The False Magic Kingdom Cycle

False Magic Kingdom Cycle #1-4

by Jordan Krall, Seb Doubinsky (Introduction)

From Jordan Krall, author of HUMANITY IS THE DEVIL, comes a series of novellas in the tradition of early J. G. Ballard, William Burroughs, and Barry Malzberg.

Exploring the concepts of personal and public tragedy, this is unlike anything Krall has written before: a collection of brief chapters in an infinite universe of physical and mental illness, urban destruction, and the cracks in society we fight to ignore.

This collection includes FALSE MAGIC KINGDOM, BAD ALCHEMY, THE GOG AND MAGOG BUSINESS, SODOMY IN NINE-ELEVEN LAND, and INVOCATION OF A BLAST EVENT (a new story exclusive to this collection).

Introduction by Seb Doubinsky.

"Jordan Krall is one of the best of the next generation of writers looking askance at modern life and able to chart its absurdities and its dangers. These books conjure up uncomfortable visions with a lucid and alienating gaze." - Jeff Vandermeer, author of THE SOUTHERN REACH TRILOGY and CITY OF SAINTS AND MADMEN

Genres: Horror, Bizarro Fiction

245 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 26, 2014

About the author

Books include:

TENTACLE DEATH TRIP
FISTFUL OF FEET
MOTEL MAN
KING SCRATCH
BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE APOCALYPSE DONKEYS
PIECEMEAL JUNE
SQUID PULP BLUES
NEWLY SHAVEN SAINT
UNFRUITFUL WORKS
PRELUDE TO SPACE RAPE!
SQUID KILLS
THE PISTOL BURPS
ALL POEMS MUST DIE
FALSE MAGIC KINGDOM
BAD ALCHEMY
THE GOG AND MAGOG BUSINESS
YOUR CITIES, YOUR TOMBS

Reviews

[Seb · Rating 3 out of 5]

The False Magic Kingdom is a collection of interconnected novellas. I loved the first one which is one of the best books I've read this year. Not based because of the story but because of the writing. The novella is a mise en abyme that folds all the chapters into something new, to reveal itself at the end. I was left speechless and I take quite a moment to take it all in.

However, the rest of the cycle is less interesting. The next parts focus on the story itself, which is dark and weird but mainly very obscure and difficult to understand.

The cycle ends up to be a mise en abyme itself, using the same mechanism than in the first novella. It was a great ending but I find the first novella was enough.

[Benoit Lelièvre · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for books that feel dangerous and this one hit me right in my sweet spot like a swift stroke of Ric Flair's forearm. THE FALSE MAGIC KINGDOM CYCLE is a series of interlaced microstories of lonely and alienated treading in jungles of concrete and asphalt, living meaninglessness, frustration and isolation in their own way and anticipating a Great Doomsday Event that draws itself up as you keep reading.

Reading THE FALSE MAGIC KINGDOM CYCLE felt like watching white noise on television and receiving subliminal messages from the transmission. It gave me the same thrill than when I used to go to the video store and stumble upon a killer movie purely by accident. It's something to experience more than it is something to sit back and enjoy. Jordan Krall doesn't take any prisoners. He writes with antagonistic purpose. Because sometimes readers don't need to be pleased. They need to have their perception redefined.

[Curtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

9 out of 11 stars. Read this if you ever pretended your dick was an airplane and then fantasized about using it to bang the World Trade Center.

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*

[Jamie Grefe · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is an odd and satisfying flow between these novellas, a blend of existential alienation, violence, memory, and an overall ambiance of unease, horror, decay, and confusion. Krall's nonlinear storytelling skills demand a certain kind of acceptance--an invitation to destruction--a willingness to continue on (pleasurably so) even if the way is not clear, not handed to us, and the way might not become clear, we might have to accept the Kingdom as it is given and revel in the beautiful isolation it brings.

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE FALSE MAGIC KINGDOM CYCLE is book of philosophy on humanity and civilization. It is dark. It is real. It is frightening. It is poetic.
This is Jordan Krall's writing at its best in my opinion. I love reading this style. It's jointed and disjointed. A story told in vignettes. All are connected in some way to the theme others are a storyline threaded through the chaos of the tales of Krall's urban decay.
Reading this is not for the feint of heart. I often say that in my reviews of Krall's books. Perhaps that sentiment alone is what should drive you to read this.

[Phil Gonzales · Rating 4 out of 5]

I need to reread this cycle before I can begin to comprehend what is exactly going on in it. However, it was a compulsive read. Vivid. Gripping. If you're at all interested in works of contemporary weird or exploded fiction, dive right in. SEVERELY RECOMMENDED. Now, on to the final book!

[Tea · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://tealiterarylove.blogspot.com/2...

[B P · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pervasive sense of misery, horror, confusion, and inevitability fills the pages of this novella. Work meetings that go in circles, individuals who feel isolated both within themselves and within cities, cycles of destruction on skyscrapers that come back taller than ever. There is a loose thread that connects all these micro stories but trying to grab hold of it was like trying to find meaning in TV static. However, sometimes the static cleared and left us with a terrifying and lonely picture.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bleak, nihilistic and beautifully well writen

This book is hard to review but I can say I read it all day until done. He has a voice that speaks and weaves a spell upon you as you read. I recommend this book to all fans of modern horror and weird fiction.