Customer Reviews

3000 MPH In Every Direction At Once: Stories and Essays

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Nick's writing is as pointed and dangerous as a syringe on a seashore. Whether writing horror, essays, or humor, this guy knows how to pick his nouns and verbs for maximum impact. The only criticism of the book is one the back cover mentions--the book shifts gears between horror and humor and urbanscape essays in a mishmash presentation that reduces the impact if you read the book sequentially. The scariest story in the book, "Scarlett Women Watch TV Till Dawn" is backed up against the funniest story, "Travel Between Heavenly Bodies." Reading this thing is like being in the mind of a manic-depressive--or perhaps the mind of Nick Mamatas! Avoid the temptation to sit down and read everything at once--limit yourself to one story or essay a day to allow your brain to reset--and there's not one work in this collection that will fail to impress you.

Nick Mamatas is brilliant. But don't let that prevent you from buying _3000 MPH_. This is a virtual buffet of good literary brain food that manages to remain accessible without weighing you down like a heavy starch diet. He does mainly fantasy/SF/horror stuff, but you don't need to be heavily into the genres to enjoy this.

The stories are entertaining, and the best ones captivating, while making you think about something in a way that you had not considered before. They remain brain-bound long after you've put them down.

Trope's intro is funny, too.

Mamatas is an exceptional fantasist. His stories reminded me of Alfred Bester, Philip K. Dick, Harlan Ellison, and William Browning Spencer. "Joey Ramone Saves the World" is alone worth the cover price. Well written, thought provoking work from a talent to watch.

There were some interesting ideas here, but the stories were written in a very inaccessible manner. The writer seems to be trying too hard to be "hip" and "cool" and at the end of the day, that's just boring. I only read about half of this book before closing it up and shoving it in a corner.