Stephen King

Imaginary Interviewer: Who's next on your list?

Me: Stephen King and, what might be his masterpiece, 'The Stand'.

II: And for those who don't know Mr King, what should they know?

Me: I don't know who that would be. King is one of the most famous authors of the 20th century. He's well known as a horror writer. Also, he writes a crazy amount of material. Per Wikipedia, he has published more than 65 novels/novellas and more than 200 short stories. The only author on our list who can compete with that is Isaac Asimov.

II: Is he good?

Me: I think he's very good. His stories can be described as "gripping". As in, "I picked up this 500 page book yesterday and I'm nearly done with it now", gripping. 

II: And this book? 

Me: 'The Stand' is considered by many to be his masterpiece. In it, an experimental super-flu has created a lethal pandemic. It causes a fatality rate of something like 99.6% of all that catch it. As it spreads, there is a complete breakdown of the social order. This leads to an epic contest between good and evil. 

II: Have you read many of his other works?

Me: Yeah, a couple dozen of them. Some of my favorites are 'Misery', 'Eye of the Dragon' and 'The Long Walk'. I also love the novellas that became the movies 'The Stand' and 'Shawshank Redemption'.  I'm not a completest by any stretch, but I'm a big fan of his work.  

Richard Matheson

 II: And what's next on the reading list?

Me: For July, we are reading Richard Matheson's 'I Am Legend'. 

II: And what can you tell us about him?

Me: Without looking him up, very little, actually. Let's see... [opens Wikipedia] ...it seems that he was very successful at writing things that would be easily adapted for TV and the movies. The man wrote for The Twilight Zone (natch) and had 11 different stories go on to become motion pictures. The story that we're reading, 'I Am Legend' has three different adaptations alone.

II: Three?

Me: Yes. The most recent is a 2004 movie by Will Smith but earlier there was 'The Last Man on Earth' and Charlton Heston's 'Omega Man'. I've only seen the most recent, but they all sound similar to each other. The basic premise is something like 'what if all of society disappeared except for one man who was facing a threat'. 

II: Is that how you'd describe 'I Am Legend'? 

Me: At its most basic, yes. The man, named Robert Neville, is all alone during the day. At night he is besieged by vampires. It's a horrible situation, of course, but it really is interesting how he spends his days. He has provisions and has to keep his small fortress safe. So his days must be productive or he risks his life. 

II: Sounds lonely.

Me: Oh, terribly lonely. I think that the 2004 movie represents the main themes of the book pretty well. It moves the action from California to New York City but that's a rather small detail. 

II: Had you read this before?

Me: No. I knew of the movie but had no idea it was based on a book. I'd never heard of Matheson before this. Now that I've read it, I can highly recommend it. A very good read!

Philip K Dick

 Another month, another author! For June we are doing 'Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep' by Philip K Dick. 

II: What should we know about him? 

He was a master of what is often called 'paranoid fiction'. This book, 'Androids', fits that bill perfectly. The main character is quickly thrown into a situation where he comes to doubt everyone around him. He doesn't know who to believe. He may not even be able to believe his own memories. It's very much a head trip.

This book is also interesting because it is one of a small number of books that are less famous than the movies that they inspired. 'Bladerunner' came out in 1982 and quickly became a legend in sci-fi circles. 'Androids' had come out 14 years earlier. It received a Hugo nomination but didn't really become part of the larger social consciousnesses. 

II: Have you read much of his other works?

Prior to this, my only experience was reading 'The Man in the High Castle', which won the Hugo award in 1962. It's an alternate history of the world where the Nazis and Japan have won World War II. The book is interesting in part because Dick used the I Ching to guide the plot of the book. 

II: That was also adapted, right?

Yes. Amazon had a series of that a few years back. I didn't watch it but I gather it was popular. Dick is also responsible for the stories that inspired the movies 'Total Recall' and 'Minority Report'. These movies (and 'Bladerunner') all have a similar element of distrust in reality and authority. 

II: Anything else?

This is my first reading of 'Androids' and it's really good! The story has a lot of heat to it. We can see that Deckard is in a crazy difficult situation and it's hard not to empathize with him. I'd only known the movie before this and I can tell you, knowing how the movie goes is no help in figuring out where the book will go. Highly recommended. 

Neil Gaiman

 What's the next book?

For April, we're reading 'Stardust', by Neil Gaiman. 

Is he any good?

He's *incredibly* good. 

Okay, tell me about him.

Gaiman got his breakthrough with comic books. He wrote 'The Sandman' series (#29 on the NPR list) for DC comics. His writing attracted lots of good attention for its balance of humor and clever plotting. He co-wrote a book with Terry Pratchett (who wrote 'Small Gods' and the discworld series). This book is 'Good Omens' and Amazon has made a mini series of it. 

Has he done other works that have been made into TV and movies?

Oh, yes. 'Stardust', the book we're reading now, was published in 1999 and made into a movie in 2007. Everything that we're reading of his has been adapted into either movie or TV form. In addition, he's been a prolific guest writer for different series. He is well loved by the media and fans. The list of awards on his Wikipedia page requires you to scroll down a couple of times to get it all in. 

Do you have a favorite of his?

The very first Gaiman work that I read was 'American Gods' (#10 on the NPR list). It's fantastic. Just superb writing. I've since read half a dozen of his other works and enjoyed them all. I picked up 'Stardust' a couple of months ago when I had a gap in my reading schedule and finished it in about three days. As soon as I was done I wanted to put it in other people's hands so they could read it too. 

What can you say about it?

It's a fairy tale story, told in a fairy tale style. I've seen it described as a 'hot' story, in the same way that 'The Princess Bride' is and I think that's fair. While I don't think it would be bad to put this in the hands of a young reader, it's meant for adults. I don't want to get into details, because I don't want to spoil anything but I'll say that it's a lot of fun and I enjoyed it immensely. 

Terry Pratchett

 Imaginary Interviewer: What's up next for the reading list?

Me: Next up is 'Small Gods' by Terry Pratchett. 

II: What should we know about Pratchett? 

Me: Well, he's best known for the Discworld series. He published a couple of books a year and (per Wikipedia) the UK's best selling author of the 90's. The Discworld series consists of 41 different novels, of which our book, 'Small Gods' is one of them. 

II: Tell me about the Discworld. 

Me: Discworld is a flat earth style planet. It is on the back of a gigantic, cosmic turtle. It is a world with different lands and different cultures. Magic works there and gods exist. Also, the personification of Death appears in most every story, including this one. 

II: Is it a 3S book?

Me: It most certainly is. 3S (for any that don't know) stands for Swords Sorcery and Series. The Discworld books fit all three qualifications. On the plus side, my understanding is that most of the books can be read by themselves. In other words you can dip in and out and not feel like picking one up commits you to the other 40 titles. 

II: Have you read any others in the series? 

Me: A very long time ago I read 'Mort', which deals with Death. I don't remember any of the specifics but I enjoyed it. I also read 'Good Omens' which isn't a Discworld book but was written by Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. Enjoyed that as well. 

II: How would you describe the style?

Me: Pratchett is a very witty writer. Not quite on Douglas Adams' level but close. You'll frequently crack a smile while reading his books and might laugh out loud a couple of times. One other thing you should know, he doesn't write in traditional chapters. If you say to yourself "I'll just finish this chapter up", you'll be there until the end of the book. In short, enjoyable and hard to put down. 

Piers Anthony

 Imaginary Interviewer: And on to the next book. Who are we reading now?

Humble Writer: We're reading something by Piers Anthony. The selection is for the Xanth Series of books. The first one, which is our sole target, is called 'A Spell for Chameleon'. 

II: What should we know about Anthony?

HW: Prior to 1977 he had published a dozen or so books. In '77 he started the Xanth series and that's almost exclusively what he's been writing. Wikipedia has a quote where he says that this is all that his publishers have wanted from him. 

II: Does it constitute a lot of books?

HW: Oh yes. per Wikipedia there are now 46 books in the series with two more announced. 

II: 46?

HW: Yes. If each one is around 300 pages (a guess on my part), then the series is just short of 14,000 pages long. 

II: Wow. Any good?

HW: Well, I haven't read any of the Xanth books until this project. I've seen a huge number of them in used bookstores over the years, so I'm sure collecting a large number of them would be easy enough. So they're obviously very popular and have a dedicated fan base. That speaks to some level of quality. 

II: But what do you think?

HW: Having dipped my toe in only, I can tell you that I'm pretty pleased with what I've read. The Xanth region is one where (most) everyone has some level of magic. Anthony plays with this premise in a joyful way. He's obviously having fun with this writing and that makes the reading easier. 

II: Hard magic or soft magic?

HW: Oh, very much driven by rules so hard magic. 

II: Anything else we should know? 

HW: In the print edition, the book starts out with a map (as the best ones do.) The area for Xanth is clearly modeled after the state of Florida. I got a kick out of this and I'm sure Anthony did too. 

II: Recommended?

HW: Yes. At least try the first 100 or so pages. 

Terry Goodkind

 Imaginary Interviewer: It's that time again, or, well, actually a day late, but you know what we mean. Who are we reading for November?

Humble Writer: This month we're doing 'Wizard's First Rule' by Terry Goodkind. I winced when this book came up but I'm really enjoying it.

II: Why did you wince?

HW: I've got this book mentally tagged as a "3S" book. That stands for Swords, Sorcery and Series. This isn't my favorite genre. 

II: Why not? 

HW: It's the third S that gets me. 'Wizard's First Rule' is the first book in the 'Sword of Truth' series. According to Wikipedia the series spans 21 novels and 6 novellas. The first book is over 800 pages. The entire series is probably close to 20,000 pages. If you read 100 pages a day, this would take you nearly 7 months to read. That's a lot.

II: Have you read anything by Goodkind before this?

HW: I had not. I'm sure I saw the books in bookstores but they look very 3S so I avoided them. Looking at Wikipedia, I don't see much to his career outside of the 'Sword of Truth' books. Not that he needed a lot more than them. More than 25 million copies have been sold in the series and it's been translated into more than 20 languages. That alone is a pretty meaty career. 

II: And you're enjoying it?

HW: I am! My personal rule is to give a book at least 100 pages before giving up on it and I'm afraid that the 3S doorstops might hit that rule frequently. But I'm currently about 600 pages into 'Wizard's First Rule' and still going. The story is interesting, the writing is fine (if plain). What really gets me, though, are the characters. The main character is Richard Cypher and he's fascinating. Time and time again, the book puts him in a difficult position where he must untie some knotty problem and he keeps navigating them in surprising and virtuous ways! It's good stuff!

II: So you'd recommend it. 

HW: I very much would. I'd certainly try giving it 100 pages and see if it catches you.

II: And the rest of the series?

HW: Yeah, that's the rub. Absent someone paying me to do it, I can't envision what would compel me to happily commit to 20,000 pages. But the first one, at least, is good and worth your time!