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2nd out of 77 books
—
180 voters
Butterfly Potion
by
Trent Zelazny (Goodreads Author)
Perry wakes up in an arroyo, hungover and unsure how he got there. His wallet and cell phone missing, he walks back to the last place he remembers being before he blacked out—the bar. Fueled by alcohol and a touch of companionship, Perry is determined to find out who rolled him, but standing in his way is an accident that happened six months earlier and the struggle his li...more
Paperback, First Edition Trade Paperback
Published
July 3rd 2012
by Nightscape Press
(first published June 29th 2012)
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“Butterfly Potion” is a well-written novella which not only brings the reader into the story, but also forces them to reflect upon their own life. This tale has a slow pace that not only keeps everything moving along smoothly, but also prevents the reader from missing any small detail. The realism throughout, coupled with the excellent development of the primary character, made this easy to relate to as well as thought-provoking. It truly makes one think about their own thoughts on life, realit...more
Trent Zelazny knocks it out of the park with Butterfly Potion. The other reviewers have all adequately (and accurately) described this story’s noir leanings; the pure gut-wrenching darkness in which the anti-hero, Perry, finds himself.
What has me reeling upon finishing what felt like a memoir-in-progress is the pure power of the writing. The prose is so good, the voice so damned convincing, that we don’t care what the story’s about. We’ll follow these characters down any festering hole they stu...more
What has me reeling upon finishing what felt like a memoir-in-progress is the pure power of the writing. The prose is so good, the voice so damned convincing, that we don’t care what the story’s about. We’ll follow these characters down any festering hole they stu...more
Peter awakes not knowing where he is or how he got there. His possessions have been stripped and his last memory is clouded by distorted images; fragments of time and place. He’s suffering from self induced alcoholic amnesia. With little more than a vague recollection of a bar, he stumbles back to reality in search of those missing hours.
Trent Zelazny’s novella is a quick fire noir with all the hallmarks you’d expect of the genre. There is the man with little or nothing to his name, a femme fat...more
Trent Zelazny’s novella is a quick fire noir with all the hallmarks you’d expect of the genre. There is the man with little or nothing to his name, a femme fat...more
This is the first book of Trent's that I've read, and enjoyed it very much! It's a day in the life of Perry, who drinks too much & wakes up in a ditch after being robbed. He then tries to put together what lead up to this moment, and takes the reader along on his journey.
Anyone who has ever drank a little much & found themselves wandering around in the middle of the night, trying to avoid the cops & wondering how the hell did it come to this, will appreciate this book!
Anyone who has...more
Anyone who has ever drank a little much & found themselves wandering around in the middle of the night, trying to avoid the cops & wondering how the hell did it come to this, will appreciate this book!
Anyone who has...more
This is the first book of Trent's that I've read, and enjoyed it very much! It's a day in the life of Perry, who drinks too much & wakes up in a ditch after being robbed. He then tries to put together what lead up to this moment, and takes the reader along on his journey.
Anyone who has ever drank a little much & found themselves wandering around in the middle of the night, trying to avoid the cops & wondering how the hell did it come to this, will appreciate this book!
Anyone who has...more
Anyone who has ever drank a little much & found themselves wandering around in the middle of the night, trying to avoid the cops & wondering how the hell did it come to this, will appreciate this book!
Anyone who has...more
Although it didn’t take me long to read this short but sweet work, I did have to think about the story for quite a while afterward. Perry is definitely the antihero with his alcoholism and blackouts, and the ending is fitting.
The use of stream of consciousness is artful, and I think it’s one of the aspects to this book that makes it stand out. The grief, the love, and the loss Perry endures are all vivid and carefully laid out. I rate this novella 4.5 stars.
The use of stream of consciousness is artful, and I think it’s one of the aspects to this book that makes it stand out. The grief, the love, and the loss Perry endures are all vivid and carefully laid out. I rate this novella 4.5 stars.
An alcoholic-noir study in reaching for redemption. Zelazny's barflies aren't the masterful characters of William Kennedy or Charles Bukowski, but there are powerful moments of self-effacing honesty and a right-sized (if slightly overdescribed) odyssey through a dark night of the soul. The main motif gets overplayed eventually--but Zelazny knew he was onto something. The author has room to grow but there's plenty of solid evidence of talent on display here.
Let’s Try to Dream
Perry got rolled last night during a blackout. He’s looking for what he’s lost, and that’s more than his wallet and cell phone. He finds Talia; Talia finds him.
Reading Zelazny is like going on a drinking binge and waking in the gutter. But among the messy people in a sad, depressing world is existential philosophy cocooned in beautiful writing. Zelazny has a knack for turning phrases--not just on the page, but in your mind.
Along with despair, there is humor: “To Perry he looked...more
Perry got rolled last night during a blackout. He’s looking for what he’s lost, and that’s more than his wallet and cell phone. He finds Talia; Talia finds him.
Reading Zelazny is like going on a drinking binge and waking in the gutter. But among the messy people in a sad, depressing world is existential philosophy cocooned in beautiful writing. Zelazny has a knack for turning phrases--not just on the page, but in your mind.
Along with despair, there is humor: “To Perry he looked...more
This novella paints some pretty vivid pictures (they're pretty AND vivid AND pretty vivid). I quite enjoyed the internal dialogue going on with Perry, the main character... there's grief and guilt and the gutter, but it's all satisfying.
Mar 05, 2013
Brick Marlin
added it
I won this book by Trent Zelazny and since I had never read his work, didn't know what to expect. This was a very intriguing tale and I enjoyed the ride. Mr. Zelazny is a great writer! I'll have to delve into more of his work.
This is brilliantly written, disturbing, very emotionally-driven noir. An excellent examination of what can put us in the gutter, what might keep us there and what options might exist. A very fine novella.
This noir novella has achingly beautiful prose. I was particularly drawn to the bit about the gutter runoff. Depressing and beautiful.
A short, painful read. Intoxicating use of language, but it hurts like a hangover.
This is the story of a man haunted by guilt and grief, a man struggling with inner demons that refuse to let him see life as anything other than bleak and dismal, that is until he's confronted with his own mortality and, in the darkness, he finds a grain of hope. It's a gritty portrayal of a side of life that none of us ever want to examine too closely. And it is so well-written that it pulls us in and makes us look anyway. Spell-binding and awful, but beautiful and humane. A great piece of dark...more
I am still reeling from reading this novella. I am a mix of emotions and thoughts that this story pulls out of the reader. Once you begin reading, you can't help being engrossed in where this book is going to take you. To me, Butterfly Potion is much like the yin yang symbol: it is light and dark, it is masculine and feminine, it is happy and sad; it is the perfect balance. If you are looking for a story that has depth, realism, and soul, look no further!
You realize this is more than a book when you start reading it. This is more than fiction. The author is bearing his soul for the reader to see and letting you into the very painful reality of the demons he fought so hard against. Trent Zelazny is a brilliant writer and has done a wonderful job of blazing his own path in the literary world.
the BUTTERFLY POTION by Trent Zelazny is a fascinating read. Its a well-written, dark tale that follows one man's journey down the road of despair. The emotions that this story conjures are beak and depressing, but the character is designed so well, you are drawn into his life and find yourself attached to him.
Tragic but beautiful. A powerful story of metamorphosis. Perry is an introspective character, Talia is the perfect balance. I love everything I've read by Zelazny.
May 12, 2013
Alexa
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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