The Lucid Garden discussion

Just like the Topic line says, I'm curious what folks favorite non-series, stand-alone books are? In a market seemingly overrun by the trilogy format (and frequently series that run even longer) finding a good "nope, this is where it ends" book can be difficult!

I'd say that K.J. Bishop's The Etched City is pretty high on my list...though in truth I wouldn't mind a return to the world she created, just not necessarily with the same characters.

Mieville's the Scar would also be on the list, even though it technically is part of a series it obviously stands on it's own.

Etched City is good(wonder if there will every be a sequel though)
Fifth Head of Cerberus by Gene Wolfe
Station of the Tides Michael Swanwick
The Traitor Michael Cisco
Portait of Mrs. Charbuque Jeffrey Ford
The Troika Stepan Chapman
Veniss Underground Jeff Vandermeer(there is stories though in this setting)
The Tain China Mieville is definately stand alone
GLass House Charles Stross
are a couple of stand alone sci fi/fantasy faves. Also what about series that actually work like Mieville's which are sepaperate but work together, or Ford's Physiognomist trilogy(each adding a different aspect to the story but has one "hero"), or Wolfe's sun books which are singular novels divided into different books.
-Adam

I'll have to check out Cisco's The Traitor...and I definitely enjoy the "series" that stand alone, but work together as well, like Mieville's stuff.

(yeah, I'm replying to my own post)

I just want to throw a recommendation out there for the Book of Joby...very quick moving, well written, *and complete in one volume!*

I've read a couple of Jeffrey Ford's short stories and they left me cold.

Jeff VanderMeer's Veniss Underground is excellent and should appeal to China Mieville fans.

Some of my favorite stand-alones are:

Godmother Night, by Rachel Pollack
Dancers at the End of Time, by Michael Moorcock
Something Rich and Strange, by Patricia McKillip

An excellent short story with a bizarre urban setting is Paul DiFilippo's A Year in the Linear City. It can be found Cities, an anthology of four stories edited by Peter Crowther which also includes China Mieville's The Tain.

I'm a little leery about the Christian themes in The Book of Joby and the fact that it is nearly 700 pages, but I went ahead and ordered it from Amazon.

$6.05 won't break the bank...

Looking forward to your review, Cynjon.

I was leery of it for exactly that reason myself...and in fact had passed it by several times at B&N because I didn't want to spend $20 to be proselytized to. On my trip to Texas last week, I found it at Half Price Books (the worlds best used book store!) for $6 and went ahead and picked it up, and I'm glad I did!

There isn't a "preachy" aspect to it so far, (trust me, I'd put it down if there were) and I'm about 3/4's through, although Christianity obviously plays a role in it. I was reading someon's review here, and they had mentioned that one of the reasons the author had chosen the Christian aspect was because he was tired of so many fantasy books being based off cultures that the majority of the readership isn't descended from...cultural appropriation, in a way. So, he decided to write about *his own* culture and background, and to play with the mythos of it.

Hmm. I've passed the Book of Joby quite a bit myself. The cultural appropriation aspect of fantasy has actually been something I've thought about quite a bit lately, so I might have to check it out.

I didn't really like Etched City much and don't know why it was compared to Mieville so much in the reviews. I thought they were very different and EC was extremely slow paced
I do want to read the Book of Joby sometime soon, it looks good

I'm allergic to series, so I think all of my favourite books are non-series. Wait. Does stand-alone books that have had sequels count as series?

some of my favorites:
The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter.
Lud-In-The-Mist by Hope Mirrlees.
Sleeping in Flame and Outside the Dog Museum by Jonathan Carroll.

i was wondering what people think of jonathan carroll? i think his books are smart, funny, imaginative, insightful takes on fantasy.

reading this thread makes me want to read china mieville again. i've only read his ya book (and i'm forgetting the title). and i thought it was really smart and fun, but i was disappointed too. so, it sounds like maybe i should start with the scar?

The Etched City looks really interesting. thanks cynjon!

i really want to read Godmother Nighttoo, nancy. i've been having trouble getting a copy.

i'm going to look up some of the other books here, now...

The Divinity Student by Michael Cisco

dave,
i am sad to say i read both awhile ago and i don't remember them the way i wish i did. i remember more the feeling/thoughts i had about jonathan and that those 2 stood out to me as having more emotional weight to me...i think they both deal with themes of love and loss and fate and meaning. sleeping in flame is a fairy tale retelling if you like that. i guess i'd pick that if i had to choose. yes.

your question makes me want to read him again. i have The Ghost in Love: A Novel.

Emilie wrote: "i really want to read Godmother Nighttoo, nancy. i've been having trouble getting a copy..."

Emilie, I was fortunate to find Godmother Night through interlibrary loan at my local library. I enjoyed the story so much that I paid good money for a used, but near perfect hardcover edition. It's a story I definitely want to revisit.

Of Jonathan Carroll's stories, I've only read Bones of the Moon. It's cover, title, and $1.00 price tag caught my eye at a used book store. I liked it a lot and plan to read more of his stories.

Emilie wrote: "reading this thread makes me want to read china mieville again. i've only read his ya book (and i'm forgetting the title). and i thought it was really smart and fun, but i was disappointed too. so, it sounds like maybe i should start with the scar?..."

Perdido Street Station is a good one to start with.

thanks nancy. i'll start with perdido street station.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by jackson
and
More Than Human by sturgeon