La città dei santi e dei folli

Sometimes it doesn't matter what you hear about a book, all the promise described in glowing reviews--it doesn't matter who suggests it, on what authority or with what arguments. Sometimes, you're still going to come out the other side disappointed, confused how this could possibly be the book you h Leggi tutto

Some Fantastic Metafiction “City of Saints and Madmen” (“COSAM”) not only explores a world of New Weird author’s Jeff VanderMeer’s creation, it gives a detailed insight into the method of his creativity. It’s not just a fantasy novel, but a highly accessible and rewarding exercise in metafiction. It’s Leggi tutto

Jeff VanderMeer is a self-proclaimed "New-Weird" writer. The New Weird genre as we see it in Vandermeer, started off with the works of authors such as Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft . A more modern example of another New-Weird author, would be China Miéville . Most people may know the first two auth Leggi tutto

I would love to say this novel defies description, but it doesn't. :) In fact, thanks to the existence of a number of really quite fabulous works that came after it, some from VanderMeer's own hand, we can now properly place this work in its proper context. New Weird. Yeah, yeah, but WHAT DOES THIS ME Leggi tutto

Jeff VanderMeer is a very clever, very talented guy. But I feel that sometimes, he lets his cleverness get in the way of a good story. “City of Saints and Madmen” is his first visit to the city of Ambergris; a city unlike anything I can think of in the modern world, that plays mix and match with refe Leggi tutto

*WARNING: This is not really a review, but City of Saints and Madmen requires something else entirely, and there may be a spoiler or two, but considering the book's form I doubt that will matter.* Dradin, In Love As Dradin experiences the rain, I am straining with the brightness of our first sunny day Leggi tutto

O Ambergris, city of a thousand mushrooms, land of rape and money, home of the Festival of the Freshwater Squid, the town that never attenuates temporally nor adequately, a vision of pure hallucinogenic wonders, the city of saints and madmen! In all the world, Ambergris stands as a beacon of hope and Leggi tutto

If Proust had been a hella Dungeon Master and then dropped all the monsters and sword play…you might end up with something like City of Saints and Madmen . For several years now, I’ve almost exclusively read books as research for my second novel. With few exceptions (when the books were short), I’ve b Leggi tutto