Chaos Reading discussion

You know those books that nobody loves (or maybe has ever heard of) but you? Like the literary equivalent of the movie "Drop Dead Gorgeous" with Kirstie Alley?
Post 'em here if you got 'em . I think this would be a likely group for having obscure gems stashed away!

Going through my all-time favourites shelf, I came across a book that has stuck with me since last century, yet nobody I know has ever heard of it... except maybe the friend who loaned it to me.

It's The Last Days: The Apocryphon Of Joe Panther by Andrew Masterson. The central premise is that Jesus didn't so much die, as move to Melbourne and become a smack dealer. I guess I'd tag it: hard-boiled, noir, humour, crime, theology, we-re-all-going-straight-to-hell.

I like a PA science fiction novel called The Killing Star. Aliens attack Earth in the year 2076. Only this isn't an invasion it's an extermination of all living things on Earth as well as throughout the Solar System. Why? Well lets just say when it is finally explained you'll never look at Star Trek:The Next Generation and the song We Are The World the same way again.

I love dance (not that I can) and I love SF - Stardance is a natural. Spider Robinson is one of those authors that I can't tell whether he's well-known or not - because I know of him through quite a few friends who actually know him. If he's not well-known, he should be!

An old-time favourite is World of Null-A. A.E. van Vogt is quite well known, but I bet not much of his work is remembered. Null-A, I suppose, is more strictly a fantasy than SF - though I doubt it's ever shelved as fantasy - and centres on the idea that our brains (and abilities) are formed by our preconceptions - that the world works on Aristotelian ("A") logic, only because that's what we've learned, and that if we adopt non-Aristotelian ("null-A") logic, we might find ourselves capable of very non-Aristotelian achievements.

World of Null-A sounds right up my alley. I love brains, and not just for breakfast. As someone who actually danced wearing a Flashdance leotard in the 80s, I'm a bit frightened of Stardance though..

Checkman - The synopsis for The Killing Star sounds genuinely creepy and I'm really curious as to the plot. I wouldn't mind reading that. I find the idea of being one of the last people alive on earth really fascinating. Another one of my favourites is Night Work by Thomas Glavinic. In that story, it doesn't focus on why all the people are suddenly gone, so much as what it's like inside the mind of the sole survivor. Really chilling.

one very underrated and obscure and fascinating writer was John Franklin Bardin. Bardin was to hard-boiled American detective fiction what Philip K. Dick was later to American science fiction - way out there in a league of his own, wildly anticipating a post-modern sense of estrangement and hallucinatory reality unmatched by anything in the genre.

Tom wrote: "one very underrated and obscure and fascinating writer was John Franklin Bardin. Bardin was to hard-boiled American detective fiction what Philip K. Dick was later to American science fiction - way..."

I've never come across that writer before. Not usually a fan of detective novels, but your description is pretty intriguing! Is there a book you'd recommend starting with?

There are three, all great and bundled up in The John Franklin Bardin Omnibus

There's sensuality & sea monsters in this! Has anyone alerted Karen?

"..represents an important queering of the genre." What a great turn of phrase. I had a look at your review too, and I'm super keen to read this now. Is this something that would be okay in ebook format? As in no illustrations or essential tricky formatting?

Ah. Scratch that. There doesn't seem to be an ebook.

How did you get a Kindle copy? I couldn't find it on either Amazon or Smashwords. I didn't get the usual "not available in your region" thing on Amazon either.

Matthew wrote: "That's weird! Try searching by author's name, Robert Dunbar."

Huh. I found it that time. AND it's reasonably priced. I am forever in your debt *tips hat*

Dude, I gotta stop reading YA steampunk....

Jim wrote: "I just found it and looked at the Look Inside feature. Someone should tell these authors not to litter up the front part of their book with so many review quotes! I finally got to one of the storie..."

LOL. Have you read a digital copy of a Cory Doctorow book? He makes them all free and downloadable in every format imaginable on his site. They all have to have the Creative Commons licensing agreement in full, and up front. One book of his I read had the first 10% entirely taken up by that, the foreword etc!

Roger Corman made a movie called Carnosaur several years back. The movie was loosely based on the books Carnosaur by Harry Adam Knight. While I liked Carnosaur, Knight really steps it up with the Fungus, which I have under the title "Death Spore". It's not a classic piece of literature but it's intelligent, very well done, and tons of fun!

Cool. Maybe we could get enough together for a "Sentient Plants" shelf after all?

The rate we're going, we could even probably put together an "Linked To Roger Corman" shelf too!

"Six degrees of Roger Corman", anybody? (Everybody please include a book's Corman number with future recommendations...)


Ruby wrote: "Dude, I gotta stop reading YA steampunk."

What's with that anyway? Is it just my imagination, or is steampunk really heavily weighted towards YA? I like reading the odd (or even not so odd) YA, but I want to see more adult steampunk.

I do like sentient (or at least carnivorous) plants. The Day of the Triffidsis one of my favorites. The Fungus, by the way, is not sentient in and of itself. It's very cool, though.

Ivan wrote: "The Day of the Triffids is one of my favorites."

Which has a Corman # of 2: Jason Priestly was in the 2009 movie version of The Day of the Triffids, and Priestly and Corman were both in an episode of "Beverly Hills, 90210" (It's amazing what you can do with the Oracle of Bacon!)

Derek wrote: ""Six degrees of Roger Corman", anybody? (Everybody please include a book's Corman number with future recommendations...)


Ruby wrote: "Dude, I gotta stop reading YA steampunk."

What's with that ..."

Oh yeah! We NEED to institute a Corman Number system immediately! That's genius.

Re: YA Steampunk - I know! I'd really like to get into steampunk, but everything I stumble across is too..... YA.

Thanks Jim. I TBR'd from the other thread :)

Thanks Jim, I'll check those out - but are you sure about the second? The GR summary doesn't do much to convince me it's not YA (hey, I read Kenneth Oppel, so that's not really a problem). otoh, I need to check out Understanding Chaos Magic.

Ruby wrote: "You know those books that nobody loves (or maybe has ever heard of) but you? Like the literary equivalent of the movie "Drop Dead Gorgeous" with Kirstie Alley?
Post 'em here if you got 'em . I thi..."

The Last Days..Joe Panther and Night Work..sound very appealing. Add to TBR.

Jim wrote: "It's not YA, I hate YA."

OK, I'm convinced :)

I guess there's no commercialism on your site because you do the advertising here. It's generally a good idea to read the group rules before posting, especially blatant self-promotion in inappropriate threads. Flagged for spam.

ETA: Sorry if I'm stepping on any mod toes, Ruby, I've just seen so much spammy author behavior on goodreads in the past few days that my tolerance for such things is at an all-time low.

Justin W wrote: "Ah another ignorant person."

Wow. I don't get how so many authors don't get it. You can't encourage people to read your books by calling them names.

Derek wrote: "Justin W wrote: "Ah another ignorant person."

Wow. I don't get how so many authors don't get it. You can't encourage people to read your books by calling them names."

Maybe I should post the hilariously hostile PMs I've been getting in the past hour, but I didn't want to derail this thread further. It may be too late now.

Self-Promotion:

Bahaha! Riona - I'm officially making you Honorary Mod of the Day :)

I'll block him.... after I've preserved these posts for posterity.

I think he took his toys and went home, anyway. I love a good flounce. In one of his PMs he told me "People like you, ignorant elitists with online egos, do not deserve access to my work."

Well okay then.

He has left the group, but it wouldn't be the first time I've seen someone flounce back again!

How dare you have an online ego, Riona! Mine isn't allowed access to computers. :)

I have started a "Things that'll get you booted" thread. That was too good not to preserve.

[edit] I took this down

Ruby wrote: "I have started a "Things that'll get you booted" thread. That was too good not to preserve.
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/9... "

Oddly, the thread seemed to get booted. I click on the link and get "Sorry, we couldn't find that topic."

I have no idea if he ranted at me, because I blocked him then responded.

I just deleted the thread myself. I got a not-too-abusive message from the guy and decided it was a bit petty of me, after all. It looks like the posts above will remain until he manages to get himself booted from GR for abuse anyway. It's only a matter of time.

In the meantime, getting the thread back on track, I'd like to nominate a book that I think is often overlooked: The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts. It's so much better than, and yet overshadowed by, Captain Corelli's Mandolin. A great satire of life and politics in a fictional South American country, and the reason I read all of de Bernieres' books.

Paint the Wind
Basicaly about a girl who lost both parents, lives with her crazy grandma and ends up living with her mothers family and finding a love for horses that she thought died with her mother.

Matthew wrote: "Damn! I missed this rumble! I need to read my post digests more thoroughly. "

Hehe. Sadly, I didn't. I spent far too much time yesterday dealing with progressively more abusive messages as the day wore on. Oh, well. All blocked & bollocked now.

Ruby wrote: " I'd really like to get into steampunk, but everything I stumble across is too..... YA. "

I just received this from my favorite webcomic, which explains steampunk concisely and in pictures ('coz that's the way comics work, doncha know).

goddammit, i love that!

Ruby wrote: "Hehe. Sadly, I didn't. I spent far too much time yesterday dealing with progressively more abusive messages as the day wore on. Oh, well. All blocked & bollocked now."

Sounds like we need to compare notes. I got bored with his repetitive insults pretty quickly, though, so maybe not.

Riona wrote: "Sounds like we need to compare notes. I got bored with his repetitive insults pretty quickly, though, so maybe not. "

Apparently the group is supposed to be a forum to expound on chaos theory and to boast of "unnormalness", and I was preventing him from doing that by speaking like a role playing game and drawing a line in the sand, which is all hugely ironic. But he doesn't care, which is why he considers it a declaration of war on everything inside this group including myself.

Or some shit.

Derek wrote: "I just received this from my favorite webcomic, which explains steampunk concisely and in pic..."

Nice! I think I mentioned in another thread my BF's definition: "Steampunk is what happens when goths discover brown."

Maia

one of my favorite books of all time by a famous author, better known for Watership Down...part romance, part adventure, part fantasy but it kinda defies easy categorization to me...

a very weighty tome and by that i mean you could bench press with this thing..

the story is engaging enough, tho not especially original, but i think it is the 'way' it is written that captures me....

Richard Adams just has a beautiful way of weaving words...

Shadow and Claw
The Knight
Latro in the Mist

It makes me sad that almost nobody I run into has heard of Gene Wolfe, whom I consider a master of the fantasy genre. His writing is excellent (if quirky and at times self-indulgent), his plots unpredictable, and his characters memorable.

"Shadow and Claw" is the start of a fantasy tetralogy with a young protagonist who is, by trade, a torturer. About halfway through the book, you realize that (view spoiler)[ it's actually science fiction (hide spoiler)]

"The Knight" is a fantasy about a young man with a slight mental handicap, with Norse mythology influences and a Joseph Campbell-esque plot arc.

Finally, the "Latro" series stars a Roman mercenary who has suffered traumatic brain injury, afflicting him with anterograde amnesia. This is jarring to read at first, but ultimately a refreshing method of storytelling.

Also, may I recommend The Court of the Air for those interested in steampunk?

I read a lot of reviews of Night in the Lonesome October that said how weird and strange it was. Really? Interesting and unpredictable are much better adjectives in my opinion.

This is the third book I have read by Richard Laymon. The Traveling Vampire Show is still my favorite, but this is very good. Strong and unique characters dominate the piece throughout.

I can honestly say I had no idea where the story was going. If I had any problems, i'd say I wanted more out of the ending. That seems to be the trend with Laymon however. A fun read!

Ruby wrote: "Re: YA Steampunk - I know! I'd really like to get into steampunk, but everything I stumble across is too..... YA."

When I was looking to read some Steampunk, It was suggested to me that I should check out China Miéville. Apparently, he classifies his writing as "weird fiction" --- still sounds good to me!

Dana wrote: "Ruby wrote: "Re: YA Steampunk - I know! I'd really like to get into steampunk, but everything I stumble across is too..... YA."

When I was looking to read some Steampunk, It was suggested to me th..."

I've been on a China Mieville kick for the last few weeks. I can honestly say his work defies genre, but yes there's a strong element of steampunk, among much weird, horror, fantasy etc. LOVE. HIM.

Sean wrote: "Also, may I recommend The Court of the Air for those interested in steampunk?"

Sounds good, Sean. TBRd. :)

Miéville's Bas Lag novels (Perdido Street Station, etc) are steampunkish - in the sense that they have no particularly high level of mechanical technology, but otoh they have highly advanced biotech. Most of the rest of his work is set in a "weird" world of pretty modern technology.

Speaking of novels with regressed tech but advanced biology, Paolo Bacigalupi's The Windup Girl is an interesting look at a world where petrochemicals are out and bioengineering is in. AFAIK it's his debut novel and it is one hell of a debut.

Well, I just finished Annabel, and since none of my friends have ever heard of it I figured it qualifies for this thread! I thought it was really fantastic.

Sean wrote: "Speaking of novels with regressed tech but advanced biology, Paolo Bacigalupi's The Windup Girl is an interesting look at a world where petrochemicals are out and bioengineering is in. AFAIK it's h..."

Hi, Sean:

Clearly we have the same taste. I adore The Windup girl. Have you read The Drowned Cities hmmm... that's weird. Ship Breaker comes up as Drowned Cities (the sequel).

Also, I've read some Wolfe and really enjoyed it. I did the Wizard Knight series. Any recommendations for a next read?

Dana wrote: "Ruby wrote: "Re: YA Steampunk - I know! I'd really like to get into steampunk, but everything I stumble across is too..... YA."

When I was looking to read some Steampunk, It was suggested to me th..."

Another non-YA "Steampunk" author people might be interested fin is Alan Campbell. It's s bit different, in that it's set in another world (like Mieville's Perdo Street Station, but with fewer insects). But the tech is at the right level, and the politics are similar to 1800s earth, too.

Oh, or there's Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin. It's a little more traditional for steampunk, and though it's shelved in Teen, I found it to be a more mature level of writing (the way Pullman Philip is shelved in young readers). Only problem is it's just one book, and the story better have a second title on the way, because it can't end where it did.