Review: Mythic Realism In Fantasy

Book Reviews Madlands by K. W. St. preacher and so Jeter to certain Martin’s Press Trayne is When himself healthy. K. W. Jeter has at last returned to science fiction. Previously he renounced SF, saying he was off to body wakes up on finds he’s Un- better things as a horror writer. —and fortunately — prom- fortunately for Jeter SF readers ising horror career seems that to have . . and does . If all this His latest novel, Madlands, is a assured, return to the quirky sort of future enough Jeter does best. Here, the protago- to les Trayne, is Ange- a citizen of Los of the future ... a place where constructed entirely from writer to pull make at least work stitute: rest good together, couldn't look for a better sub- Madlands reads like vintage Dick, and a higher compliment I to (psychic? psychological? cannot make. — JGB people gradually lose their hold patterns. They mutate weirdly, lose their minds, or both simultaneously. That sounds plenty bad and it is but there are more than a few thrills to be had in abilities to — — the Madlands as well. As your body break down, you experience new sensations, almost like an starts to expanded consciousness. And of course it’s addictive. Trayne works for the preacher’s show he steals dance routines from classic movies and restages them with zombielike dancers. But despite his happy existence, Trayne is at heart a malcontelevision tent. 78 He — accepts a contract to kill the Black Cocktail by Jonathan Carroll St. fans. I note, too, that St. Martin’s Press has again used the British pages in book. For shame! Black Cocktail is only 80 pages long; they certainly could have paid to typeset it in the President’s American. JGB Writer’s Chapbook $5.00 (each) Pulphouse pretty diverse plot threads: a radio host who runs a call-in for crazies (the more out- landish their proposed ideas, the weirder the calls Series Pulphouse Publishing Martin’s Press show tradi- their Black Cocktail is the second novella from a British hardcover series to be published in the U. S. (The first was Greg Bear’s Heads, reviewed previously in these pages.) In Black Cocktail, master fantasist Jonathan Carroll weaves an intense, gritty, and thoroughly fascinating story out of some program an ac- charac- development. They also tend toward the dark and (at times) the darkly 80 pages, $13-95 (hardcover) talk largely and often eschew tional plot-logic in favor of character — psychoactive?) characteristic of the area, be to taste: his stories are ter-driven, many new a all it the insensible seems Carroll quired moderatly is believable. Fans of Philip K. Dick’s reality is some weird But Je