Reading Update

look at Nameless basking in a white glow,
confident in its utter madness.

So again, because of the Ombria-project I haven't read anything big in a while and have been mostly whittling away at various comic books and have only read one prose book; a collection of short stories by a specific author.

I'm guessing that'll be the next post, though it really is more of a look at the book than anything approaching a review.

In the meantime I'm very uncertain about what to read next.

I've mentioned starting to read Weaveworld but that was really just a read-through of that one's introduction.

Von Bek; the second novel is still waiting patiently to be read.

Something else that has presented itself is Scott Bakker's Second Apocalypse series, which one's final book will be published within 20 days. And believe me. I've been looking forward to that one for a very long time.

I have a very personal and probably also very offensive post coming up concerning my experience with the series that explains why it strikes such a meaningful and personal chord with me. I'm still undecided If I'll actually post it but I gather that, with some cleaning up of the post, I will end up publishing it.

The entirety of parts 1 and 2 of the Second Apocalypse,
minus the Unholy Consult of course.

I made a half-hearted attempt to start re-reading the Judging Eye, but it got pretty horrific pretty quick and I was queasily dissuaded from continuing. This is mostly because over the weekend I got a little sick and I started to associate the nausea with the book.

I'm also worried about how to do the second apocalypse review posts once I've re-read the novels.
They're so deep and so horrific that it's really quite impossible to persuade anyone who doesn't read widely, and with a focus towards philosophical meandering, to read them. Or to even explain to anyone why these novels are so good, no, so necessary, without sounding like someone who likes torture porn superimposed over a background of theological imagery.

They're a blend of pessimistic ultra-realism and dark epic fantasy, geared towards advancing the writer's, who is a philosophy teacher, philosophical ideas.
Philosophy clad in a coat of grimdark, though, to quote LoopingWorld, “Grimdark” is usually used as a pejorative but it’s the greatest injustice to call this book so.
If I take a look at what Abalieno has written on the subject I feel myself sliding right out of my boots. What more can be said? The books simply can not appeal to everyone.
The dark, unflinching mirror they hold up can be sometimes be too hard to look at. And yet, it has so much to offer. The vision they present is unique.
There's nothing else like it on the market.

I remember reading the second book and at a certain point throwing it across the room in disgust and frustration. before it had stopped sliding across the floor I was already hurrying after it with a big and guilty grin on my face. There's immediate gratification coupled with disgust and exultation. But in the long term there's also something else, and idea lurking in the background of the series, that I sincerely hope Bakker keeps running with; It's possible that this idea is the central pay-off to the Aspect-Emperor part of the series, and I sincerely hope so. But I can't be sure, it might just be wish fulfillment.
I'll have to put spoiler tags at the start of the Second Apocalypse and Faith post.

It might seem bizarre and unhealthy to put so much stock on something so seemingly flimsy and obviously dark; it's just another set of books someone else might say. And I'm not disagreeing with that, but hey, everybody has their interests, and these books manage to tick all of mine. Theology, madness, metaphysics, extreme violence and an unflinching look at the dark selfishness of human nature. Also, a nightmare reflection of the Lord of the Rings, Kinda, and obvious inspiration from Blood Meridian.

Iron men and Saints, in case you're wondering,
Another big influence on the series.

And for now, in this vague time before the release of the final novel, hype and trust and hope is at a fever pitch. Anything is possible and all my hopes will be fulfilled.
What a dangerous thing hype can be.

So, despite and likely because of my excitement, I'm still not sure if I'll just plunge back into the dark, manipulative world of The Three Seas. I've been waiting a long while for the conclusion. But I could wait a little while longer If I feel like I'm being pressured, even if it's just by myself.

What can I say; I told you I'm a contrary sort of person.

A look-back at the Explanation post, with a sprinkling of Dream Bears

Phew.

The original number of post-its was much larger,
This is what I was left with on the final day of the post.

I'm really happy to have that done.

Remember when I said I'd like to say something special about every Fantasy Masterwork that I review/look at? (Wait, did I even say that here on the blog?)

Weeeeeell...

About Ombria in Shadow I didn't have much to say for the longest time because behind the scenes I kept working on that aspect of the review. I had figured out by that point that my hypothesis or at least that parts of my hypothesis concerning Faey was correct. But I was stumped on how it all tied into the rest.
One of the most glaring problems then was my inability to comprehend the nature and workings of Domina Pearl.

And then I had a moment of revelation. It tied into a dream I myself had during this period.
In the dream I was chased by a bear. Or rather in the dream I kept seeing a bear in the distance that I knew would come after me. Now, normally I'm not a lucid dreamer and I bearly (sorry) remember much of them afterwards. But I ended up remembering this one though.

So. I kept seeing a bear in the distance. And you know how in dreams, scenes flow seamlessly from setting to setting, location to location, day to night and so on? I kept flowing between various dreamscenarios and at various parts I remember seeing the bear. It kept coming closer and closer. but always took a while to arrive in the dream or dreamlocation of the moment.

In the end I arrived home; from Alaskan wilderness, to corrugated scrap construction towering in the middle of a primordial forrest, to woods, to the underbrush at the back of the yard. And I was walking from the brush to the windows at the rear of the house, one of which is a sliding door working on a set of tiny wheels within the heavy frame of the wood. And when I arrived I looked around and saw that damn bear again.

It was perched on the fence dividing our yard from that of our back-neighbours.
It was already on my home turf. And then it jumped from the fence into the brush like some ridiculously large cat.

At that point the dream was already spiralling out of control.
I ran inside and threw/slid the door closed with such force that it slid open a bit again, and without waiting for it to stop moving or put it in an even marginally more safe position threw the lever that switches the door's resting point from wheels to frame, thus locking it securely, or so I thought.

I ran to the dividing door to the living room where my dad and various family members were gathered watching tv. I slid it open and closed it behind me. I looked at the various members of my family gathered within.

In the hopes of conveying how much trouble we were in I swore at my dad, using various expletives I knew he wouldn't like. I gambled that he would either recognize my seriousness and follow orders without questioning them or that he'd start to chew me out over using swear words. Of course, because my subconscious is a little bitch, he did the latter.

He started to harangue me and my shoulders slumped. I turned around, opened the door and looked out at the sliding door to the backyard.

A nightmare.
The sun had dissappeared, hidden by dark clouds and everything had taken on hues of gray.
The bear was still a bear, but it was transformed.
It was still covered in brown fur, but its arms had elongated.
The upper arms were very thin, the almost human hands and forearms were grotesquely large, swollen shaggy with matted black clots of hair. It stood on its hind legs pressed against the crack of the door that I, in my haste, hadn't closed. Black shadows pooled out of and covered his eyesockets where black glistening marbles lay hidden. Something dripped from its open mouth.
I can't remember if it made a sounds.
Worst of all; with its shaggy paws it was slowly forcing open the sliding door.

I turned around and closed the living room door and looked at my family.
They hadn't moved. They had in fact all gone back to watching the tv. Behind me the bear was still forcing its way in and it would be in the room by the time I could get everyone out of the living room.

At that moment the realization came that I could still run out of the door to the hallway, but that everyone in this room would die.
And so I woke up.

In a way that dream gave me a good look at the nature of the Pearl. Spoilers particularily how she keeps popping up from dream to dream, escalating everything as she does. I wonder if there comes a time when Faey just loses complete control and as a result, the dream just ends and Ombria just disintegrates? end spoilers.

Anyway; So the Interpretation post took a very long time.
I've been busy with it rather constantly.  Writing, editing, fact checking, rewriting and re-fact checking whenever a new permuation of the theory presented itself. and believe me; there were more than a few times that that happened. A frustrating but at times also an exhilarating process.

I posted the final interpretation yesterday and though it isn't perfect by alot of standards, certainly not my own, I'm at the very least extremely glad it's now done.

The whole thing took me about 2 months maybe, from way back before I posted the Ombria in Shadow review itself. That original post took a while too. That was mostly because there was so much to look at and so many reasons and interpretations to think up for every aspect of the book, and at the time of the review, I still believed I could fit it in with the review itself.

Obviously that original intention didn't hold up.

There were times when I had given up and times when I just felt burnt out. But in the end it did get done.
Looking back at the whole thing I believe everything interlocks rather neatly, though still not perfectly. But you know, at one point you just have to say; this is enough.

Mostly because the focus on the interpretation devolved almost into a sort of mania and as a result everything else fell by the wayside. It's something that has happened a few times in the past whenever I bump on something that interests me deeply but that I can't immediately find any explanation for and I end up having to figure it out on my own. Most notably with a book I mentioned in the 'Extras' post: American Gods.

I took a stab at that book there But I'm really not of a mind to adress it any further.

Next up, a reading update.

Extras regarding the interpretation

This post, if read at all, should be read after the Interpretation post.
Spoilers after the jump, Obviously.

Ombria in Shadow: an Explanation

Art by Grzegorz Domaradzki

Calling this post an explanation seems mightily bold though. It's in fact a very assumption-based analysis but as I'd like people to see it I'm keeping the title but I'm going to be slightly more humble and refer to it from hereon out as my interpretation. And to completely undercut that, I'll just share, with great pretentiousness, a quote by Lord Dunsany.

"And there is a path that winds over the hills to go into mysterious holy lands where dance by night the spirits of the woods, or sing unseen in the sunlight; and no one goes into those holy lands, for who that love Oojni would rob her of her mysteries, and the curious aliens come not."

---Part the third: A Dreamer's tales, The Idle City---

In my review of Ombria in Shadow I mentioned that interpreting and understanding how the narrative fits together isn't integral to the enjoyment of it. I'm reliably informed that having no clue as to the meaning of events in a Patricia Mckillip novel is part of the experience. But, of course, I couldn't let it go and despite my review, because I'm a contrary sort of person, I'm still going to talk about what I eventually made from it.

Specifically, this blogpost is about the nature of Faey; the sorceress who lives below the city, the nature of Ombria itself, the climax of the novel and the concept behind (hopefully) the reflected world.

I will not be talking about how satisfying the novel is. how good the relationships are and how unconventional it is to have the love between family members put center stage. For that I'll refer you to my review. Ombria in Shadow Review Maybe go read the review first and decide to read the novel, then of you can't figure it out I might be able to help out a bit.

What follows here is my attempt to rationalise many of the more mysterious elements of the story by giving them a place in a complete and all-encompassing narrative within the confines of Ombria in Shadow the novel. As such I'll be using any and all elements in the novel that fit my interpretation. Translation: Spoilers abound.

If you plan on reading Ombria in Shadow and don't want to be spoiled, I suggest you stop reading here. If you haven't read it, you're going to have difficulties following along anyway.


SPOILERS AFTER THE JUMP

The mysteries of Ombria

The Fairy Tales

To figure out the core mysteries behind Ombria in Shadow, we need to take these three Fairy Tales as scripture. Though all must be looked at with a wary and scrutinizing eye because Lydea, the teller of the fairy tales, is an unreliable narrator with an incomplete and skewed view of the narrative.

The Fairy tale of The Fan of Two Cities

"One side was a painting, the other an intricately cut silhouette, a shadow world behind a painted world that could be seen when the fan was held up to the light.

It had belonged to Kyel's mother.

Lydea opened the fan slowly, revealed the colored side.

'This is Ombria, my lord,' the goose said. 'The oldest city in the world.'

'The most beautiful city in the world.'

'The most powerful city in the world.'

'The richest city in the world.'

'This is the world of Ombria.' The goose tapped a tiny jade-green palace overlooking the sea, 'This is the palace of the rulers of Ombria. These are the great, busy ports of Ombria. These are the ships of Ombria...' The goose took the fan gently in its beak, angled it in front of the lamp. Light streamed through the fan. 'This is the shadow of Ombria.'

A city rose behind Ombria, a wondrous confection of shadow that towered even over the palace. Shadow ships sailed over the waters; minute shadow people walked the painted streets.
The future ruler of Ombria, lips parted, surveyed his domain.

'Tell me about the shadow city. Will I rule there too?'

The Goose's voice became dreamy, entwined in the tale.

'The shadow city of Ombria is as old as Ombria. Some say it is a different city completely, exisiting side by side with Ombria in a time so close to us that there are places - streets, gates, old houses - where one time fades into the other, one city becomes the other. Others say both cities exist in one time, this moment, and you walk through both of them each day, just as, walking down a street, you pass through shadow and light... So, my lord, who can say if you will rule  the shadow city? you rule and you do not rule: it is the same, for if you do rule the shadow city, you may never know it.

Then how- Then how do they know it is there?"

The Fairy Tale of the Sorceroress. Epilogue

The fox stroked the prince’s hair while he shook away the moon and replaced it with the sorceress, who had one amethyst eye and one emerald, and who wore a black cloak that shimmered with ribbons of faint, changing colors. “I am the sorceress who lives underground,” the prince said. “Is there really a sorceress who lives underground?” “So they — ” Lydea checked herself, let the fox speak. “So they say, my lord.” “How does she live? Does she have a house?” She paused again, glimpsing a barely remembered tale. “I think she does. Maybe even her own city beneath Ombria. Some say that she has an ancient enemy, who appears during harsh and perilous times in Ombria’s history. Then and only then does the sorceress make her way out of her underground world to fight the evil and restore hope to Ombria.” “My tutor goes everywhere in Ombria. Maybe she knows where the sorceress lives.” “I wouldn’t be surprised at anything your tutor knows.” The sorceress descended, long nose down on the silk. Kyel picked another puppet up, looked at it silently a moment. The queen of pirates, whose black nails curved like scimitars, whose hair was a rigid knoll in which she kept her weapons, stared back at him out of glittering onyx eyes. Kyel put her down as silently, frowning slightly. 

The Fairy Tale of the Princess and the Locket, Epilogue

"She settled herself beside him, absently picked up the black sheep, whose eyes were silvery, whose long mouth curled into the faintest smile. “Tell me the story of the locket.” “Once upon a time, my lord, in the best and the worst of all possible worlds, a princess fell in love with a young man who loved to draw pictures.” “Like Ducon.” “Very like your cousin. Every day for a year, she gave him a rose. She would pick it at dawn from her father’s gardens and then take it to the highest place in the castle, a place so high that everyone had forgotten about it except for the doves that nested beneath the broken roof. There, she had found a secret door between the best and the worst of the worlds. Every day, they would meet on the threshold of that door. She would give him a rose, and he would give her a drawing of the city he lived in. They loved each other very much, but of course they could never marry, because they were from different worlds: she was a princess and he an artist who had to paint tavern signs to keep himself fed. “One day, after a year had passed, the princess brought him a child along with a rose. It was the happiest day of her life because she had given him their child, and also the saddest day of her life, because he came to her with his heart’s blood on his paper instead of a drawing. Someone had seen him with the princess and had punished him. So, in her love and sorrow, she crossed the threshold to his world, to stay with him while he breathed his last.” “His last what?” “Breath. In her grief, she pulled the locket from her throat and placed into it a rose petal, three drops of his blood, and a sliver of his charcoal. But after he died, she found that she could not get back into her world with the child, because it was half of the best and half of the worst, and neither world would accept the baby. But the princess, after many days and nights of ceaseless weeping and searching, finally left the child with a wise and powerful woman who would know, with her vast knowledge and experience, how to raise a child of both worlds. At last the princess could return to her own world. The only thing she had to leave with her child was the locket, which held all the memories of her love…” 

The Intimations

Next, there are three conversations that ask important and interesting questions that also lie close to the central mysteries of the novel.

The Two Cities

"One side was a painting, the other an intricately cut silhouette, a shadow world behind a painted world that could be seen when the fan was held up to the light.

It had belonged to Kyel's mother.

Lydea opened the fan slowly, revealed the colored side.

'This is Ombria, my lord,' the goose said. 'The oldest city in the world.'

'The most beautiful city in the world.'

'The most powerful city in the world.'

'The richest city in the world.'

'This is the world of Ombria.' The goose tapped a tiny jade-green palace overlooking the sea, 'This is the palace of the rulers of Ombria. These are the great, busy ports of Ombria. These are the ships of Ombria...' The goose took the fan gently in its beak, angled it in front of the lamp. Light streamed through the fan. 'This is the shadow of Ombria.'

A city rose behind Ombria, a wondrous confection of shadow that towered even over the palace. Shadow ships sailed over the waters; minute shadow people walked the painted streets.
The future ruler of Ombria, lips parted, surveyed his domain.

'Tell me about the shadow city. Will I rule there too?'

The Goose's voice became dreamy, entwined in the tale.

'The shadow city of Ombria is as old as Ombria. Some say it is a different city completely, exisiting side by side with Ombria in a time so close to us that there are places - streets, gates, old houses - where one time fades into the other, one city becomes the other. Others say both cities exist in one time, this moment, and you walk through both of them each day, just as, walking down a street, you pass through shadow and light... So, my lord, who can say if you will rule  the shadow city? you rule and you do not rule: it is the same, for if you do rule the shadow city, you may never know it.

Then how- Then how do they know it is there?"

Here the story is cut off, on the cusp of a question that through circumstance is not answered, a technique that Mckillip will employ 2 more times over the course of the novel, always with themes and questions pertaining to the mysteries at the heart of the story.

Mckillip, in these three conversations that are as close to revelations to the true nature of Ombria in shadow as she's willing to go are usually immediately dropped after an important but abstract suggestion. On their own, these conversations are misleading and too abstract to follow to their intended meaning; but put them together and ideas start to present themselves.

Dreams coming to life

(p163 FM ed.)

"The silvery eyes saw her clearly then: someone real, standing in time, not in a dream, with a face he recognized and thoughts he could guess at if he had to.

How strange, she reflected. How strange to be in a dream one moment and in the world the next, and to know the difference in the blink of an eye.

'You have a very peculiar expression on your face,' he commented drowsily.

'I was just thinking.'

'About what?'

'About how we know what's real. How we wake out of a timeless place and recognize time.

How you know me here, now, even when nothing or anyone else in this place is familiar.
I might have been wandering through your dream, but you knew immediately which of me will bring you paper.'

He was silent for so long, still clasping her wrist, that she thought he must have fallen asleep without knowing it.

He said finally, 'Say that again.'
'I can't,' she answered helplessly. 'It was just a thought. I gave it to you.'
'Something about dreams coming to life-'

'That's not what I said.'
'That's what I heard.'"

It happens

'"I thought', she said uneasily to Faey, 

'that it was you making all the noise out there. What is it?'
'It happens,' Faey answered obscurely. 'This is a good place to wait it out, It's outside of time, and you'll remember better afterward.'
'Wait what out? Remember what? What exactly is going on out there?'
The sorceress shrugged slightly; an eyebrow tilted.
'I'm never sure. But it seems to happen whenever I come up from the underworld.'
Mag stared at her, speechless."

Book Haul and Blog Update

Latest haul, saved up since last time... If you don't count the Books of Babel, Slaine Brutania or the previous Grim Bookshop post.
I've been working on something but I'm finding it tough going. I was thinking about not doing anymore of these Book Haul posts but as I don't want a post-drought either I'll settle for some easy content instead while I take my time editing the shit out of the difficult one. (there's actually a few big posts I'm working on but that last one has picked up some steam recently and is nearing its end or its discontinuation.)

So, feast and rejoice! Here be Book Porn!

Let's focus on the more intriguing parts first.
The three boxes to the left.

Roadside Picnic; the inspiration for the move 'Stalker'
and the Stalker video games.

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Mythago Wood

These mugs were inspired by the Sci-fi and Fantasy masterwork editions published by Gollancz.
I found these on the Bookdepository site and didn't wait too long to pick them all up.

Oddly, only one of these three has actual artwork from a fantasy Masterwork edition. Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way comes. A quick search online reveals all three works of art come from artist Autun Purser's Project Fantastic Travel Destinations.
It also explains why these mugs are titled according to the book's location and not the title, though the author's name is present.

Go give that site a look; if you're a genre lover it'll be worth your time. The plateau of Leng one might be my favourite. Utter Lovecraftian bleakness.

As you can see these books are all similarly themed trade paperbacks. They were published in 2008 by Gollancz. The story goes that besides the Sci-Fi Masterworks and the Fantasy Masterworks series there was supposed to be a third series, namely the Horror Masterworks series.

As the reception of the Fantasy Masterworks was less than anticipated Gollancz decided not to continue with plans for the Horror Masterworks. In 2007 they tried again, but on a smaller scale, keeping every collection limited to just 8 books. That year they lead with the Beautiful Future Classic series for Sci-fi. In 2008 the Ultimate Fantasies Sequence for fantasy, which needs not be talked about here as I did an informative post on it a little while ago.
And for horror they published the Terror... wait.

The Terror 8. Here with missing matching edition of Fevre Dream. Because online sellers are too lazy to actually be accurate in picture, description and ISBN numbers...

These books are rather hard to get and Fevre Dream is precisely the book that made me hold off on trying to acquire these 8 books before. Until last year somewhere I had never even seen the elusive blue cover of the Terror 8 books. That is until I found the Caustic Cover Critic Blog, who gave a good but dismissive look at the 8 books. Gollancz Horrors

It made me slightly more comfortable with going after these books as I could plainly see that all 8 covers were indeed matching.
In a harried month of comparing Ebay descriptions with what information I had, I got lucky with 7 out of 8 books, but not the one I was actually worried about... Naturally.
So the hunt continues, at a leisurely pace of course, I don't have much time to read these days. And on the days that I work, I don't even have the inclination to when I come home. So there's no rush, though I would like to have a complete set.

Onwards.

I have an upcoming post about the Michael Moorcock Collection soon. Something to kick off, hopefully, a long line of posts, stretching into the future. Several things have kept me from committing to it though. The sheer scope of Moorcock's Multiverse for one. The blog is another, specifically, the fear that I will never manage to keep a meaningful blog going. I don't  easily share stuff, and it's sometimes hard to keep that up. Regardless, I do have some personal goals that I feel I have to post on the blog. They mostly concern favourite books and some personal stuff besides.
It's a different sort of blog to what I was expecting this to be. But I feel like this might be more comfortable. A comfortable groove into which I'm settling.

Be yourself, don't try to be anything other than who you are, because every seat but yours is taken; you wouldn't believe how that message has been hammered into me over the past few weeks. Movies, series, books, games and comics; bizarrely they've all had that message directed at me over the course of the last month. I figure I should listen and do what comes natural.

Another ramble, another personal tidbit, so now about those three books:
These three books are added to the Moorcock shelf, to wait a while before they are read. The Eternal Champion will be read (reasonably) soon, as will Hawkmoon: The History of the Runestaff.
Count Brass will probably not be for this year. The reason for that will become apparent in the first Moorcock collection blog post.

The Goon Library Editions 3 and 4, still wrapped in their protective plastic. Normally edition 2 should've been on the pile this month as well but something has gone wrong at the DPD center where it got checked in by the book's sellter; it hasn't moved since. I've mailed the seller, but as they haven't contacted me back I'm looking into contacting the DPD center.

And here's some galactic horror with the Southern Cross volume 1 and Nameless.
I've already read Southern Cross.
I found it appalling. I Already started a blog post on it, but I (might) have abandoned it since I'm really uncomfortable giving negative opinions. And believe me, I have nothing positive to say about it.

Nameless then, by Grant Morrison I haven't read yet. But I'm pretty sure it'll be good. I took a glance at the first few utterly bewildering pages and figured that, with some open-mindedness it shouldn't be a problem. I'm looking forward to it.

Here is book 2 of the Manifest Delusions series.
Book 1, Beyond Redemption, was some of the utterly darkest grimdark I've ever read. So its sequel is another one I'm looking forward to, though I doubt I have time to read it anytime soon, which is a real shame.

I do think that is Bedeckt, which is a very disturbing notion.
I mean, I knew he was scarred, but Jesus man...

And here is the back, for those interested.

It comes with quite a humorous author picture.
Ever wondered what kind of man writes this kind of mad fiction?

At the very least; you know he has a sense of humour.

I'm not sure right now if he has another book in the Manifest Delusions setting, either out now or upcoming, but I'll buy it if it exists. I got a pre-order for Evil is a Matter of Perspective, which will be out later this month in trade paperback from online sellers. Evil is a grimdark fantasy short fiction collection with such writers as Fletcher himself, Theresa Frohock, whose Miserere I loved, brian Staveley, Janny Wurts, Scott Bakker and others. I missed out on the kickstarter for the book, but I'm happy to have a trade paperback without all the toppings If I can't get them with.

I still feel as if somehow Beyond Redemption was a fluke. But its dedication to themes of mental ilness and the magic system built upon that, the utterly horrible characters, the shocking events and violence in the book, not to mention the master plan of the main villain, have made me a fan.
I only hope book 2 will be half as good as the first. (shit, I'm really not a fan of hyperbole, what I meant is that; of course it should be as good as book 1)

Here is a bittersweet little comic. Bittersweet because of the feelings it summons, not because it might be bad because I haven't actually read it yet.

Bittersweet because Penny Dreadful's first 2 seasons were a good example of an utterly immaculate Horror show.

It fell on its face, a bit, in season 3, like, though not as bad or as hard as, say, that other 2-season perfect horror show; Hannibal. But Penny Dreadful season 3 was not as it should have been.

And John Logan's bullshit post-finale propaganda was utterly insulting. It didn't help with me trying to forgive the show. Don't get me wrong, I loved what season 3 was doing, and I believe , for instance, that the central plotline; Vanessa's story, would have ended this way regardless in either five seasons or 6. Those final scenes with her would have been (hopefully) the same, had they been put in season 5, they were that good. It was mostly just everything else that I had a problem with. The rushing, the dismissal of several key characters and plotlines. The hackneyed lobbing together of every plotline there at the end. But mainly: We Were Promised More. I might have more to say on this at a later time, either in a potential review of the comic or in a look at the series itself but for now I'll leave it be.

A pretty good likeness too,
Eva Green, everybody.

Next up, Demon-slaying mystery in Brittania.

Romans. Demons. Swords. Blood. Where have you been all my life?
No I'm exagerating. I don't like Romans; dirty fascists. The old ones, I mean.
I don't have a problem with current day Romans.
Though I'm not fond of the Vatican, I suppose.

Don't know much about it and will keep it thus, until I start reading it.

I've saved the best for last, of course.

A little bent, but right now that is ok. 

This is Gollancz's Future Classic edition of Hyperion. One of my most favourite books ever (read).

I suppose the spikes are meant to summon up imagery of the book's metal monster; the Shrike. It's a little too abstract though. If I was to have designed the cover I think I would've used an negative and stylised image of the Shrike Tree. Spikes and corpses, but somehow minimalist. Maybe the focus on one spike with a body impaled on it just barely visible.
But Hell I'm not an artist so it really is fine the way it looks. I mean, how would the Shrike look compressed in time if not as a ball of spikey singularity?

Here is some more pictures, in different angles, since I haven't seen many pictures of these books online. I figured someone might be served by me showing the book from multiple angles.

Grim Boekhandel

I'm loving that logo

I've just been to town getting some presents in preparation for Father's Day and I took the opportunity to stop by a bookshop here in Hasselt I've been meaning to check up on.

I had only recently become aware of it after searching explicitly online for bookshops near me, because I had been feeling the loss of my long time favourite bookshop De Slegte, which closed its Hasselt branch some time ago, keenly.

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I had made a few unsuccesful and ill-prepared forrays into town to find it before but for some odd reason I had had no luck. Today, after having made sure where it was located, when already on its doorstep, I realised I must have cycled past it a few times without ever noticing it.

And though at first, after entering, I was ready to dismiss the shop as I couldn't immediately see any presence of english books, when I did finally spot the 2 whole shelves of English paperbacks and hardbacks my mouth dropped open. Now again, that might just be because I'm only used to the local Standaard Bookstore and I've been staring myself blind at the same shelves over and over.

A varied and original selection of the vintage red spined classics, a whole lot of the beautiful and seductive penguin clothbound classics that are many a booklover's edition of choice. Not alot of fantasy that I can specifically remember but I did see the garish eye-gougingly ugly spine for Joe Abercrombie's Half a King and a slew of Terry Pratchetts. I can't seem to immediately find a good picture of that spine which confirms my opinion of it must be shared by other people.

The choices of books seemed specific and oddly at the bottom shelf, I noticed a slight proclivity for horror.

Tell me; what small, independent book seller stocks up on Clive Barker these days? The Scarlet Gospels, Coldheart Canyon and Weaveworld. It's not much but their presence on the shelf was noteworthy nonetheless as apart from the Gospels those books aren't all that current. I saw some Stephen Kings, though odd is the bookshop that doesn't sell him so this isn't that remarkable.
I also saw the Exorcist but as I wanted to buy the hardcover I held off.

What I noticed most was how odd most of these choices of books were. I had also just been to the vey mainstream Standaard Boekhandel (and really, what's in a name?) and most of their books were very current, recent releases of popular books.
Here there were a bunch of books that you'd be hardpressed to find in other bookshops (I think); I can't remember much individual titles but I remember being quite pleased.
I've mentioned the Barker books, some older Terry pratchetts, The oddest one though was John Fowley's the Magus, and not in its new vintage jacket, no, in its Dell publishing edition. It's, though not exactly rare, odd to find one in a dutch-speaking bookshop. I had been holding off on getting the vintage edition of the Magus because, though their covers looked nice, I would've had to compulsively buy all of them at once to satisfy my collector's urge. I also saw one of those John Fowles Vintage books in the store and it reminded me that, indeed, the vintage spines are Hellisly garish looking. For example here's my vintage edition of Faulkner's As I lay Dying, bought for me by a friend who is quite obviously a sadist.

Pictures cannot give proper understanding of the mindwarping quality of the colours on that spine.
Good book though. Helped me understand how Stream of consciousness writing is supposed to be read.


In the end I walked away with Barker's Weaveworld, which might be the next read, John Fowley's the Magus and Stephen King's The Stand, which I all promptly picked up as soon as I saw them.
I doubted for a while on taking some other books as well but imported books aren't cheap, yow.

Reasons for picking them up?
The Magus, because of this Magus Blogpost on Loopingworld. And because I love postmodern meta fiction about and surrounding mythology. This, however IS the revised edition, so it isn't exactly what it could have been. Though because of the LP-post I'm already privy to some or most of the mystery at the heart of the novel so I don't really mind having things spelled out for me some more.

Weaveworld, because I had been thinking, after the Books of Blood and the Hellbound Heart, of reading some more Clive Barker. I love his writing style and his shocks hit me on a different level than most of the horror novels I've read. They feel more intimate and occasionally are very raw.
When I put it on the counter the sales-lady was very enthusiastic about it too. She recognized all three of the novels but she singled out Weaveworld as an absolutely lovely and favourite read. I'm assuming part sales tactic but there was also genuine love there. This might explain partially the oddity of why these books were in stock.

The guy on LoopingWorld is also reading it and I thought I might be able to get ahead of the review this time. He's been reading it a long time now, so following his reading patterns, it must be good.

Also, apparently an adaptation of Weaveworld for television is incoming. So yeah, a slight hipster-gene satisfaction there as well.

And Stephen King's The Stand, because it fits with the rest of the Stephen King Hodder paperbacks.

But mainly because it's the only significant novel outside of the main Dark tower series that is still connected to it, that I have not read. Apparently it's quite important for the character of Randall Flagg. I don't actually like reading King, as I find him quite an ordinary read but at the very least; it's a quick entertaining read (on a shallow level).

Uuuhm... did I say this was going to be a quick read?

EDIT: OOps! That's what you get for wanting to post something quickly. You end up missing something.

So, in summation; I had a very pleasant visit and a cool little book haul. I'm sure I'll return to Grim whenever I'm back in town.

Clive Barker Quote

"That is not to say my attitude to the work does not continue to change. In the past 14 years I've gone through periods where I was thoroughly out of sorts with the novel, even on occasion irritated that it found such favour with readers when other stories seemed more worthy.

And in the troughs of my discomfort, I made what with hindsight seems to be dubious judgments about fantastic fiction as a whole. I have been, I think, too disparaging about the "escapist" elements of the genre, emphasising its powers to adress social, moral and even philosophical issues at the expense of celebrating its dreamier virtues.

I took this position out of a genuine desire to defend a fictional form I love from accusations of triviality and triteness, but my zeal led me astray.

Yes, fantastic fiction can be intricately woven into the texture of our daily lives, adressing important issues in fabulist form.

But it also serves to release us for a time from the definitions that confine our daily selves; to unplug us from a world that wounds and disappoints us, allowing us to venture into places of magic and transformation."

Clive barker, from his introduction to the 2001 Pocket Book edition of
Weaveworld