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397th out of 1,944 books
—
6,555 voters
Fractal Despondency
by
Trent Zelazny (Goodreads Author)
Was she an angel from above, or a walking time bomb of doom?
His life having crumbled, Blake Gladstone returns to his hometown of Santa Fe, and tries to settle back into the unsatisfying life he’d had before he left for Florida.
When he meets Denise, a pretty young blonde with a bag full of tricks, his sad routine breaks, and the more they get to know each other, the more Bl...more
His life having crumbled, Blake Gladstone returns to his hometown of Santa Fe, and tries to settle back into the unsatisfying life he’d had before he left for Florida.
When he meets Denise, a pretty young blonde with a bag full of tricks, his sad routine breaks, and the more they get to know each other, the more Bl...more
Kindle Edition
Published
April 2nd 2011
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This story upset me and as a result I give it five stars, because it accomplished the mission. I'm unsure if pissing off little-old-me was actually Trent's prime objective however: the piece was more like a very personal account -- I'm unsure if I'd wish to know just how much of this was literally autobiographical.
I've sat in that same ditch homeless, holding a substance representing the last few dollars and cents I had access to (whether the drug was alcohol, or heroin, or crack is no matter --...more
I've sat in that same ditch homeless, holding a substance representing the last few dollars and cents I had access to (whether the drug was alcohol, or heroin, or crack is no matter --...more
Review from Underwords: www.underwordsblog.com
Fractal Despondency by Trent Zelazny is dark and gritty novella, filled with an honesty of experience that will leave you feeling as if you just walked a mile in Blake Gladstone’s shoes. From Blake’s first appearance on the page, the grimness of his situation is made painfully clear. Newly returned home to Sante Fe from Florida, he bears the physical and emotional wounds that have bled away every ounce of joy and love that had once lived inside of hi...more
Fractal Despondency by Trent Zelazny is dark and gritty novella, filled with an honesty of experience that will leave you feeling as if you just walked a mile in Blake Gladstone’s shoes. From Blake’s first appearance on the page, the grimness of his situation is made painfully clear. Newly returned home to Sante Fe from Florida, he bears the physical and emotional wounds that have bled away every ounce of joy and love that had once lived inside of hi...more
Fractals come about when the input of a specific equation is the output of the last iteration of work with the exact same equation. Fractal despondency, then, would be depression that results from doing the same damn thing over and over, hoping that the different starting point would produce a better result? That's my best guess. This is a story about a guy who destroys people near him by indulging his alcoholic tendencies. As has been established in prior reviews, I have no tolerance for drunks...more
Trent Zelazny does a great job luring his readers into the life of Blake Galdstone, and his on going struggle to cope with the loss of his beloved Sarah. Stuck in a dead end job and living with his mother, Blakes outlook on life is pretty grim until Denise Loreaux mysteriously enters his life. She's a mix of heaven and hell, a seductress, yet also a tempting escape of spiced rum, weed, and new adventures of good and bad.
This story is definitely a unique tale, that is far from the happily ever a...more
This story is definitely a unique tale, that is far from the happily ever a...more
This one sticks with me. Fractal Despondency is dark. It is noir. It isn't tough guy noir, with macho guys kicking ass and heists gone wrong. There is a dame, and she fits into the "femme fatale" category, but she is an unusual one. There were times when I couldn't figure out if this was all really happening, or simply taking place inside of Blake Gladstone's head. To me it often reads like poetry. Gloomy poetry, and the story is on the depressing side, almost too much at times. But throughout t...more
Well, I can understand the title. The story was despondency in a gut-clenching, nightmarish way. But it was also extremely well written. The description brought the characters and landscape to life in my imagination.
I have to admit that I found the story depressing. That's the only reason that it's 4 stars instead of 5. But maybe the timing was just bad. If I'd read this during a less stressful period in my life, I might well have given it 5 stars. On the other hand, if I'd been sufficiently de...more
I have to admit that I found the story depressing. That's the only reason that it's 4 stars instead of 5. But maybe the timing was just bad. If I'd read this during a less stressful period in my life, I might well have given it 5 stars. On the other hand, if I'd been sufficiently de...more
Two broken people, Blake and Denise, meet at a bad time in Trent Zelazny's brilliant novella, Fractal Despondency. We've seen this setup before, but not like this. Not with this level of intimacy and insight. The love story here isn't between Blake and Denise. But this is, make no mistake about it, a love a story. A very dark, very haunting, very touching love story. They type of love story that leaves permanent scars on your flesh and blood stains in the carpet. It hurts. It's real. It's the ty...more
Blake has returned to his hometown after surviving profound heartache and loss, only to meet the beautiful and carefree Denise. He soon realizes he’s in over his head, following a virtual angel from Hell who will leave him once again forever changed.
FRACTAL DESPONDENCY is hands down the best work I’ve read this year. With brilliant prose that weaves a painful past with an uncertain future, the story is a bittersweet account of a young man trying to find his place in an unforgiving world. It is a...more
FRACTAL DESPONDENCY is hands down the best work I’ve read this year. With brilliant prose that weaves a painful past with an uncertain future, the story is a bittersweet account of a young man trying to find his place in an unforgiving world. It is a...more
Okay, this is NOT going to be a book for everyone. But it should be. For me it drips with power and passion and brutal honesty. Zelazny holds nothing back as he explores the shattered fragments of a man's demolished life, and in doing so he takes the reader deeper than they may actually want to go.
It's tragic as hell but there are still glimmers of hope here, as Blake Gladstone seems more and more aware of what he's doing and what is happening, as he takes more personal inventory of his own self...more
It's tragic as hell but there are still glimmers of hope here, as Blake Gladstone seems more and more aware of what he's doing and what is happening, as he takes more personal inventory of his own self...more
The author's powers of description are outstanding - the evocation of mood, the sense of place and the character's internal state are all strong and effective. That said, I just could not love the construction as a whole. I did not get a sense of rythmn from the pacing, which felt like a heavy-footed lumber to the inevitable conclusion from start to finish. Even several instances of what should have been punctuating events - hot sex, stark violence - have no sense of surprise or excitement to th...more
Gimping through his grief over a lost love, lost in a way that can only damage, Blake Gladstone has much to recover from: choices she made, choices he made. As he struggles to go on with life in Santa Fe, he meets Denise, who introduces him to 24/7 spiced rum. And danger.
Has Denise come to rescue him, or finish him off? Blake must deal with more choices: choices she made, choices he made. She disappears and reappears, and when she does, Zelazny portrays it with an electrifying sense of doom. Th...more
Has Denise come to rescue him, or finish him off? Blake must deal with more choices: choices she made, choices he made. She disappears and reappears, and when she does, Zelazny portrays it with an electrifying sense of doom. Th...more
Fractal Despondency
By Trent Zelazny
Despair.
Fractal Despondency is a study in the despair of the human spirit.
Zelazny moves you through Blake's apathy in his life as he begins to feel. He traverses the depths of this despair as Blake begins to question and well with anger.
Blake is a flawed and brilliant character and I look forward to more.
Zelazny is revving up his Dark Engine.
Come along for the ride.
By Trent Zelazny
Despair.
Fractal Despondency is a study in the despair of the human spirit.
Zelazny moves you through Blake's apathy in his life as he begins to feel. He traverses the depths of this despair as Blake begins to question and well with anger.
Blake is a flawed and brilliant character and I look forward to more.
Zelazny is revving up his Dark Engine.
Come along for the ride.
Deeply moving, thought provoking, and the kind of read that will make you feel uncomfortable, but will drive you to continue and read the whole thing. It's a novella that is partly auto-biographical. It really moved me and I've read this multiple times, along with the sequel - A Crack in Melancholy Time.
If you're going to read only one Zelazny, read this one. It will make you hunger for more.
If you're going to read only one Zelazny, read this one. It will make you hunger for more.
I've seen the word "gritty" used to describe books but have never before read a work that I would have used that word... until this one. It is a haunting tale that took me very little time to read (once I had the book in my hands). Mr. Zelazny has a way with words that is effortless for the reader but conveys real and clear emotion. Do yourself a favor and check this one out!
Suspenseful and mystifying. If you want a gritty page-turner, don't pass up the opportunity to seize this book and allow it to pull you in. Zelazny's Fractal Despondency is a must read!
I won this book in the GoodReads First Read giveaway and wasn't really sure what to expect. I should've known from the title Fractal Despondency that the story would be depressing. It's a gripping account of a young man's hopelessness. The ending was heartbreaking. I really wanted his mother to step up and do more for her son. This book is very well written and easy to read.
From the first page it is well known just how pathetic Blake Gladstone's life really is. Standing across the street of his dead-end job at a diner, a sexy blond approaches him for a light. She seduces him with her alcohol, drugs and sexy-self. I found it difficult to finish this read.
This is a pretty gritty book, if thats your cup of tea. Not really for anyone below 16-18 years old. I was surprised by the content and would prefer something a bit lighter.
* Goodreads contest winner *...more
This is a pretty gritty book, if thats your cup of tea. Not really for anyone below 16-18 years old. I was surprised by the content and would prefer something a bit lighter.
* Goodreads contest winner *...more
I read this in 1 sitting. Its got few pages in the book. When I started, it actually draw me in the story but when it ends.. it didn't feel like it was finish. I do hope this author contiunes. Thank you for writing a really good book.
The more Trent Zelazny writes, the better he gets, the more serious his work gets. I was more than pleased with this one. Dark and uncomfortable, sad, but with an odd and touching beauty. A story of mistakes and self-loathing, but also one of hope. Quite a moving story. Definitely recommend it.
Wow. This is short, but very haunting and disturbing. It feels a little like it may need a sequel. If one comes out, yes, I'd read it.
*Not light-hearted
*Has graphic moments
so be warned.
Oh- full disclosure, I won this in a GoodReads Giveaway.
*Not light-hearted
*Has graphic moments
so be warned.
Oh- full disclosure, I won this in a GoodReads Giveaway.
Trent's honest tell me what the character is really thinking first person style give you the full critical depression experience. There should be a screenplay for this.
Whoa. Unsettling. Now I have to read all of his books, like I did his father's.
This was well written but very depressing.
Feb 24, 2013
Lois Gresh
marked it as to-read
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
dark-fantasy-horror
Feb 21, 2013
Stephanie
marked it as to-read
Feb 02, 2013
Eddy Allen
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction-and-westerns
Jan 11, 2013
Meggie
marked it as to-read
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Trent Zelazny is the Nightmare Award-winning author of To Sleep Gently, Fractal Despondency, Shadowboxer, The Day the Leash Gave Way and Other Stories, Destination Unknown, A Crack in Melancholy Time, and Butterfly Potion. He is also an international playwright, and the editor of the anthology, Mirages: Tales from Authors of the Macabre. His short story “The House of Happy Mayhem” received an hono...more
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“Her entire being was like a wonderful yet horrible dream he wasn’t sure he could or would want to wake up from.”
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Apr 25, 2012 10:09am