Customer Reviews

Out of the Mouth of the Dragon

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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

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.

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

A very odd end of time novel about a young man seeking a meaning to life when the planet suggests there is none. Strange battles between high and low tech forces abound, as the world falls apart and humankind dwindles. There are a few mentions of females, but not a single line for a female character! Probably will never make the top 100 Sci-Fi/ Fantasy novels you must read, but I liked it. Most memorable ending.