Robert Jackson Bennett's Blog, page 10

Tor and SFFWorld review

Two new AMERICAN ELSEWHERE reviews, the first from Tor.com:

Robert Jackson Bennett is masterful when creating the strange atmosphere of Wink. This section of the novel is simply eerie, in much the same way Twin Peaks was eerie. It offers a recognizable slice of American small-town life, but it’s abundantly clear that there’s something really odd going on underneath the surface. Exactly what it is doesn’t become clear for a good long time, but until then you can simply enjoy the way Bennett slowly unveils hints and occasionally drops a bombshell of pure, unmitigated weirdness into the flow.

The second from SFFWorld.com:

Along with the characters, Bennett builds a great sense of place – the locations his characters inhabit become characters in and of themselves. Wink is a powerfully, magnetic place that is greater than the sum of its parts. Bennett’s powerful sense of place could also be considered world-building to throw a phrase more readily associated with Epic Fantasy.  Lastly, Bennett’s seamless melding of genre flavors into a unique stew of its own is as much on display here as it was in The Troupe – American Elsewhere is part anti-bildungsroman, part horror, with elements of science fiction tossed in for good measure.

This is nice.

Stay tuned from some grade-A, quality promotional material next week, folks! And by “grade-A, quality promotional material,” I mean “dumb shit I’m doing for no reason at all with my friends.”

LA Times review, and more

So, last Friday, Jeff Vandermeer reviewed AMERICAN ELSEWHERE for the LA Times.

“American Elsewhere” conjures up echoes of the best works of Ray Bradbury and Stephen King. Among its many virtues, Bennett’s convincing portrayal of Mona may be his greatest accomplishment. This strong yet flawed woman drives the novel’s success. When she pistol-whips a very large man, we feel both her competence and the weight of the act. During a tension-filled exploration of the eerie abandoned laboratory and observatory, we fully experience her fear and her levelheaded determination under duress.

This is pretty ding dang neat, y’all. I saw Jeff at my first and only WFC, in 2010, when he told a story about capybaras on a panel, and I chimed in, having met the exact capybara he was discussing in a damn Lowes, of all places. (That story is recounted here.) So it was really nice to see that review, but felt surreal to see Jeff’s name at the top.

Also, I was profiled in the Austin Chronicle, which is really, really cool because when I was first trying to be a writer one of the things I thought was, “I sure wish I could be a cool Austin writer and get in the Chronicle.” (Still not cool, fyi – you can tell because I took this picture.)

Paranormal Haven also has a really great review up:

I have never read a book quite like American Elsewhere. The synopsis says it’s an American Supernatural novel. I had no idea that translated to horror, but maybe I should’ve. While it wasn’t what I was expecting, I was blown away by it. The first half of the book I spent going, ‘what is this!?’ The central story revolves around Mona and Wink, but mainly Wink. Its many denizens are peculiar, to say the least, and the secrets laying behind every face in Wink are worth discovering. I can’t say what Wink is, or why it is, that would be the biggest spoiler ever. In fact, I was extremely surprised with how Wink reveals itself.

As does Fantasy Literature:

Bennett nicely mixes classical mythology, Lovecraftian gothic, quantum science and what’s-in-the-woods horror. There are flashes of weird humor, like in the set of flash cards (flash cards??) Mr. Parson gives Mona. He has a knack for making the simplest objects frightening, like a fax machine, an old telephone, or a rabbit skull. Those rabbit skulls are terrifying.

All sorts of fun stuff.

As for me, I’m mostly just working at the dayjob. It feels like we’re toward the end of February, a very long month, but we’re really just middlish. I’ll be in Dallas on March 13 for Offworld, a cool thing Wordspace Dallas is doing. You can show up and hear me read or throw fruit or money at me, I’m fine with either.

LOTS of big stuff to report, but for now…

This is a photo from 3 years ago, in Costa Rica. I immediately thought I’d put this in a book.

 

So I did.

Here we go.

It’s Fat Tuesday, nukes have gone off in Asia, and AMERICAN ELSEWHERE comes out today. A busy time, for sure.

MY BOOKISH WAYS has a great review of the book, as well as an interview with me and a giveaway.

American Elsewhere is a big, bold novel, by turns gorgeous and grotesque, terrifying and tender, and it’s also a razor sharp sci-fi suspense story with literary sensibility and a healthy helping of horror. Settle in, fellow readers, ‘cause you’re in for a helluva ride.

I might have to do a giveaway of my own, sometime in March, perhaps, when our travel schedule dies down a little.

LIBRARY JOURNAL has also given the book a really great (and starred) review. BOOKLIST also has a really great review coming out – which I’ll speak on more when I can…

THE LITTLE RED REVIEWER also has a really, really great review that’s just gone live.

You may want to arrange an entire day to read the second half of this book. Really.  Be prepared to have American Elsewhere spoil you rotten. Nearly everything Robert Jackson Bennett has published has won awards.  I’ve read two other novels by him, and they were both amazing, and they both pale in comparison to American Elsewhere.

All in all, a lot of fun – so why not go buy it?

Titles are stupid, I hate writing post titles

I’m tempted to make all post titles random crap in the future, like WAFFLE FACTORY BLUES or HAM GRANDMA TAKES A TUMBLE.

Anyways.

So, THE TROUPE made Locus Magazine’s recommended list of 2012! A good thing!

Fantasy Literature Dot Com also selected THE TROUPE as one of their favorites of 2012! Another good thing!

And AMERICAN ELSEWHERE made Publishers Weekly’s top 10 upcoming SFF books of 2013! Like, my shit is up there with Neil Gaiman and Charlaine Harris and all kinds of spiffy people. A good thing!

And here at home I thought I’d lost my favorite hammer but then I found it so hooray! (It was underneath my box of other hammers.)

—————-

I finished my fifth novel this week, as well. Like always, there’s a weird feeling of closure when I finish one of my books, because I know I’ll essentially never be seeing those characters again. I will, of course, when I enter the merciless and brutal editing process – but that’s not the same as writing them, when you discover who they are and they surprise you quite frequently.

On the whole, I’d say it’s very similar to The Troupe, perhaps in atmosphere. But it’s a second world novel with a very complex history, and the plot is chiefly powered by the characters trying to figure out just what the hell their history is. I felt a weird sense of mechanical satisfaction on having finished it: it was probably much like how an engineer feels when the thing they designed does exactly what they wanted it to do, with great efficiency. I haven’t ever really felt that way about a book before.

Reddit’s Top Novels of 2012

The Troupe clocks in at #12 on Reddit’s Top Fantasy Novels of 2012. This really surprised me, as I thought I’d be waaaaaaaaaay down on the list, so hooray! (Thanks to Justin Landon for nominating it in the first place.)

RT Book Review

RT Book Review has come out with a 4 star review of AMERICAN ELSEWHERE! (warning: subscribers only, for now)

Bennett’s novel may remind readers of the early works of Stephen King, presenting a small town where nothing is what it seems. [It] also evokes a mood similar to that of Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves, where every darkness may swallow a person only to spit them out into a place akin to Wonderland.

Cool stuff.

Hattie Awards

The Mad Hatter’s Bookshelf and Book Review has picked THE TROUPE as the Fantasy Novel of the Year!

The Troupe is one of those novels that just sticks with you long after closing it. Think of it as a period American Gods through the lens of Steinbeck. Yes, that’s heavy praise, but this book deserves it.

Modesty, and how you’re doing it wrong

I was recently enlightened to the existence of isthismodest.com, a website devoted to telling you whether the way you are presenting yourself reveals your innate shame to the world.

I’ve thought a lot about this, and have put together some helpful tips to assist everyone with staying modest.

Avoid immodest angles. We were created to be viewed face-on, and face-on only. MAKE SURE to NEVER walk below an occupied balcony! People could look down at you at an extremely immodest angle, and even catch some unintended “gaping issues.” (Why do we even HAVE balconies? They invite some really bad behavior…)
Bags. Our bodies, though the machinations of time, intentionally come to resemble bags. If this is our eventual point, why not look like bags right from the start? What I’m saying is, wear bags. They conceal everything worth concealing! (Which is everything.) Maybe like a sleeping bag. Just wear one of those. DO NOT cut holes for your arms and legs! You can jump around, as intended. (Also – are you SURE you need a hole for your face?) (Also also – sorry for typing “hole” so much. :/ )
Are you sure you need glasses? Most people’s eyes don’t work – they have to have corrective lenses. But this is obviously a prideful mangling of what was intended for our bodies! Our eyes don’t work because we don’t need to see each other’s shame! If you don’t see the shame that’s just floating out there, clinging to our bones, jiggling and whatnot, you thus cannot be drawn into shame yourself! (Personally I am jealous of the blind. They have such dignity.)
You are a fat wad of shame. Don’t ever forget that. Shame was written into you. Shame becomes you. Your whole life was intended for the righteous escape of the shame that you innately are! You are meant to flee yourself, excoriate yourself, bury yourself and hide yourself behind walls, thick fabric, maybe even a piece of cardboard you carry around so no one can see you. Are you enjoying yourself? Is someone seeing you as you are? Then you’ve probably made some immodest decisions, my friend. :/

Best of 2012 Collection

I’m damn happy to see that THE TROUPE has made a lot of end of year lists! I’ve been horribly lazy in responding to this, but I’ll go ahead and try to summarize them now:

Only the Best Sci Fi: #1 out of 10.

Bennett not only writes about magic, but his writing itself is imbued with magic and a bit of humor and even a little darkness. To be mentioned in the same breathe as Neil Gaiman would be no stretch of the imagination.

Rob Bedford: Best Fantasy Novel of 2012.

The Troupe by Robert Jackson Bennett was not only the best fantasy novel I read in 2012, it is my favorite novel of the year, full stop. It was a powerful novel and I’d even rank it as one of the ten best I’ve read in the last decade.

Audiobookaneers: Best Audiobook of a New Novel of 2012 (Dave’s pick).

The Troupe is one of those books that I didn’t want to end, was genuinely sad when it was over, and am very much looking forward to listening to again.

Book Chick City: #1 out of 10 (Melanie’s picks).

THE TROUPE is one of few truly unique books I have ever read. The plot was gritty, horrific, beautiful and poetic all at the same time. It isn’t an easy read but more than worth it.

Bookworm Blues: one of the top 10 of 2012.

I absolutely loved The Troupe and I devoured every word of it. The Troupe was a breath of fresh air. It charmed me from the first page.

Publishers Weekly: One of the best SF/Fantasy/Horror books of 2012.

A piano prodigy in early 20th-century middle America explores the dark side of performance and family in this eerie and love-ly homage to smalltime vaudevillians and the country’s heartland.