Rose Motel: Fanzine Pieces 1980-2014

by William Breiding

The longtime participant in science fiction fandom publishes a reprint collection of many of his best fanzine pieces.

210 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2017

Reviews

[Jeff]

This is a great collection of essays (and one poem), originally published in fanzines. Most of these pieces are autobiographical and cover such subjects as the author's tumultuous early years, friendships, loves, a terrible motorcycle accident, etc. But there are also some fine essays about literature and music, and there's a sprinkling of interesting photographs, as well. My discussing these various writings wouldn't do them justice; you really have to read them. I was totally absorbed in this book and was kind of sad to finish it.

[Guy Salvidge]

This is a diverse and stimulating collection of fanzines pieces on a range of topics: mainly in the arenas of music, nature and relationships. As such the book as a whole forms a sort of elliptical autobiography of William Brieding in his wanderings from San Francisco across the US and back over a period of decades. The book isn't arranged chronologically, so there's a fair bit of hopping back and forth, but the book seems to have an inner logic of its own. My favourites were mainly those relating to Breiding's numerous doomed romances, but there's plenty more to like besides.