Out of the Mouth of the Dragon [Import] [Paperback]

Mark Geston (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Ace Books; New Ed edition (1972)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0722138261
• ISBN-13: 978-0722138267
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,395,271 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A unique and amazing book, May 20, 2004

By 

pinlighter - See all my reviews

This review is from: Out of the Mouth of the Dragon (Paperback)

Geston writes very little today, but the late 60's saw a brief efflorescence of his work. This book and its clumsier predecessor LORDS OF THE STARSHIP are set in approximately the same future history - one where humanity has retreated from the stars to a crippled Earth and now fights repeated apocalyptic battles, False Armageddons, in a futile attempt to end creation.

The brutality of this scenario is set off and framed by images of great sadness and beauty: angels scarred by napalm, dead prophets speaking with prosthetic voiceboxes, ancient machines of nearly sentient cunning, and a maddening not-quite-engagement with the authentic supernatural which reflects the existential torment of the prophets and pilgrims who move through this darkening world.

It's far from a perfect book, but it has an absolutely unique vision. Read at the right age, OUT OF THE MOUTH OF THE DRAGON will change your life

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Glimpse of Greatness, March 8, 2009

By 

Joshua Berube (Las Vegas, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Out of the Mouth of the Dragon (Paperback)

Probably the best of Geston's short catalogue, Out Of The Mouth Of The Dragon details the story of a young man who ventures out into the wider world to join the final battle of armageddon.
The biggest hurdle readers face is the books ponderous, slogging opening. It should also be noted that this, like Geston's other novels, isn't exactly the tightest narative, although for me, the style imparts a welcome dream-like quality, though im sure others see it as a bit sloppy. With that said, once it starts moving along, Mouth of the Dragon is an experience like no other. Geston's hard-edged world is one of sorrowful beauty and moral ambiguity, and he does a great job of immersing you in his strange, melancholic vision of the future.
Reading this novel, it strikes me as a real shame that this book is probably the best of a writer who produced little, instead of a flawed early work of an author who went on to become a true master.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can't get this book out of my mind, January 6, 2010

By 

Chris Protopapas (New York) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Out of the Mouth of the Dragon (Paperback)

I read this book over 30 years ago, but it still haunts me. A unique, frightening and terminally sad vision of humanity's end.