The Tain

[Camrick]

Anyone read this. It's a novella by China Mieville that was recently released in a collection called "Cities."

I recently finished it and loved it. Had a real Matheson / I am Legend feel to it, which is real cool.

Anyone read? Like? Not like?

 

[Larry]

Read it a year ago when it came out in the signed, limited-edition PS Publishing edition. Thought it was one of Miéville's more intriguing stories. Made me wonder if he might be even stronger as a novella writer than as a novelist.

Sidenote: I just finished reading VanderMeer's Secret Life . In the notes to the last story in his just-published collection, he tells of using a copy of The Tain to write the notes to that story while he was attending an Aimee Mann concert. It was quite an amusing bit, although VanderMeer makes it quite clear that no disrespect was meant toward Miéville.

 

[Camrick]

just finished reading VanderMeer's Secret Life .

Was it good? i've been meaning to read VanderMeer for a while.

 

[Larry]

Very good. One of the best story collections I've read this year and I've been reading quite a few of them. He's at the top of his game here. This collection spans the length of his writing career (1989-2004) with some unpublished Ambergris stories. Might want to read City of Saints and Madmen and Veniss Underground (his first completed and published novel) first, however, because some of the stories in this collection refer to both. But he has some really good stories that revolve around the Incas and which touch upon his experiences as a child of two Peace Corps members.

 

[Camrick]

Very good. One of the best story collections I've read this year and I've been reading quite a few of them. He's at the top of his game here. This collection spans the length of his writing career (1989-2004) with some unpublished Ambergris stories. Might want to read City of Saints and Madmen and Veniss Underground (his first completed and published novel) first, however, because some of the stories in this collection refer to both. But he has some really good stories that revolve around the Incas and which touch upon his experiences as a child of two Peace Corps members.

Awesome. I've meant to start with City... or Veniss, but thanks for the suggestion.

You mentioned short story collections. Have you by any chance picked up Gene Wolfe's Innocents Aboard? If not and if you are a Wolfe fan, I highly recommend it.

 

[Larry]

Read it and loved it. And yes, I'm a big Wolfe fan and have been for two years now.

Here are some other story collections I've read recently that I enjoyed:

Various, Cosmos Latinos: An Anthology of Science Fiction from Latin America and Spain

Stanislaw Lem, The Cyberiad

Ted Chiang, Stores of Your Life and Others

A great many Ray Bradbury collections from over the years.

Of these, all read in the past month or two, I'd have to say that VanderMeer's recent collection ranks up there with these excellent collections.

 

[Camrick]

Ted Chiang, Stores of Your Life and Others

I've been meaning to read this for some time now. Heard great things about it!