Book Review - Fractal Paisleys

I'm not sure how long it takes for authors to actually become famous, but I'm fairly certain that Paul di Filippo is going to be a cult icon after he's dead.

I'm also sure that most of you are going "Paul di Who?"

Allow me to help. I can sum up the author in just six words: GO BUY HIS BOOKS RIGHT NOW.

Fractal Paisleys is his second collection of short stories (out of four). The first one was about the biotech revolution. This one is trailer park fiction. The next one is about alternate authors (like, what if Anne Frank had moved to America and starred in the Wizard of Oz?). His novel/s, the Steampunk trilogy (which you may have actually heard of) defined a totally new genre: Victorian cyberpunk.

You may have noticed a pattern forming here. If you have, please let me know--because as far as I can tell every book is a whole new bag of tricks. PdF is a mine of bizarre, creative, funny, ahead-of-their-time ideas. And despite the fact that most of his plots are absolutely (and wonderfully) ludicrous, he pulls them off with a panache and humanity that leave you begging for more. He is totally unique in the world of fiction--in every single story he writes.

This collection was marvelous. The stories were touching and silly, the characters were bizarre and memorable, the ideas were original and the aliens were alien. I handed this book to a friend within ten minutes of finishing it-- and that's after I traveled halfway across the United States to get it.

Rating: **** (out of four)
Recommendation: I just gave it four stars! What more do you want?

Book Review - Big Trouble

I'm sure that most of my astute readers (all three of you) have noticed a trend in the books I read: namely, that everything I read can be found on the science fiction shelf of your bookstore, and that I have a penchant for reading short stories because of my obviously short attention span.

Well, to both of those opinions I can now officially say "Ha!" having finally read something that was neither scifi nor a short story collection. Granted, Big Trouble isn't exactly the longest novel ever written, or the most complicated (I finished it in a little over three hours of reading), but it still satisfies the basic requirements. And it was a pretty good read to boot.

Now, I've never read one of Dave Barry's books before. I've enjoyed the occasional article, but that's about it-- despite the fact that DB's books have been readily available to me since high school. I just never got around to it. Now I might have to. Big Trouble features a realistic cast of South Floridians all of whom suffer from some form of neurosis or brain damage (why else would they live in Miami?) and approximately half of whom carry guns. Add a nuclear bomb and you've set the stage for this gripping drama of loss, danger, and hallucinogenic frogs.

As expected, the jokes come fast and furious in Big Trouble, with plenty of running gags and unfortunately true-to-life asides. The book switches adroitly back and forth between the dozen or so major characters, all of whom drop at least three great lines and end up doing something hilarious. The entire book reads at 80 mph (35 over the speed limit), and if you blink while reading you may miss one of the longer paragraphs-- but every chapter, every page, and every sentence of this book is funny. I'm officially on the waiting list for DB's next novel.

Rating: *** (out of four)
Recommendation: This is a quickie, but well worth your time if you want something bizarre, fast-paced, and funny. Serious readers and the elderly should stick to the back cover on risk of sprains and other muscular injuries.
Additional Recommendation: The movie (also--curiously enough--titled Big Trouble) is in theaters now, and despite the fact that it is Really Good, it will fail at the box office due to bad advertising. Please go see this movie and give the people who made it a few more bucks. They deserve it.