Something Wicked This Way Comes 

Anyway, the vision of joy overcoming fear and of life rooted in sturdy faithfulness unites the two books and makes Bradbury’s worth sticking through the slow and the weird.

I recently finished William Gibson’s Neuromancer. And I really don’t know what to think of it.

I did enjoy the book. The plot was intriguing: well-paced and complex. The protagonist precisely, if lightly, drawn. It is an atmospheric story: one without much exposition but where every detail tells. I am not familiar with cyberpunk but I know that Neuromancer is much praised as a pioneering title in the genre. All of this to say that I think the book stands well on it’s own but it will likely be even more engaging and important to those with specific interest in cyberpunk.

In December I signed up for a free trial at Audible.com and downloaded Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere. This was both my first Gaiman and my first audiobook.

First to review the medium: I am not much suited to audiobooks. This particular audiobook may be a good or a bad example of the medium and I wouldn’t know, however, based on this example I don’t think I will be trying any new ones. It did while away the hours of driving at least as well as music would have done but not much better (and I am no lover of music). I was almost continually frustrated by how slowly Gaiman was reading his book to me; I could have finished it in less than half the 8 hours I spent on the road and I still have 4 and 1/2 hours left of the book! Were I often on the road I could perhaps incorporate audiobooks into otherwise non-reading time. As I am not, I shan’t. I was also frequently annoyed by sound-effects. Not contented to read me the narration describing a voice as coming over a static-heavy telephone line, Gaiman had to create that effect with static that made it difficult to understand the words. A book is not a radio-play; if I must listen to it instead of read it I would prefer straight narration with no more than slight intonation changes indicating different characters.

As to reviewing the book itself, I am only two thirds of the way through the book. I have frequently enjoyed Gaiman’s clever turn of phrase and am moderately eager to discover the outcome of the story. I find Door to be an engaging character but Richard an annoyingly dull one. Gaiman’s didactic purpose is blindingly obvious but not entirely offensive. We’ll see how it ends once I scare up a print copy, or find four and a half hours of walking or driving time to devote to the remainder.

If you are interested in reading Wolfe (because I unfailingly recommend his genius, or for your own reasons), might I recommend the very useful WolfeWiki? It includes helpful hints for newcomers to Wolfe’s work as well as encyclopedic catalogs of names, events, and lingering questions his work generates.

I enjoyed the lighter approach to a subject I have otherwise only encountered in serious research or first-person accounts. Polygamy in the U.S. is a complex and often painful subject. This story of a hapless, and often helpless, patriarch humanized male polygamists for me.

The book ended well but also included a few episodes that unfortunately broke through my suspension of disbelief. They were not serious enough, or sustained enough to mar my reading experience too profoundly.

It’s been awhile since I finished the book, but I want to recommend Udall’s work to anyone interested in the subject of Mormon polygamy; it is a challenging, intriguing, and entertaining perspective.

I very much enjoyed this collection of short stories.  The themes, styles, and lengths are quite varied and each one has a brief Afterword from Wolfe explaining its origin, context, and personal meaning.  The Afterwords are worth the price of the book.

Highlights include: “The Hero as Werwolf,” “The Detective of Dreams,” “Death of the Island Doctor,” and “Redbeard.”

I have just finished this book which is an unusual venture for me. I don’t often read sci-fi or fantasy unless it is authored or recommended by Lewis or Tolkien. But my good friend Brent proffered it and his recommendations are nearly as reliable so I read it. And…I’m not sure what to think. The book was fascinating. Several times I didn’t want to put it down. The language was archaic although the atmosphere was futuristic. The moral universe was different but recognizable. The book was like Kafka filtered through the imagination of a lesser Tolkien. I am intrigued to read the sequel.