Shrike and Erith in paperback
This year, paperbacks of Shrike and Erith have both been released by Zagava. The latter has come out this month (I received copies this morning).
What do these books have in common? They are both novellas influenced by the Japanese I-novel.
You can buy them, among other places, here:
https://www.bookdepository.com/Shrike...
https://www.bookdepository.com/Erith-...
There's more stuff on the way . . . it takes a little time, but it's coming.
What do these books have in common? They are both novellas influenced by the Japanese I-novel.
You can buy them, among other places, here:
https://www.bookdepository.com/Shrike...
https://www.bookdepository.com/Erith-...
There's more stuff on the way . . . it takes a little time, but it's coming.
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Taryn
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Nov 25, 2020 05:23PM
Ordered my copy of 'Erith' the day before yesterday. Looking forward to reading it, and, of course, to the stuff yet to come.
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T. wrote: "Ordered my copy of 'Erith' the day before yesterday. Looking forward to reading it, and, of course, to the stuff yet to come."Thank you. I hope the book is not too bad. I'll be announcing the other things here, too, in time.
I'm absolutely certain I shall enjoy it. I shall also be receiving a copy of 'Rule Dementia' for Christmas, as I seem to have fallen into an accidental tradition of receiving one of your short story collections every Christmas; I received 'All God's Angels, Beware' last year and 'Morbid Tales' the year before.
I would certainly like to express my appreciation for the 'State of Decay' reference in the first chapter of 'Erith'. I wasn't expecting it, but it was a nice nod to one of my very favourite Doctor Who stories. I immediately got a clear sense of the town hall interior from that reference.
I hope I can keep pace with your tradition. It seems to be taking me longer and longer to get collections out, I think largely because the stories themselves are growing in length. T.N. wrote: "I would certainly like to express my appreciation for the 'State of Decay' reference in the first chapter of 'Erith'. I wasn't expecting it, but it was a nice nod to one of my very favourite Doctor..."
Thank you. One day, when Doctor Who is once more half-forgotten, I might try writing a whole Doctor Who story.
There is something to be said for the differing experience of a show with mainstream appeal, and a show, as Doctor Who was prior to its revival, which has drifted away from the public eye and into the hands of those with a real passion for its central conceit. As much as I love Doctor Who, it's inevitable that one day it will be cancelled again, only to undergo another revival some years later. It's what happens in the gap between cancellation and revival which shall be of interest. I'd very much like to see a Quentin S. Crisp-penned Doctor Who story emerge from such a period.I certainly wouldn't worry about the lengthening gap between collections. I had a short story published two years ago and haven't finished anything since; although I offer the excuse that I've been studying for an Art History degree in that time.
T.N. wrote: "There is something to be said for the differing experience of a show with mainstream appeal, and a show, as Doctor Who was prior to its revival, which has drifted away from the public eye and into ..."I did actually start writing a Doctor Who script many, many years ago. It was called The Autumn of Reality. I don't know where it might be now. Maybe I'll find it in a box someday.
Do you have a favourite era or story apart from State of Decay, by the way? My favourite might still be The Ark in Space.
As a title, 'The Autumn of Reality' would have nestled perfectly alongside 'State of Decay' in the entropy-ridden Season 18; which I would actually consider to be one of my favourite eras of Doctor Who, alongside the latter two-thirds of the Sylvester McCoy-era. (I must also confess a particular fondness for Paul McGann, who I suppose might best be described as having been the George Lazenby of the Doctors, who was the first new Doctor to appear in my lifetime.) 'The Ark in Space' is quite the classic, however, and probably exemplifies better than any other story the 'wintery evening' aura which seems to permeate mid-70s Doctor Who.Having just finished reading 'Erith', I feel I must commend you on one observation you made during the narrative which had a particular resonance for me. Somewhere toward the latter-third of the text, you/the narrator reflect on your earlier writings, mostly those written in your twenties, as being acceptable only as 'practices' in your eyes. That describes precisely how I feel regarding the smattering of stories I've had published during my twenties; of which I am now in the final three weeks. While they were published, they fall well short of acceptable in my eyes. Should I ever have anything published again, I know I would publish under a different name than the one I used for those earlier efforts.
As you'll see on 'Erith's' Goodreads entry, I gave the book a five-star rating. As my first experience of the I-novel, I found it fascinating how the recounting of the relatively mundane activity of applying for housing benefit could be utilised as a means of exploring what could, I suppose, be described as one's own inner-psychogeography; reflecting your own personal version of the city of London. I enjoyed it immensely, and I am very much looking forward to diving into 'Rule Dementia'.
T.N. wrote: "As a title, 'The Autumn of Reality' would have nestled perfectly alongside 'State of Decay' in the entropy-ridden Season 18; which I would actually consider to be one of my favourite eras of Doctor..."Thank you for the substantial response. I'll see if I can make a decent reply.
I must also confess a particular fondness for Paul McGann, who I suppose might best be described as having been the George Lazenby of the Doctors, who was the first new Doctor to appear in my lifetime.
I like that description of Paul McGann. My earliest memories of Doctor Who are very early (in my life, I mean, not in the series). In fact, as far as I can tell, The Ark in Space is one of my earliest memories. I seem to remember seeing Jon Pertwee episodes in my childhood, too, but must conclude that these were repeats, or else I managed to project the memories back at some point.
I was very upset when Tom Baker left the series. I loyally watched Peter Davison's Doctor in mourning. I was fooled a little, young as I still was, by Colin Baker's resemblance to Tom in hair, name and a few other things, but soon felt cheated, so didn't, perhaps, give him a fair crack of the whip. By the time Sylvester McCoy came along, I was barely watching. I have heard many people say that McCoy is their favourite Doctor, which has led me to think I should revisit that era. But my mining of the series has generally been more retrospective - working from Tom Baker backwards - than otherwise. I did enjoy Christopher Eccleston's outing in the series, but my interest waned a little with each successive Doctor thereafter, except that I did think - this might sound strange - that Matt Smith was probably a bit better than David Tennant.
Having just finished reading 'Erith', I feel I must commend you on one observation you made during the narrative which had a particular resonance for me. Somewhere toward the latter-third of the text, you/the narrator reflect on your earlier writings, mostly those written in your twenties, as being acceptable only as 'practices' in your eyes. That describes precisely how I feel regarding the smattering of stories I've had published during my twenties; of which I am now in the final three weeks. While they were published, they fall well short of acceptable in my eyes. Should I ever have anything published again, I know I would publish under a different name than the one I used for those earlier efforts.
I hope your entry to the fourth decade of life is trouble-free.
I sometimes wish I'd taken a pen-name. I still might. Anyway, I hope that the Muse does return to you, at least, if you would like her to. On the plus side, it does give one the chance to stand behind the camera of life's film rather than being caught up in the action all the time. I say 'action', but, as we know, it can be quite dreary stuff.
As you'll see on 'Erith's' Goodreads entry, I gave the book a five-star rating. As my first experience of the I-novel, I found it fascinating how the recounting of the relatively mundane activity of applying for housing benefit could be utilised as a means of exploring what could, I suppose, be described as one's own inner-psychogeography; reflecting your own personal version of the city of London. I enjoyed it immensely, and I am very much looking forward to diving into 'Rule Dementia'.
Thank you. I appreciate it.
I have, I'm afraid, rather distorted the I-novel, but a certain basic approach remains intact, I think. My most direct source for the I-novel influence is Tayama Katai's Futon but there are more indirect sources, such as Dazai Osamu, Shiga Naoya and Nagai Kafu. (Checking now, I see three of them are listed at the Wikipedia entry on the I-novel, so I don't feel so bad.)
I'm also in the middle of reading Hayashi Fumiko (also listed), but can't yet claim her as an influence.
In Rule Dementia, 'The Haunted Bicycle' is probably the first story in which I was consciously utilising some kind of I-novel techniques, though it might not come across that way. As I recall, I was writing that in Taiwan in 2000/2001. It was also in Taiwan that I surprised myself by reading my first Japanese novel in the original all the way through - Dazai's No Longer Human.
