We mentioned volunteering to her but that was shot down. I appreciate everyone's good wishes and prayers but I didn't mean to hijack the thread. So, let's get back to what books everyone's reading. Thank you all!!!!
The Year of Cemetery Dance 2018
- Thread starter Dana Jean
- Start date
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Just starting Ugly by Mick Garris. Will report back on thoughts.
I read this. It was very disturbing. Can't find my copy of it.
I was gifted it by a friend. Might need to keep the lights on tonight.
Please do! It sounds like a good one.
6. Bastion
by Simon Clark
About the Book:
"I didn't know where I was or why I was there. I didn't even know my own name.
The first thing I heard was a boy shouting at me. He was about sixteen, had sticky-up ginger hair, freckles like a spatter of brown gravy over his face, and these huge green eyes that were full of fury.
The rush of the arrival disorientated me so much I couldn't even understand what he was yelling at me. At least, not at first.
My face burned. My eyes were sore.
At least I was awake. The dream was over.
I had been chosen. It was an honor. There's a great deal of horror to come..."
My Thoughts:
Another nice looking book from Cemetery Dance. The cover artwork by Alan M. Clark captures the feel of the book, and that face in the corner there reminded me of the 1929 cartoon character Tintin by artist Hergé. Very detailed black and white art included, although not nearly enough IMO.
This one surprised me. Given the cover, I thought this was going to be a genre story that I wouldn't much care about, but I found it to be a great read.
A little bit Lord of the Flies (because of the boy-in-charge dynamic), a little bit Logan's Run (because of the enclosed city and the rules that are followed "just because"), a little bit Mad Max (futuristic survival although this isn't a man vs. man scenario as Bastion's bad guys are giant bugs, dust devils that sing a siren's song, and mutated gator people?), and a little bit, A Boy and His Dog (my reason for this one is a little more elusive to me, but the feel of the writing and the story itself just kept giving me this vibe.)
For the record, this book isn't about a dog, or the constant pursuit of sex and food. In Bastion, food is plentiful, and the boys are so young, they really haven't started thinking about girls -- the older ones do, and girls eventually make their appearance in the book, but not in any tawdry way.
I think it was just the futuristic world and youth of the characters -- I'm going to fall short on my reasoning here. Again, just the bleak, repetitive vibe of the respective worlds in these two works (Bastion/A Boy and His Dog), plus the fact the characters were discouraged in digging deeper to what was going on....
And having made all those comparisons, it is very much its own work, its own world.
Good writing that pulls you through an interesting landscape.
by Simon Clark
About the Book:
"I didn't know where I was or why I was there. I didn't even know my own name.
The first thing I heard was a boy shouting at me. He was about sixteen, had sticky-up ginger hair, freckles like a spatter of brown gravy over his face, and these huge green eyes that were full of fury.
The rush of the arrival disorientated me so much I couldn't even understand what he was yelling at me. At least, not at first.
My face burned. My eyes were sore.
At least I was awake. The dream was over.
I had been chosen. It was an honor. There's a great deal of horror to come..."
My Thoughts:
Another nice looking book from Cemetery Dance. The cover artwork by Alan M. Clark captures the feel of the book, and that face in the corner there reminded me of the 1929 cartoon character Tintin by artist Hergé. Very detailed black and white art included, although not nearly enough IMO.
This one surprised me. Given the cover, I thought this was going to be a genre story that I wouldn't much care about, but I found it to be a great read.
A little bit Lord of the Flies (because of the boy-in-charge dynamic), a little bit Logan's Run (because of the enclosed city and the rules that are followed "just because"), a little bit Mad Max (futuristic survival although this isn't a man vs. man scenario as Bastion's bad guys are giant bugs, dust devils that sing a siren's song, and mutated gator people?), and a little bit, A Boy and His Dog (my reason for this one is a little more elusive to me, but the feel of the writing and the story itself just kept giving me this vibe.)
For the record, this book isn't about a dog, or the constant pursuit of sex and food. In Bastion, food is plentiful, and the boys are so young, they really haven't started thinking about girls -- the older ones do, and girls eventually make their appearance in the book, but not in any tawdry way.
I think it was just the futuristic world and youth of the characters -- I'm going to fall short on my reasoning here. Again, just the bleak, repetitive vibe of the respective worlds in these two works (Bastion/A Boy and His Dog), plus the fact the characters were discouraged in digging deeper to what was going on....
And having made all those comparisons, it is very much its own work, its own world.
Good writing that pulls you through an interesting landscape.
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it is very much its own work, its own world. Sheesh. no apostrophes! I get going so fast, my fingers type whatever they want.6. Bastion
by Simon Clark
About the Book:
"I didn't know where I was or why I was there. I didn't even know my own name.
The first thing I heard was a boy shouting at me. He was about sixteen, had sticky-up ginger hair, freckles like a spatter of brown gravy over his face, and these huge green eyes that were full of fury.
The rush of the arrival disorientated me so much I couldn't even understand what he was yelling at me. At least, not at first.
My face burned. My eyes were sore.
At least I was awake. The dream was over.
I had been chosen. It was an honor. There's a great deal of horror to come..."
My Thoughts:
Another nice looking book from Cemetery Dance. The cover artwork by Alan M. Clark captures the feel of the book, and that face in the corner there reminded me of the 1929 cartoon character Tintin by artist Hergé. Very detailed black and white art included, although not nearly enough IMO.
This one surprised me. Given the cover, I thought this was going to be a genre story that I wouldn't much care about, but I found it to be a great read.
A little bit Lord of the Flies (because of the boy-in-charge dynamic), a little bit Logan's Run (because of the enclosed city and the rules that are followed "just because"), a little bit Mad Max (futuristic survival although this isn't a man vs. man scenario as Bastion's bad guys are giant bugs, dust devils that sing a siren's song, and mutated gator people?), and a little bit, A Boy and His Dog (my reason for this one is a little more elusive to me, but the feel of the writing and the story itself just kept giving me this vibe.)
For the record, this book isn't about a dog, or the constant pursuit of sex and food. In Bastion, food is plentiful, and the boys are so young, they really haven't started thinking about girls -- the older ones do, and girls eventually make their appearance in the book, but not in any tawdry way.
I think it was just the futuristic world and youth of the characters -- I'm going to fall short on my reasoning here. Again, just the bleak, repetitive vibe of the respective worlds in these two works (Bastion/A Boy and His Dog), plus the fact the characters were discouraged in digging deeper to what was going on....
And having made all those comparisons, it is very much its own work, its own world.
Good writing that pulls you through an interesting landscape.
7. The Language of Fear
by Del James
About the Book:
"One of the most talked about collections of the 1990s is back again as a new Signed Limited Edition from Cemetery Dance Publications featuring eleven bonus short stories not appearing in any other edition! This special edition features the original contents of the paperback edition, including the introduction by W. Axl Rose, along with a new introduction/afterword from Del James about the eleven bonus stories. This is a special edition that no horror collection would be complete without!"
My Thoughts:
Oh. My. God. I've said this about one other book, and this one qualifies also: I think I need a Penicillin shot.
I am obviously not the typical target audience for this collection of stories, or, maybe I am. Or need to be. But I am pretty sure Mr. James didn't have the most tight-azzed, white-bred old woman who is the nanny of two little boys, watches Little Women of L.A., crafts, quilts and who finds a good nap really really exciting as someone who would take the time to read these stories let alone speak about them without going full-on Tipper Gore.
Stick with me till the end of this, though. I may surprise you.
Many of these stories were pornographic not only in a sexual sense, but there was a pornography of violence too. Most times when I read anything, I see myself in the stories, the characters or the situations. I was so far removed from this work, I felt very uncomfortable and voyeuristic. I wanted to turn away but was drawn back time and time again to worlds and people that scared the sh*t out of me.
Mr. James dragged me places I didn't want to go. He showed me things I didn't want to see. He fed my curiosity about lives I have never lived and hopefully will never live. He introduced me to the Edge People. Those among us that take every moment they stay breathing to that edge -- that line -- and cross it.
I've never held to the old adage, "write what you know." I think that's pretty crap honestly. How could Bradbury write about Mars? How could L. Frank Baum write about OZ? How did J.K. Rowling write about Hogwarts? It's called imagination. Fiction writers must have an imagination.
But having said that, this book felt very personal to me. I felt like he bled on this work. And I very much believe that Mr. James was writing what he knew and weaving the fiction throughout. He gave us a look into what he's experienced, what he's witnessed. The cast of characters that has come in and out of his life are on these pages in some form. I believe that. Okay, minus maybe the supernatural stuff, and even then, I'm not so sure he didn't have a power lunch with Satan and cut a deal.
The writing is powerful. The characters sad and tragic. I felt disgust, pity, fear, anger, curiosity, shock -- page after page pulled these emotions from me and that's what good writing does. It challenges you and it makes you think. About life, death, love, hatred, indifference and man's inhumanity to man.
I applaud Mr. James's bravery to not self-censor the pieces. It would have been really easy to leave scenes out because what would his grandma say? Or the people in his life that he might want to keep separated from this side of him and whose thoughts and opinions mean something to him for fear they wouldn't approve.
He would not have been true to the atmosphere of the stories had he changed a thing. It would not have been honest writing. He had to write what he did to make them as powerful as they were. I would love to hear him speak to the inspiration of these works. The process he went through to get them down on the page. Did he struggle putting himself out there?
Mr. James did his job as a writer -- he took me by the hand and tilted my world.
Now I am going to crawl into the fetal position and take a nap.
addendum: I forgot to mention, Vincent Chong did the artwork for the cover, and it is a professional, talented piece of work as always.
by Del James
About the Book:
"One of the most talked about collections of the 1990s is back again as a new Signed Limited Edition from Cemetery Dance Publications featuring eleven bonus short stories not appearing in any other edition! This special edition features the original contents of the paperback edition, including the introduction by W. Axl Rose, along with a new introduction/afterword from Del James about the eleven bonus stories. This is a special edition that no horror collection would be complete without!"
My Thoughts:
Oh. My. God. I've said this about one other book, and this one qualifies also: I think I need a Penicillin shot.
I am obviously not the typical target audience for this collection of stories, or, maybe I am. Or need to be. But I am pretty sure Mr. James didn't have the most tight-azzed, white-bred old woman who is the nanny of two little boys, watches Little Women of L.A., crafts, quilts and who finds a good nap really really exciting as someone who would take the time to read these stories let alone speak about them without going full-on Tipper Gore.
Stick with me till the end of this, though. I may surprise you.
Many of these stories were pornographic not only in a sexual sense, but there was a pornography of violence too. Most times when I read anything, I see myself in the stories, the characters or the situations. I was so far removed from this work, I felt very uncomfortable and voyeuristic. I wanted to turn away but was drawn back time and time again to worlds and people that scared the sh*t out of me.
Mr. James dragged me places I didn't want to go. He showed me things I didn't want to see. He fed my curiosity about lives I have never lived and hopefully will never live. He introduced me to the Edge People. Those among us that take every moment they stay breathing to that edge -- that line -- and cross it.
I've never held to the old adage, "write what you know." I think that's pretty crap honestly. How could Bradbury write about Mars? How could L. Frank Baum write about OZ? How did J.K. Rowling write about Hogwarts? It's called imagination. Fiction writers must have an imagination.
But having said that, this book felt very personal to me. I felt like he bled on this work. And I very much believe that Mr. James was writing what he knew and weaving the fiction throughout. He gave us a look into what he's experienced, what he's witnessed. The cast of characters that has come in and out of his life are on these pages in some form. I believe that. Okay, minus maybe the supernatural stuff, and even then, I'm not so sure he didn't have a power lunch with Satan and cut a deal.
The writing is powerful. The characters sad and tragic. I felt disgust, pity, fear, anger, curiosity, shock -- page after page pulled these emotions from me and that's what good writing does. It challenges you and it makes you think. About life, death, love, hatred, indifference and man's inhumanity to man.
I applaud Mr. James's bravery to not self-censor the pieces. It would have been really easy to leave scenes out because what would his grandma say? Or the people in his life that he might want to keep separated from this side of him and whose thoughts and opinions mean something to him for fear they wouldn't approve.
He would not have been true to the atmosphere of the stories had he changed a thing. It would not have been honest writing. He had to write what he did to make them as powerful as they were. I would love to hear him speak to the inspiration of these works. The process he went through to get them down on the page. Did he struggle putting himself out there?
Mr. James did his job as a writer -- he took me by the hand and tilted my world.
Now I am going to crawl into the fetal position and take a nap.
addendum: I forgot to mention, Vincent Chong did the artwork for the cover, and it is a professional, talented piece of work as always.
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Loving your reviews in this thread, DJ.
I have this one! I'll read it too......next up:
thanks. they aren't professional, typical reviews. I just blab my thoughts.
I have put a couple books in my wish list because of your reviews!
I appreciate your time in reading what I have to say.
In looking at it, it should be a quick read. Short chapters. I love short chapters. I don't care if a book is a thousand pages long, if they keep those chapters short, I can fly through it.
I like short chapters too. They seem to make the reading go at a quicker pace .
Yes. I think it's a mind game with me. I read 3 pages, come to a new chapter. I count how long the next chapter is and if it's short, I think, oh, I can read one more chapter. And I get to end of that one, and repeat the cycle. Before I know it, I'm hundred pages deep.
Same here. Then I suddenly realize that its 4:00 p.m. and I haven't eaten lunch , gotten dressed, or picked up the kid from school......