Matthew Hughes's Blog: barbarians of the beyond - Posts Tagged "p-g-wodehouse"
Some recent reviews
At Black Gate, Fletcher Vredenburgh reviews “Prisoner of Pandarius” in the January/February Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, saying “I’m a sucker for Jack Vance-inspired stories, provided they’re done well. I’m quite happy to write that ‘Prisoner of Pandarius’ is one of those.”
At SF Crowsnest, Patrick Mahon also liked “Prisoner of Pandarius”: “This story provides a very enjoyable start to the magazine, romping along at a rapid pace with great wit and humour. Raffalon is a classic loveable rogue and I was more than happy to spend some more time with him here.”
And a late review of Majestrum from the gamers’ blog Sorcerer’s Skull also notes the Vancean influence: “Hughes's universe and his writing style are in a Jack Vance mode. His setting of the Archonate and the Spray resembles Vance's Oikumene and Gaean Reach. It makes his Hapthorn tales something like if Magnus Ridolph or Miro Hetzel was confronting the dawning of the Dying Earth.”
The latest George R.R. Martin/Gardner Dozois theme antho, Old Venus, is garnering some reviews before its release next week, and my Jeeves-and-Bertie homage is getting some approving nods. In Locus , Russell Letson says “‘’Greeves and the Evening Star’’ gets the Most Unexpected Mashup Prize with its goofy mix of cross-species sex and Wodehousean silly-ass-Englishman nonsense.”
And Publisher’s Weekly calls the story “a droll Wodehouse pastiche.”
Any time I get mentioned in the same breath as Jack Vance and P.G. Wodehouse (whom Vance adored), I’ll take it and ask for more.
At SF Crowsnest, Patrick Mahon also liked “Prisoner of Pandarius”: “This story provides a very enjoyable start to the magazine, romping along at a rapid pace with great wit and humour. Raffalon is a classic loveable rogue and I was more than happy to spend some more time with him here.”
And a late review of Majestrum from the gamers’ blog Sorcerer’s Skull also notes the Vancean influence: “Hughes's universe and his writing style are in a Jack Vance mode. His setting of the Archonate and the Spray resembles Vance's Oikumene and Gaean Reach. It makes his Hapthorn tales something like if Magnus Ridolph or Miro Hetzel was confronting the dawning of the Dying Earth.”
The latest George R.R. Martin/Gardner Dozois theme antho, Old Venus, is garnering some reviews before its release next week, and my Jeeves-and-Bertie homage is getting some approving nods. In Locus , Russell Letson says “‘’Greeves and the Evening Star’’ gets the Most Unexpected Mashup Prize with its goofy mix of cross-species sex and Wodehousean silly-ass-Englishman nonsense.”
And Publisher’s Weekly calls the story “a droll Wodehouse pastiche.”
Any time I get mentioned in the same breath as Jack Vance and P.G. Wodehouse (whom Vance adored), I’ll take it and ask for more.
WSJ Review of Old Venus
A first time for me: getting singled out for special mention in a Wall Street Journal review. Tom Shippey says good things about Old Venus, including:
"Much of the collection is just good fun, especially Matt Hughes’s Jeeves-and-Wooster parody, “Greeves and the Evening Star.” Wodehouse fans will recall the prominence of newts in the Wooster world, but not human-sized female ones with fangs, sexy voices and highly unromantic intentions."
Maybe that will bring me some Wodehouse fans.
"Much of the collection is just good fun, especially Matt Hughes’s Jeeves-and-Wooster parody, “Greeves and the Evening Star.” Wodehouse fans will recall the prominence of newts in the Wooster world, but not human-sized female ones with fangs, sexy voices and highly unromantic intentions."
Maybe that will bring me some Wodehouse fans.
Old Venus reviewed in NY Daily News
Once again, my P.G. Wodehouse pastiche, "Greeves and the Evening Star," gets singled out for special mention in a review of Old Venus, the retro-sf antho co-edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois. This time it's by Cesar R. Bustamante, Jr., (gotta love those hand-me-down American names), the book blogger for the New York Daily News.
He says, "There’s quite a bit of comedy especially in Matthew Hughes’s story about a peculiar man falling for a giant Venusian newt (I’m not judging). "
People do like the Wodehouse style, although I have a feeling that Mr. Bustamante doesn't recognize a Jeeves and Bertie story at first glance.
The fellow I'm housesitting for in central Brittany has come home for a few days to tend to some business locally, so my wife and I are off to see St Malo (whence came Jacques Cartier, founder of Quebec City), and Mont St. Michel.
He says, "There’s quite a bit of comedy especially in Matthew Hughes’s story about a peculiar man falling for a giant Venusian newt (I’m not judging). "
People do like the Wodehouse style, although I have a feeling that Mr. Bustamante doesn't recognize a Jeeves and Bertie story at first glance.
The fellow I'm housesitting for in central Brittany has come home for a few days to tend to some business locally, so my wife and I are off to see St Malo (whence came Jacques Cartier, founder of Quebec City), and Mont St. Michel.
Another "Greeves" Fan
Once again, "Greeves and the Evening Star" scores with a reviewer of Old Venus. This time, it's Cat Fitzpatrick at the UK's Fantasy Book Review site, who says:
"There are many strong stories here, with Matthew Hughes’ Greeves and the Evening Star being a personal favourite of mine, a superb Wodehouse-style comedy where the English toff [Bartie Gloster] is highly aggrieved to find himself kidnapped by a friend and taken to Venus. His highly capable valet ends up having to rescue the incompetent aristocrats from the attentions of a murderous alien Siren, but only after a decent breakfast of kippers, naturally."
Naturally, indeed.
"There are many strong stories here, with Matthew Hughes’ Greeves and the Evening Star being a personal favourite of mine, a superb Wodehouse-style comedy where the English toff [Bartie Gloster] is highly aggrieved to find himself kidnapped by a friend and taken to Venus. His highly capable valet ends up having to rescue the incompetent aristocrats from the attentions of a murderous alien Siren, but only after a decent breakfast of kippers, naturally."
Naturally, indeed.
