. Are you not down with my carpe diem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry. Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 Nah, just down with OPP, yeah you know me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isis Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 Oh, not again please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry. Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 You mean quoting Naughty by Nature is forbidden here? I decided that rather than contributing to an argument that'd be rather circular and pointless, that it'd be better to be silly and quote pop culture stuff from my teen years. Is that wrong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kissoon Posted July 26, 2010 Share Posted July 26, 2010 Question for those that know: What is the better omnibus to pick up, the Fantasy Masterworks edition or the Spectra Books imprint? Any difference? (I know the SB imprint has a Neil Gaiman introduction) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry. Posted July 26, 2010 Share Posted July 26, 2010 Question for those that know: What is the better omnibus to pick up, the Fantasy Masterworks edition or the Spectra Books imprint? Any difference? (I know the SB imprint has a Neil Gaiman introduction) Both editions have all the stories. The FM edition reorders them somewhat, with the stories forming a storyline chronological order, while the Spectra edition publishes them in the original release format. Spectra edition is much less likely to crease and depending on where you're ordering it from, could be cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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