Well, what did I expect from a book whose main plot device is a dead bird floating in a jar of gin- aka, the Bluebird of Unhappiness?Said bird has the power to grant tempting wishes but always exacts a terrible price. This has all been done better in "The Monkey's Paw".The same B. of U. is also i...
This was my first venture into James P. Blaylock's writing. I've been wanting to read some of his work, but usually only see it on Subterranean Press's site, which is prohibitively expensive. Anyway, I also love short stories, so this book was double good. Maybe even "double-plus good." This ...
This is the second book I've attempted by this author, and the second I've given up on finishing. I think I'm finished with attempting this author.Not that this book was actually *bad* mind you, it just never seemed to get GOING. I thought I was going to like it for the first few chapters, but ...
Contemporary supernatural horror from one of the best in that game. When surfer Dave Quinn saved a young girl from the sea, her twin sister eluded him and drowned. Now, 15 years later, Dave still lives in Huntington Beach, Calif., where he builds scenery for a theater warehouse owned by the rich ...
Between the ages of 13 and 15, James P. Blaylock was one of my favorite authors. This is the sequel to The Elfin Ship, and a better book in my opinion. I like Blaylock's ability to imbue his books with a great sense of wonder. In this book, Jonathan Bing, the cheese maker from Twombly Town, sets ...
Originally posted at Fantasy Literature: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...Audible has recently put several of James P. Blaylock’s novels in audio format, so I’m giving a few of them a try. The Elfin Ship, first published in 1982, is the first book in Blaylock’s BALUMNIA trilogy about a whi...
Although I'm a Blaylock fan, there are a few of his earliest books that I never got around to reading, and this was one of them. It certainly has the trademark Blaylock writing style, and I enjoyed that aspect of it - no one else uses words in such a quirky yet somehow natural-sounding way. The...
At first I tried to tell myself it was just me. I was reading under adverse conditions -- on a ferry, going to meet a friend I knew was upset, tired from work -- I probably just missed something. You know, that little explanation or aside that would make the action comprehensible. I went back and...
3.5 starsORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature."Does the night seem uncommonly full of dead men and severed heads to you?"Langdon St. Ives is a man of science and a member of the Royal Society. With the help of his dependable and discreet manservant, St. Ives prefers to spend his time secretly ...
On the whole I like what I've read by J. Blaylock. In this case I'd be more likely to characterize my feelings on this book as "not disliking it".This is the third of the books usually grouped together as Blaylock's Christian books. This one has what I think is a "hook" or "basic idea" that would...
3.5 stars. Originally posted at Fantasy Literature.http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...The Digging Leviathan is the first book in James P. Blaylock’s LANGDON ST. IVES/NARBONDO series. I’ve been reading these out of order, which doesn’t seem to matter. The books have some overlapping character...
