Customer Reviews

Beast of the Heartland

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

 

 

I'm sorry that I wasn't as impressed with this particular collection of Shepard's stories as I was with some of his other work. There are a couple of gems in here, however; "Barnacle Bill the Spacer", winner of the Hugo Award, is alone worth the price of admission.

However, if by chance fate has you perusing this page and wondering whether or not to take a chance on Shepard, do it. I first randomly ran across his 'Life During Wartime' in an airport, and I've read everything else of his that I could get my hands on since.

This collection is a fairly mild intro to some of the awe-inspiring concepts that Shepard constructs with the ease of Legos; and not only that, this guy can put words together like nobody's business. Borges would be proud.

It's a crying shame that a lot of his other work is now out of print or otherwise difficult to find; "The Jaguar Hunter", "The Ends of the Earth", and "The Scalehunter's Beautiful Daughter" I would all rate as superior to this particular collection, but don't let that stop you. Shepard is worthy of your reading time, and his full-length novels are equally astonishing.

This book is a collection of short stories, and although I liked them all, the one entitled Barnacle Bill the Spacer took my breath away. Lucius Shepard writes with such beautiful, unique precision, and expresses himself in such an uncommon and thought provoking manner that I found myself reading many of his sentences over and over just to savor their flavor and texture. His words linger, and his plots won't leave you alone. His uncommon writing gave me an uncommon pleasure-highly recommended.

I love short stories, and it is clear to me that anyone else that loves short stories will love this collection, regardless of whether they condsider themselves sci-fi fans or not. In fact, two of the stories are completely devoid of anything fantastical, and two more only touch upon the surreal. In all seven, you do find the clear and descriptive writing that carries with it an insight into human beings all across the world - or universe. Shephard is able to portray the humanity and inhumanity as they battle within each of his primary characters, and over all, you might say that this is really what this collection is about. Each story has a clear and entertaining plot, but underneath, each focuses on a character that is struggling with his desires or angers or impulses that often lead to self-destructive life patterns; vivid and recognizable as elements of our own lives.

The genre sci-fi stories work the best for me. "Barnacle Bill, the Spacer" and "Human History" make my top five list of the best short stories ever. "Sun Spider" is interesting, but without the punch. And the remaining three straight stories were good, but less so than the others. However, in that "Barnacle Bill, the Spacer" and "Human History" are practically short novels, the book is well worth having just for these two stories alone. Consider the others bonus stories. Collections as a general rule are spotty. There are always pages you want to rip out and sometimes pages you want to hang on the wall. This is the first I've read in a long time that has no rip out material. Everything here is good. And some of it is truly amazing. Enjoy.

I liked some of his other short story collections better, but this is still great work. You simply can't miss with Lucius Shepard. He has great insight about love and the human condition, and it's obvious he has travelled and seen much along the way. In each of these stories he deals with the nature of love and the stories we tell ourselves about relationships and sexual encounters.

The stories are diverse and can't be pigeonholed into one genre. I would say Shepard is a magical realist as much as anything, but he does very diverse work.

Lucius Shepard proves once again that he is the highmark in fiction with this collection. Be dazzled, be horrified, and sigh at the beauty of his prose. You can't miss this one.

"Barnacle Bill" led off so strongly - it's Dr. Who meets the PTL Club feel and the strong characters & voices - put this book in good standing. The collection of stories, on the whole are such a wide ranging blend of styles, I'd agree with other reviewers that they are hard to pinpoint as sci-fi / fantasy - or the loosely termed cyber-punk style (which I don't see any of here frankly). "Little Night Music" evokes DeLint's fascination and deep description of music and its importance. "Human History" was an amazing Mad Max/Old Western twist. It also illustrated one of Shepard's devices - the story-teller laying out the framework of the story within the story, key phrasing along the lines of 'what I felt then would prove itself in what came after' (this device is clear again in "Perfums of Araby"). An affinity for vanilla. "Sports in America" runs through a '50's mobster voice - and on of the funniest lines in the collection: Carnes: 'Just goes to show, man. Don't ever give up on your dreams.' "Sun Spider" reminded me of a Victorian tale lost in space in the the curious slow discovery of a man's madness or a new life form, perhaps. Other than the reflection device, "Araby" was too lost in its own hazy dream. The title story, "Beast" closed the collection with a summary of sorts of all that came before and another story in which music plays an early character. All in all - not my typical read - but enjoyable.

Another good collection of stories from Lucius Shepard. Not that that will surprise anyone I suppose. A combination of sf, crime, sport and supernatural. The sf stories are again the highlight for me, including the excellent Human History and the wild Barnacle Bill the Spacer.

Beast of the Heartland : All the Perfumes of Araby - Lucius Shepard
Beast of the Heartland : Barnacle Bill The Spacer - Lucius Shepard
Beast of the Heartland : Beast of the Heartland - Lucius Shepard
Beast of the Heartland : Human History - Lucius Shepard
Beast of the Heartland : A Little Night Music - Lucius Shepard
Beast of the Heartland : Sports in America - Lucius Shepard
Beast of the Heartland : The Sun Spider - Lucius Shepard
Beast of the Heartland : How Lonesome Heartbreak Changed His Life - Lucius Shepard


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3.5 out of 5


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Boxing tart.

3 out of 5


Programmed postapocalyptic people enact punitive pogrom on decadent twisted hi-tech hypnotists.

4.5 out of 5


Music zombies.

3 out of 5


Baseball arguments, with guns.

3 out of 5


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3 out of 5


Japanese Roy Rogers guitar smash hit enables Vietnamese gangster staged shooting.

4 out of 5