the book
by uzwi
Anna Kearney: Anna is trying to come to terms with her life. Since Michael Kearney walked into the sea off Mann Hill Beach, she’s remarried & has a grown-up daughter. Though she spent decades “pretending to be an adult”, Anna remains as dysfunctional as ever, haunted by her own suicide attempts & a dream she can’t explain. She’s trying, in her confused and self-defeating way, to return to physicist Brian Tate the data collected in the Tate-Kearney experiments.
World X: The crew of the Nova Swing strip the remaining assets of Madame Shen’s circus, shipping illegal aliens from planet to disused planet across the Halo. Who is the mysterious M.P. Renoko ? Why is he so interested in diner aesthetics ? What is the true nature of the quarantine orbit ? Irene the mona loses faith in the party universe. For Liv Hula & Fat Antoyne, there’s an unwelcome meeting with an old acquaintance.
Saudade City: Lens Aschemann’s assistant investigates a series of unlikely killings. She doesn’t seem to be any better at investigation than Aschemann, but everyone is too scared of her to complain. “Rig” Gaines, a mid-rank EMC fixer with a satisfyingly broad remit, introduces her to a million-year-old experimental artefact. She gets a boyfriend. She searches for a name. Fans of Aschemann’s 1952 Cadillac roadster will be delighted to find that its engine has been uprated to 1000 horsepower.
War. Rockets. Disturbing imagery. Appearances by characters from previous fictions. Sex tourism. Gigantic objects in space. Death of a loved figure. Faux retro. Bad behaviour presented without sufficient moral positioning. Weird behaviour presented without comment. A book, in short, which reproduces the exact experience of the 21st Century Cultural Minimum. Pearlent will work better if you’re familiar with Light & Nova Swing.
Beautiful. Brilliant. Can’t wait.
“Bad behaviour presented without sufficient moral positioning. Weird behaviour presented without comment.”
News International – The Space Opera.
Bravo Mike. And comments are back on. Don’t tempt me.
Excellent. How long must we wait?
Really looking forward to this; not least because it will give me an excuse to re-read Light and Nova Swing.
Second the re-reading excuse and I’ve read them several times each. More folks talking athwart one another’s sterns, I hope! Cracks me up/depresses me.
What johneffay said. With knobs on. Or maybe bells. Knobs and bells together would not, in fact, be too much.
Cool post in and of itself too: in tone and structure it’s a dead ringer for one of your imaginary reviews, except we all want to go out and buy this one. Love it.
I’m laughing in NYC
Thanx everyone. Nice to be alive again. I’ll put up a short extract in a couple of weeks’ time.
Chris, as far as I know it’s still on track for April Fool’s next year. Ben, you’ll have to wait til then–but see above.
Zali: some kind of opera that’s for sure.
Lara: I shall ignore you for yr own good.
Rob, one day I’ll learn how to collapse reviews, imaginary reviews, short fiction, long fiction into one another & do Total Write. & then won’t I be happy.
John: it might be a good move to refresh yr memory…
Ian, “cracks me up/depresses me” is one of the best responses I’ve had in 40 years. Absurdism Will Never Die.
Hi Mia! I knew I could hear something…
Michael….why do we have to wait so long. What do you do between books? Cant’ wait for more tales from Saudade.
MickT
It had better not be an April Fool’s trick!
Sometimes an author’s labor of love can get out of control when the fanbase becomes exceedingly large, as in the unfortunate case of RR Martin. Pearlant is actually one of my most anticipated books of all time, and I’m trying my best not to foam at the mouth.
What are your thoughts on a rabid fanbase, and does it apply to yourself as a reader?
A couple of minor points need clarifying, Uncle Zip. No, wait, let me change that: there are a couple of points of information that may need clarifying for some people (one of whom may or may not be me) who are reading this blog, but that in no way implies that the author should feel the same way or feel at all obliged to do anything about it, since finely nuanced ambiguity is, by definition, an integral part of the whole endeavour. And various other wheedling please-don’t-pet-on-me-for-being-picky-no-wait-I-mean-pick-on-me-for-being-petty justifications…
Amazon UK has the release date as 19th April 2012 – or is that the April Fool’s part ? (“Ha! You all thought it was coming out April 1st! Fooled you!”) And Pearlant/Pearlent ? Noun and adjective, maybe: “The Pearlant is looking especially pearlent this evening.”
Sorry. I’ve really missed your comments section. You can tell, can’t you ?
Rob: Publication creep, that’s sad. I was keen on 01.04. Pearlant/Pearlent: that particular ball will be in your court, along with many another, 19.04.12, best of luck with it!
MickT, you wrote, What do you do between books ? Muck about with other books, mainly. “Bricolaged” describes both the state & the contents of my so-called mind most days.
zxvasdf: always with the tough ones. I don’t think anyone would want to be a captive entertainer, any more than they would want their readers to be a captive audience. On being in a fanbase myself: I read a lot, watch movies, listen to music, look at art & have my preferences as everyone here kno’, but I’m not a fan of anyone or anything since my thirties. I found that led to a BPD-ish condition in which the hero of the morning rapidly became the demon of the afternoon. You see it a lot in music journalism.