A review of Samuel R. Delaney’s book Dhalgren.

I have read this book many times in my life.

The first time I read this book, I was about sixteen years old and even at that early an age (for this sort of book, that is a fairly early age), the imagery haunted me.

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A review of Bruce Taylor’s book Edward: Dancing on the Edge of Infinity.

There are two aspects to Edward: Dancing on the Edge of Infinity. They are very different aspects, but I love both.

First, the story. From birth to death, Edward is followed throughout his life, in each major moment, and major place. Where he makes decisions, where he regrets, where he tries to reach out beyond his grasp. Sometimes we are watching him from above, and sometimes we’re right there in his skin, next to his soul.

This is beautiful and heartbreaking all at the same time.

Bruce Taylor brings a great voice to this story. I’m a fan of Vonnegut’s absurdist view of humanity’s position in the Universe, and I love reading a thread of that in this book. I’m a fan of Disch’s sad keening for broken dreams, and I love reading a thread of that here, too. But Taylor’s not simply walking a path previously walked — these are only touchstones of familiarity. Taylor’s voice is different. Soft at times, hard at times, unforgiving at times, but not once does he lose track of the fact that we all struggle toward a better us, that we’re all deeply scarred, but still struggling to be better. Even despair feels hopeful.

That aspect alone makes me love this book.

Then there’s a technical aspect.

Most of us have written papers in one or more word processors and used the footnotes feature. Automatically formatted footnotes are great.

For people who like to push technology, this is a challenge.

I may be totally off, but in my mind’s eye, Taylor sat down and faced off against his computer and declared a State of War thusly: “If you think you can footnote anything, then it is on, my digital friend!”

I don’t know how many footnotes are in Edward: Dancing on the Edge of infinity. Hundreds, perhaps.

But wait — these aren’t ordinary footnotes. No, no!

Taylor has woven a completely different narrative in the footnotes — one that weaves itself independently throughout the principle story of Edward’s life, as well as billowing in maniacal directions all of its own.

This is extremely clever. Extremely. I haven’t seen a meta-narrative designed this well since I read Anthony’s Tarot series, and this book’s take on it is much more entertaining.

That aspect alone makes me love this book.

Two books in one, clever, beautiful, heartbreaking at times, and a genuine pleasure to read.

Please check it out!

Bruce’s book can be found on Amazon.

A review of Noel Figart’s book At the Foot of the Throne.

I enjoyed At the Foot of the Throne.

That might seem a somewhat simple statement to make, but please let me clarify.

My reading tends toward technical stuff, and science fiction. I read very little fantasy. By and large, I find fantasy annoying, for a variety of reasons.

At the Foot of the Throne hits all the highlights, though. I liked it.

1. It tells a story that is essentially fantasy without delving into mysticism and wizardy. No flying children. No witches. There are jerks, sure, and they do jerky things in the name of their religion, but there’s no actual magic. Kinda like real life.

2. It tells a story about the political connections and plays between two neighboring kingdoms in a straightforward fashion, without depending on a complex map in the front of the book, or a complex family tree in an appendix, or knowledge from the author’s previous 73 books to understand all the nuances between characters and their three-times-removed descendants. You don’t have to know a darn thing to read this book and to understand the way things work in this world — it’s all in that book.

3. It tells the story of a king and his people where the king and his people are ordinary. Sure, they’re royal in name, but they screw up just as much as anyone else, and they speak in ordinary language (I think there was not one occurrence of archaic language in it, which is a huge plus in any book!).

4. It tells the story of a woman who survives the destruction of her village and home, and who moves upward based on her own unique skills (the same skills which indirectly led to her survival when the rest of her village perished).

The book contains a lot of sensibilities that are modern. I think that might turn some folks off, folks who think that because someone else lived in a time before iPads, that they must be stupid. Authors who don’t treat people as real people drive me nuts, and Figart treats her characters as if they’re real people. Real people with real problems and real ways of dealing with a world that is small enough to grasp and real enough to believe.

That’s pretty neat, all told.

Noel’s book can be found on Amazon.

A review of J. T. O’Connor and J. Walt Layne’s book The Coming Of T’Loal.

O’Connor and Layne remind us that some of the trickiest bits of Lovecraftian horror aren’t the monsters or the rubber suits or the excess use of liquid latex on set.

One of the hallmarks of Lovecraftian horror is the cosmic aspect, the sense that human beings (and indeed, all of Earth) are simply grains of sand in the whirlwind combats between gods.

One of the other hallmarks of Lovecraftian horror is the sense that there is no recovery. There is no savior. In fact, most of the time, by the time we hear of the thing, it’s already done and the world is already doomed.

O’Connor and Layne hit both of those nails directly on the bobbing gibbering head with their short novel The Coming of T’Loal.

The novel takes the form of personal chronicles of three different people, each exploring what seems to be harmless history at first, but which quickly unravels into the darkest terror. As their chronicles unfold, they are all drawn toward each other, to play their parts in a cosmic climax that saves Earth — for now!

O’Connor and Layne’s book can be found on Amazon.

A review of Jonathan Moon’s book Stories to Poke Your Eyes Out.

Sometimes I read a collection of short stories and it feels like a roller coaster ride that I’ve been on before. I know the twists and turns, and I can anticipate each one. I have a great time. When I’m done, I feel lighter in my feet.

Not this time.

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