tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1484180326012950400.post2828347390207932830..comments2024-03-27T23:55:17.673-07:00Comments on Flogging Babel: A Paragraph from Lucius Shepard's Skull and the Lessons I Want You to Learn From ItMichael Swanwickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18389836784776252022noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1484180326012950400.post-61735601883303906162012-07-20T11:55:00.354-07:002012-07-20T11:55:00.354-07:00I grew up reading all the TSR generated Dragonlanc...I grew up reading all the TSR generated Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms novels in the excess times of the 1980's before working backward to Howard and Lovecraft and Bradbury. I also took a turn though James Silke (a la "ropes of blood!" "nipples of orchid and lips vermillion").<br /><br />All that to say, I needed this lesson. Thank you.Tom Lawrencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02486927841318688496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1484180326012950400.post-56838887314421897372012-07-20T07:03:05.106-07:002012-07-20T07:03:05.106-07:00I could go on forever about the virtues of Lucius&...I could go on forever about the virtues of Lucius's writing. That tin mask, to cite one small example, is so evocative and delivered with such restraint. I can see exactly how it looks, and I wish I owned one.Michael Swanwickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18389836784776252022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1484180326012950400.post-34099477729161329662012-07-19T19:40:01.416-07:002012-07-19T19:40:01.416-07:00I tried reading Jim Butcher's first "Dres...I tried reading Jim Butcher's first "Dresden Files" novel out of curiousity. I stopped when I ran into a sentence that read something like, "'Screw You!' she shouted angrily."Mark Borokhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14655547872987888032noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1484180326012950400.post-26305585291120193022012-07-19T13:16:21.275-07:002012-07-19T13:16:21.275-07:00All true. But that's mere craft. What's mo...All true. But that's mere craft. What's more impressive is Shepard's ability to generate and swing around the metaphorical imagery and similes in profusion. <br /><br />It's more true of Shepard's earlier stuff than his recent work -- but, boy, is that one of the hardest capabilities to learn and manage, and the only other guy who's achieved it in the SF field was Ballard (e.g. "...the windshield glass frosting around her face as she broke its tinted surface like a death-born Aphrodite ... her uterus pierced by the heraldic beak of the manufacturer's medallion..." etc.)<br /><br />It would be churlish to point out that Shepard tends to be not so strong on the plot/structure/subtext ends of things. I guess I am a churl. I have never yet read a Shepard novel that for me has not fallen apart. <br /><br />But, arguably, such deficits don't really matter. Because when it has been all working for Shepard, stories like "Life of Buddha," "R&R" and "The Jaguar Hunter" are classics of world literature. They nay not yet be generally and fully recognized as such, but they are. <br /><br />And in that sense none of us are going to play in Lucius Shepard country.Mark Pontinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11988614518618495319noreply@blogger.com