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Lucius Shepard (1943–2014)

Teoksen Life During Wartime tekijä

146+ teosta 3,707 jäsentä 81 arvostelua 24 Favorited

Tietoja tekijästä

Lucius Shepard was born in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1947. He wrote in many different genres including science fiction and fantasy, cyberpunk, magical realism, poetry, and non-fiction. He published his first short stories in 1983 and his first novel, Green Eyes, in 1984. His other works include Life näytä lisää During Wartime, The Jaguar Hunter, and Two Trains Running. He won several awards including the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 1985, the Nebula Award for the novella R&R, the Hugo Award for the novella Barnacle Bill the Spacer, and the Shirley Jackson Award for the novella Vacancy. He died on March 18, 2014 at the age of 66. (Bowker Author Biography) näytä vähemmän
Image credit: Lucius Shepard
Photo: Harmonia Amanda

Sarjat

Tekijän teokset

Life During Wartime (1987) 551 kappaletta
Kultainen (1993) 341 kappaletta
Green Eyes (1984) 320 kappaletta
The Jaguar Hunter (1987) 312 kappaletta
The Dragon Griaule (2012) 182 kappaletta
Barnacle Bill the Spacer and Other Stories (1997) — Tekijä — 174 kappaletta
The Ends of the Earth (1990) 151 kappaletta
Kalimantan (1990) 146 kappaletta
Louisiana Breakdown (2003) 75 kappaletta
Viator (2004) 74 kappaletta
Softspoken (2007) 74 kappaletta
Eternity and Other Stories (2005) 60 kappaletta
Two Trains Running (2004) 58 kappaletta
Aztechs (2002) 50 kappaletta
Trujillo (2004) 47 kappaletta
Valentine (2002) 46 kappaletta
Beautiful Blood (2013) 41 kappaletta
Dagger Key and Other Stories (1700) 40 kappaletta
The Taborin Scale (2010) 39 kappaletta
Floater (2003) — Tekijä — 39 kappaletta
Vacancy & Ariel (2009) 31 kappaletta
Colonel Rutherford's Colt (2003) 28 kappaletta
Liar's House (2004) 20 kappaletta
Viator Plus (2009) 19 kappaletta
Salvador 18 kappaletta
The Father of Stones (1989) 17 kappaletta
Nantucket Slayrides (1989) 12 kappaletta
Solitaire station: romanzo (2006) 12 kappaletta
Shades [short fiction] 11 kappaletta
The Sun Spider [short fiction] (1987) 10 kappaletta
R & R [novella] 10 kappaletta
Crocodile Rock (2012) 9 kappaletta
Rose Street Attractors (2011) 9 kappaletta
The End of Life As We Know It (1987) 8 kappaletta
Thanatopolis (1993) 7 kappaletta
Sous des cieux étrangers (2010) 7 kappaletta
Only Partly Here (2009) 6 kappaletta
Abimagique (2007) 6 kappaletta
Le livre écorné de ma vie (2009) 6 kappaletta
Fire Zone Emerald (1988) 6 kappaletta
Piękna krew (2018) 6 kappaletta
Black Coral 6 kappaletta
Surrender [short fiction] (1989) 6 kappaletta
Handbook of American Prayer (2000) 6 kappaletta
Weapons of Mass Seduction (2005) 5 kappaletta
El Cazador De Jaguares (1985) 5 kappaletta
Dorada (2007) 5 kappaletta
Dead Money 5 kappaletta
Sylgarmo's Proclamation (2009) 5 kappaletta
Halloween Town 5 kappaletta
A Traveler's Tale 4 kappaletta
Vacancy (2013) 4 kappaletta
The Last Time 4 kappaletta
Le stelle senzienti (2009) 3 kappaletta
Piste di guerra (2007) 3 kappaletta
Hobo Nation (2008) 3 kappaletta
Ariel (2013) 3 kappaletta
Jailwise 3 kappaletta
Over Yonder 3 kappaletta
Mengele 3 kappaletta
Bound for Glory 2 kappaletta
The Exercise of Faith 2 kappaletta
A Wooden Tiger 2 kappaletta
Petite musique de nuit (2000) 2 kappaletta
The Black Clay Boy 2 kappaletta
Señor Volto 2 kappaletta
Nomans Land 2 kappaletta
On the border 2 kappaletta
Larissa Miusov 2 kappaletta
Sports in America 2 kappaletta
Human History 2 kappaletta
Jailbait (short story) (2004) 2 kappaletta
Jack's Decline 2 kappaletta
Slice of Life 1 kappale
The Skull (2011) 1 kappale
Solitario's Eyes 1 kappale
Vermillion #2 1 kappale
Visitor 1 kappale
The Skinny Girl 1 kappale
After Ildiko 1 kappale
Chinandega 1 kappale
The Emperor 1 kappale
Anti-Trek 1 kappale
The Arcevoalo 1 kappale
Multiplexity 1 kappale
Korean Futures 1 kappale

Associated Works

The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories (2011) — Avustaja — 815 kappaletta
Naked City (2011) — Avustaja — 635 kappaletta
Songs of the Dying Earth (2009) — Avustaja — 629 kappaletta
The Year's Best Science Fiction: Eighth Annual Collection (1991) — Avustaja — 376 kappaletta
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: First Annual Collection (1986) — Avustaja — 314 kappaletta
Teeth: Vampire Tales (2011) — Avustaja — 300 kappaletta
The Year's Best Science Fiction: Seventh Annual Collection (1990) — Avustaja — 280 kappaletta
The Year's Best Science Fiction: Sixth Annual Collection (1989) — Tekijä — 251 kappaletta
The 1987 Annual World's Best SF (1987) — Avustaja — 238 kappaletta
The 1985 Annual World's Best SF (1985) — Avustaja — 236 kappaletta
The 1988 Annual World's Best SF (1988) — Avustaja — 235 kappaletta
The Year's Best Science Fiction: Third Annual Collection (1986) — Avustaja — 225 kappaletta
The 1986 Annual World's Best SF (1986) — Avustaja — 215 kappaletta
Tails of Wonder and Imagination: Cat Stories (2010) — Avustaja — 215 kappaletta
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Sixth Annual Collection (1993) — Avustaja — 211 kappaletta
Modern Classic Short Novels of Science Fiction (1994) — Avustaja — 201 kappaletta
The Year's Best Science Fiction: Fourth Annual Collection (1987) — Avustaja — 201 kappaletta
The 1990 Annual World's Best SF (1990) — Avustaja — 201 kappaletta
Modern Classics of Science Fiction (1991) — Avustaja — 201 kappaletta
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Second Annual Collection (1987) — Avustaja — 199 kappaletta
The End of the World: Stories of the Apocalypse (2010) — Avustaja — 197 kappaletta
The Secret History of Science Fiction (2009) — Avustaja — 196 kappaletta
The Beastly Bride: Tales of the Animal People (2010) — Avustaja — 193 kappaletta
The Fantasy Hall of Fame (1998) — Avustaja — 192 kappaletta
The Year's Best Science Fiction: Fifth Annual Collection (1988) — Tekijä — 191 kappaletta
The Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories (1994) — Avustaja — 190 kappaletta
Future on Fire (1991) — Avustaja — 187 kappaletta
Strange Dreams (1993) — Avustaja — 186 kappaletta
Other Earths (2009) — Avustaja — 180 kappaletta
The Dark (2003) — Avustaja — 177 kappaletta
Wings of Fire (2010) — Avustaja — 177 kappaletta
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Fourth Annual Collection (1991) — Avustaja — 155 kappaletta
Eclipse 1: New Science Fiction and Fantasy (2007) — Avustaja — 148 kappaletta
The Mammoth Book of Fantasy (2001) — Avustaja — 144 kappaletta
Inferno (2007) — Avustaja — 141 kappaletta
The Mammoth Book of Short Horror Novels (1988) — Avustaja — 135 kappaletta
Supernatural Noir (2011) — Avustaja — 134 kappaletta
Kuoleman kirjat. 2 (1954) 133 kappaletta
Little Deaths (1995) — Avustaja, eräät painokset131 kappaletta
The Playboy Book of Science Fiction (1998) — Avustaja — 131 kappaletta
Salon Fantastique: Fifteen Original Tales of Fantasy (2006) — Avustaja — 130 kappaletta
Darkness: Two Decades of Modern Horror (2010) — Avustaja — 129 kappaletta
Killing Me Softly: Erotic Tales of Unearthly Love (1995) — Avustaja — 129 kappaletta
Poe: 19 New Tales Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe (2009) — Avustaja — 123 kappaletta
Bestiary! (1985) — Avustaja — 122 kappaletta
Science Fiction: The Best of 2003 (2004) — Avustaja — 119 kappaletta
The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2010 Edition (2010) — Avustaja — 113 kappaletta
The New Hugo Winners, Volume IV (1997) — Avustaja — 113 kappaletta
Hauntings (2013) — Avustaja — 111 kappaletta
Year's Best Fantasy 4 (2004) — Avustaja — 111 kappaletta
The Mammoth Book of the Best of Best New SF (2008) — Avustaja — 104 kappaletta
The Year's Best Science Fiction: Second Annual Collection (1985) — Avustaja — 100 kappaletta
The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2010 Edition (2010) — Avustaja — 94 kappaletta
Nebula Awards Showcase 2009 (2009) — Avustaja — 92 kappaletta
The Solaris Book of New Fantasy (2007) — Avustaja — 92 kappaletta
Visions of Wonder (1996) — Avustaja — 89 kappaletta
Nebula Awards Showcase 2005 (2005) — Avustaja — 82 kappaletta
The Best Science Fiction of the Year #15 (1986) — Avustaja — 76 kappaletta
Magicats II! (1991) — Avustaja — 76 kappaletta
Demons! (1941) — Avustaja — 71 kappaletta
The Best of Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine (1988) — Avustaja — 70 kappaletta
Nebula Awards 23 (1989) — Avustaja — 67 kappaletta
In the Field of Fire (1987) — Avustaja — 67 kappaletta
Universe 14 (1984) — Avustaja — 62 kappaletta
Year's Best Fantasy 7 (2007) — Avustaja — 59 kappaletta
Best Short Novels 2004 (2004) — Avustaja — 57 kappaletta
The Orbit Science Fiction Yearbook: No. 2 (1989) — Johdanto — 57 kappaletta
Isaac Asimov's Solar System (1999) — Avustaja — 56 kappaletta
Dragons! (1993) — Avustaja — 55 kappaletta
Future War (1999) — Avustaja — 54 kappaletta
The Mammoth Book of Angels and Demons (2013) — Avustaja — 52 kappaletta
The Best Science Fiction of the Year #16 (1987) — Avustaja — 50 kappaletta
Ripper (1988) — Avustaja — 49 kappaletta
Universe 15 (1985) — Avustaja — 49 kappaletta
The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 14 (1988) — Avustaja — 49 kappaletta
Time Travelers (1989) — Avustaja — 47 kappaletta
The Orbit Science Fiction Yearbook: No. 1 (1988) — Avustaja — 47 kappaletta
The Book of Dreams (2010) — Avustaja — 42 kappaletta
Postscripts Magazine, Issue 10 (2007) — Avustaja — 42 kappaletta
Fantasy: The Best of 2001 (2002) — Avustaja — 42 kappaletta
The Silver Gryphon (2003) — Tekijä — 42 kappaletta
Rock On: The Greatest Hits of Science Fiction & Fantasy (2012) — Avustaja — 39 kappaletta
Crucified Dreams (2011) — Avustaja — 39 kappaletta
Isaac Asimov's Fantasy! (1985) — Avustaja — 37 kappaletta
Universe 13 (1983) — Avustaja — 36 kappaletta
Edited By (2020) — Avustaja — 36 kappaletta
Under South American Skies (1993) — Avustaja — 35 kappaletta
The Orbit Science Fiction Yearbook: No. 3 (1990) — Avustaja — 32 kappaletta
Polyphony 3 (2003) — Tekijä — 32 kappaletta
Polyphony 1 (2002) — Avustaja — 32 kappaletta
Sense of Wonder: A Century of Science Fiction (2011) — Avustaja — 30 kappaletta
Bibliomancy (2003) — Johdanto — 29 kappaletta
The Alchemy of Stars: Rhysling Award Winners Showcase (2005) — Avustaja — 28 kappaletta
Polyphony 2 (2003) — Avustaja — 26 kappaletta
Polyphony 4 (2004) — Avustaja — 26 kappaletta
Great Tales of Madness and the Macabre (1990) — Avustaja — 25 kappaletta
Isaac Asimov's War (1993) — Avustaja — 23 kappaletta
Omni Best Science Fiction Two (1992) — Avustaja — 22 kappaletta
Polyphony 5 (2005) — Avustaja — 20 kappaletta
Cinema Futura (2010) — Avustaja — 19 kappaletta
A Mosque Among the Stars (2008) — Avustaja — 17 kappaletta
Night Visions 11 (Night Visions) (2004) — Avustaja — 15 kappaletta
Omni Visions Two (1994) — Avustaja — 14 kappaletta
Asimov's Science Fiction: Vol. 20, No. 4 [April 1996] (1996) — Avustaja — 14 kappaletta
Asimov's Science Fiction: Vol. 17, No. 4 & 5 [April 1993] (1993) — Tekijä — 14 kappaletta
Asimov's Science Fiction: Vol. 24, No. 8 [August 2000] (2000) — Avustaja — 12 kappaletta
Postscripts Magazine, Issue 22/23: The Company He Keeps (2010) — Avustaja — 11 kappaletta
Universe 16 (1986) — Avustaja — 11 kappaletta
Lightspeed Magazine, Issue 21 • February 2012 (2012) — Avustaja — 10 kappaletta
Heyne Jahresband Science Fiction 1989. (1989) — Avustaja — 7 kappaletta
Ikarus 2001. Best of Science Fiction. (2001) — Avustaja — 7 kappaletta
The Best of Whispers (1994) — Avustaja — 6 kappaletta
Wassermans Roboter (1988) — Avustaja — 6 kappaletta
Subterranean Magazine Spring 2009 — Avustaja — 5 kappaletta
New Dimensions No. 13 (1982) — Avustaja — 4 kappaletta
Bifrost n°40 (2005) — Avustaja — 4 kappaletta
Bifrost n°51 (2008) — Avustaja — 4 kappaletta
Infinity plus two (2002) — Avustaja — 2 kappaletta
Subterranean Magazine Summer 2010 — Avustaja — 2 kappaletta
Supernovæ (1993) — Avustaja — 2 kappaletta
Nuove avventure nell'ignoto — Avustaja — 2 kappaletta
Mondaugen — Avustaja — 1 kappale
80年代SF傑作選〈上〉 (ハヤカワ文庫SF) (1992) — Avustaja — 1 kappale
Science Fiction Eye #07, August 1990 — Avustaja — 1 kappale
Ten Tales (1994) — Avustaja — 1 kappale
Das Blei der Zeit (1993) — Avustaja — 1 kappale

Merkitty avainsanalla

Yleistieto

Jäseniä

Kirja-arvosteluja

Good but dark

The title pretty much says it all. A lot of good tales in here, but he does tend to dark themes
 
Merkitty asiattomaksi
acb13adm | Sep 13, 2023 |
This book has sat, unread, on my shelf for probably twenty years, on the strength of Shepard's novel Life during Wartime. I finally worked my way around to it, and I'm sad to say that I was not overwhelmed. All the stories dated from the late 1980s or early- to mid-90s, and most show their age.

The (Nebula-winning) title story starts out with something of an Expanse-like vibe but was spoilt for me by the pov character and others purporting to be British but talking in appalling Mockney accents, and Shepard thinking that Manchester is in the Midlands. I also quickly began to stumble over Shepard's stream-of-consciousness 100-word sentences. As an occasional device, this could be excused; but not as a habit, especially when they appear in the internal narrative of a character who otherwise presents as an "ordinary bloke". There were also a lot of elements in this story which seemed to have been lifted wholesale from Peter Hyams' 1981 film Outland.

Two of the stories weren't remotely science fiction; one, Beast of the Heartland, a boxing story, might qualify as borderline fantasy, or fantastic realism. Interestingly, both of these stories first appeared in Playboy. Of the others, one (All the perfumes of Araby) is set in the aftermath of the first Gulf War, and although it refers to an early 21st century that never quite happened, it does reflect the current real-world political concerns of the Middle East in a recognisable way, including war in Syria (although Shepard's knowledge of the practice of Islam is a bit lacking). For me, this story and Human History were the stand-out stories of the collection. Human History relates a story of a marginal settlement in Arizona in the aftermath of a (historical) socio-environmental catastrophe. Shepard leaves the backstory open to speculation, which was probably the right thing to do even if I found it mildly unsatisfactory.

The Sun Spider seems to be about a pop philosopher/physicist who discovers life on the surface of the Sun, but is also about interpersonal relationships and revenge. Set on a space station in a close solar orbit, the story has a creepy and villainous administrator who runs the station as a personal fiefdom without anyone turning a hair; in any case, the station seems more like a posh hotel and the whole thing does not convince. And there is a nasty tale, A Little Night Music, which uses a science-fictional idea (a resurrection process for the recently-dead which has the side effect of making the resurrectees into strange jazz musicians) as a framing device for an urban tale of infidelity which turns into misogynistic violence.

Indeed, much of the writing seems to be predominantly masculine, and some modern readers will have difficulty with this. For me, two good stories out of seven doesn't make for a ringing endorsement.
… (lisätietoja)
½
 
Merkitty asiattomaksi
RobertDay | 5 muuta kirja-arvostelua | Aug 5, 2023 |
If one can imagine Coppola's Apocalypse Now, dressed up in a sci-fi garb and with the level of insanity cranked up, that's the best way I can think of describing Life During Wartime. It is a(n almost) plotless, unpredictable, ethereal nightmare that nonetheless paces itself well (at least during its beginnings) and sucks you deep into the allure of its horror.

There's some really nice writing, and I think it was originally published under the label of "literary fiction"; which is interesting because I think the genre elements really swallow it as the book goes on, and in a way that even made me cringe a bit. I did like quite a lot about Life During Wartime - initially I was drawn to its trippy, war-time atmosphere - but I was less keen when more plot entered the scene and it almost began to feel like a sophisticated, adult X-Men. The more it drifted into its themes of psychological warfare the more disinterested I became, because I just didn't find the whole "war within a war" element compelling at all. I also thought the development of the romance was poor, especially as the main character just seems like a moody git who wants to screw anything that walks (the forced eroticism gets tedious). Funnily enough, by the end it almost seemed like a core theme of the book was "love" and that it was perhaps intended as some kind of romance novel in part. That didn't really work for me either.

Not a bad book, and possibly worth reading, but ultimately it felt a bit messy and unsatisfying. Joe Haldeman does much better with "military sci-fi meets romance" with his novel, The Forever War.
… (lisätietoja)
 
Merkitty asiattomaksi
TheScribblingMan | 10 muuta kirja-arvostelua | Jul 29, 2023 |
La asamblea celebrada en el castillo Banat aquella noche de 1860 llevaba más de tres siglos planificándose, aunque sólo se había dedicado un esfuerzo mínimo a los aspectos ceremoniales de la reunión. No: la mayor parte del tiempo y la energía se había invertido en la crianza y cruce de determinadas líneas de sangre mortales con el fin de producir la más excepcional de las esencias, una cosecha de inigualable sabor y buqué: la Dorada. Los miembros de la Familia habían acudido desde todos los confines de Europa con el objeto de participar en la Decantación. Entre ellos, Michel Beheim, antiguo detective de la policía de París recientemente vampirizado, que tendrá que recurrir a sus talentos humanos cuando un crimen inimaginable sacuda a la comunidad de los no-muertos.… (lisätietoja)
 
Merkitty asiattomaksi
Natt90 | Mar 30, 2023 |

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Teokset
146
Also by
170
Jäseniä
3,707
Suosituimmuussija
#6,838
Arvio (tähdet)
½ 3.7
Kirja-arvosteluja
81
ISBN:t
175
Kielet
9
Kuinka monen suosikki
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