Jennie&Tim on 3/3/2006 at 15:05
I have a great fondness for Cocktail Time by Wodehouse. Pure lightheartedness, with plenty of booze and silliness. Think of it as the sherbert between the more substantial courses of Sartre and Dostoyevsky.
Stitch on 3/3/2006 at 16:11
Quote Posted by godismygoldfish
I feel the need to bring up The House of Leaves, it is not only the scariest book I have ever read, but it also is seriously doing something to me.
I say it with all honesty when I tell you to avoid this book at all costs if you have a weak psyche.
I'm starting to think that I'm the only person who found that book utterly unsuccessful in what it was trying to do. I was a bit creeped out early on, but that's about it.
Oneiroscope on 3/3/2006 at 18:06
I love some of Ellison's stuff. And while I do agree he has an Ego From Hell... he's more than earned the right to be forgiven imho.
Bradbury is another of my favorite authors. The "child-like" fantasy/ sci-fi thing goes a long way with me, though I've also really enjoyed some of his more mainstream stories. His writing is lyrical, and he is capable of an amazing innocent sensuality in his descriptions that can bring his stories to life. The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, and really just about any collection of his short fiction is definitely worth collecting.
Stephen King can be a great writer from time to time. Unfortunately he often focuses far too much on being prolific and sensational. Many of his novels started out great- with vivid descriptions, profound themes, and ingeniuos characterization- only to decend into the ridiculous as he goes over the top in his search for the ultimate Hollywood ending. He has also demonstrated a tendency toward self-parody and damn-near plaigarism. In general I prefer his earlier short stories. The Long Walk will always be one of my favorites.
dvrabel on 3/3/2006 at 21:30
I'd suggest that anyone that enjoys reading modern fantasy read the orignal source material that every fantasy author has drawn inspiration from (or blatently ripped off in some cases). Thing such the various (and numerous) Norse sagas, and the Welsh Mabinogion. You probably want to start with the English translations rather than the orginal Old Norse or Welsh ;)
Jennie&Tim on 4/3/2006 at 00:45
I remember enjoying Evangeline Walton's version of the Welsh folktales; and I think I noticed recently that they've been reissued. I have no idea how close to the original they are. In the same vein, for those who enjoy childlike fantasy, I like Lloyd Alexander's Pyrdain books. I may have misspelled, as it's been a long time since I read them. The King of Elfland's Daughter should also be on the list for fantasy lovers.
For some reason House of Leaves (which I have not read) reminded me of a book called House of Stairs, which was one of the first books to really creep me out.
Headphones on 4/3/2006 at 01:00
re: paz You seen the Neil Jordan film of the Company of Wolves? It's rather good! At one point, Terrence Stamp turns up in the woods in a rolls royce or something as Death or Satan I'm not sure. Art school!
But I seriously recommend it as it's beautiful to look at and it's as good an approximation of a dream/nightmare as I've ever seen.
Also v.goth!
(Also it features a hilariously bad performance by a short fat boy that haunts my dreams)
(And the most frightening performance by a human male of all time)
D'Juhn Keep on 4/3/2006 at 02:36
Quote Posted by Headphones
re: paz You seen the Neil Jordan film of the
Company of Wolves?
This is an absolute lie, I laughed my way through most of the film. It was terrible!
Uncia on 4/3/2006 at 02:51
Pah, classics schmassics. Someone make a thread about the best (by which I mean most entertaining) pulp novels they've read- B grade corny romance novels that they love despite, or because of, their flaws.
Or, hey, if you've read decent porn fiction, better still. Nothing like admissions of slash fiction to entertain a bunch of people you've never met on da intranet. ;)
Headphones on 4/3/2006 at 14:02
Quote Posted by D'Juhn Keep
This is an absolute lie, I laughed my way through most of the film. It was terrible!
Nonsense! It's gorgeous! One of the most beautiful films of the 80s, easy! You do have to adjust your brain slightly before watching it though in that it's basically purely visual. If you're thinking about story/acting, you're just distracting yourself. The styling is almost fetishistic. Which is certainly a matter of taste.
(I won't defend the fat boy though.)
Paz on 4/3/2006 at 16:55
Quote Posted by Headphones
re: paz You seen the Neil Jordan film of the
Company of Wolves?
Nope. But judging by the response of you and Iggles (D'Juhn) it's either fantastic, or hilarious, or a special combination of both - so I'll keep an eye out!
