| Author |
Message |
    
Karim Ghahwagi (Karim)
Username: Karim
Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 80.167.124.163
| | Posted on Monday, May 18, 2009 - 01:53 am: | |
A noirish whodunit set against a cityscape that makes this a breath of fresh air. For some reason it took me a couple of chapters to get used to the writing style. It seemed so much more difficult for him to use a more minimal style, but it was effective. Wonderful character names Tyador Borlú, Gosz, Beszel, Ul Qoma. And I can see how he referencs my absolute favourite short story writer Bruno Schultz. Despite using (and subverting) elements from the cinematic detective procedural it is probably one of the most unfilmable narratives I can imagine- but I'm curious to see if someone would actually have a go at it. A great read and recommended. |
Karim Ghahwagi (Karim)
Username: Karim
Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 80.167.124.163
| | Posted on Monday, May 18, 2009 - 02:01 am: | |
And it has an Arnold Schwartnegger quote. |
Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston)
Username: Weber_gregston
Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 194.176.105.47
| | Posted on Monday, May 18, 2009 - 12:25 pm: | |
I love China Meivilles books. The three books set in the world of Perdido St Station are possibly my favourite fantasy novels of all time. I couldn't quite get into Un-Lun-dun. I'll have to try that one again but King Rat is fabulous. |
Alansjf (Alansjf)
Username: Alansjf
Registered: 09-2008
Posted From: 94.194.134.45
| | Posted on Monday, May 18, 2009 - 12:54 pm: | |
The City & the City is a very different book from the Perdido Street Station novels - a good deal shorter, for one thing, and much more controlled invention - but it's a difficult one to talk about without revealing the central conceit. I liked it a lot. It functions well as both mystery and fantasy, and the way that central conceit unfolds, becoming more detailed and complex as the novel develops, was really well handled.
And I think Karim's right - I can't see how it would ever work on screen. Maybe some kind of CGI trickery - fade and focus - to mimic the way the characters experience the environment? A tough gig if anyone attempts it ... |
Zed (Gary_mc)
Username: Gary_mc
Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 213.219.8.243
| | Posted on Monday, May 18, 2009 - 02:03 pm: | |
For some reason Meiville's stuff doesn't do it for me, other than his great novella "The Tain". |
Karim Ghahwagi (Karim)
Username: Karim
Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 80.167.124.163
| | Posted on Monday, May 18, 2009 - 04:22 pm: | |
Zed maybe you'll like this one then- and agreed, The Tain was really great.
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel by Susannah Clarke is one of the best fantasy books I've read recently I guess. She worked on that for ten years I believe. I can't stand contempoary sword and sorcery narratives, and I get dizzy just looking at the amount of crap that still seems to come out when I'm down at my local comic book store. I once picked up a Robin Cook (?) fantasy book at random, it was just filled with people fucking every 10 pages- weird! I think the book was called The Walrus and the Warwolf- part four of (add decimals). |
Jonathan (Jonathan)
Username: Jonathan
Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 91.143.178.131
| | Posted on Monday, May 18, 2009 - 05:04 pm: | |
Love Meiville's stuff and Strange and Norrel was one of the best books I read last year.
Karim, if you hate contemporary sword and sorcery, it's likely you'll not like my novel coming out in October. Though I can promise you there isn't a tacky sex scene in sight.
Do you mean Robin Hobb by the way? Robin Cook was the guy who wrote medical thrillers I thought. |
Karim Ghahwagi (Karim)
Username: Karim
Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 80.167.124.163
| | Posted on Monday, May 18, 2009 - 06:10 pm: | |
Right Jonathan, it was Hugh Cook I think. I'll always give stuff a chance, maybe your work will prove me wrong... Is it Steve Erikson's massive sequence of fantasy books that's supposed to be good? And those Wheel of Time books seem really popular; I often see people reading them around in the metro, on buses etc. If stuff has fresh ideas, then I'll always give it a chance... |
Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston)
Username: Weber_gregston
Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 194.176.105.47
| | Posted on Monday, May 18, 2009 - 06:12 pm: | |
Have you read Guy Kay's books? His first 5 were excellent. The Fionavar tapestry is probably my favourite sword'n'scorcery trilogy. |