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A Spell for the Fulfillment of Desire (Black Ice Books)
 
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A Spell for the Fulfillment of Desire (Black Ice Books) [Paperback]

Don Webb (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

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Book Description

Black Ice Books June 1, 1996
Webb combines science fiction, linguistics, and his sense of the magical in this collection of short fiction.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The jacket copy describes this book as "a Postmodern magical papyrus." Maybe. It's not really a collection of short fiction, not poetry, not even a series of writing experiments; so, if papyrus is a continuous scroll composed of slim strips, the description could be apt. The works in this anthology are genuinely surprising, but that doesn't mean they're always successful. Webb (Uncle Ovid's Exercise Book) occasionally gets caught up with his own cleverness, as in "After Abish," an unreadable four-page short story in which every word begins with the letter A. On the other hand, certain pieces highlight Webb's abilities. "Late Night at Webster's" is a whimsical speculation about how new words spring into being. The dialogue is funny and fresh. "Nor Sleet Nor Hail" is the story of Tom Ezzell, a postal clerk who can't bear unhappiness. He is so opposed to the whole concept of sadness, in fact, that he reads every letter that comes through his office and changes those that sound like they contain bad news. And Webb proves he's not limited to humor in "A Stele [sic] for the Fulfillment of Desire," which is quite effective as erotic fiction. While not for everyone, it is a good choice for those who like fantasy, humor and experimental writing.-- for the Fulfillment of Desire," which is quite effective as erotic fiction. While not for everyone, it is a good choice for those who like fantasy, humor and experimental writing.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 147 pages
  • Publisher: Northwestern University Press (June 1, 1996)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1573660124
  • ISBN-13: 978-1573660129
  • Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.5 x 0.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 4.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #744,682 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I have been nominated for and not won very prestigious awards. Last year alone I lost both the Shirley Jackson Award and the International Horror Critics Award. I am hoping to not win other awards of note in coming years. I had been cited in Best American Short Stories (as well as 70 other citing in one "best of the year" list or another).

I have had 12 books and about 400 other items published --ranging from poems in Chinese, trucker fiction in Truckers USA, a story in an honest-to-god Norton Anthology, a book on the Greek Magical Papyri, more Cthulhu Mythos stories than Lovecraft himself, a story in a Norwegian anarchist magazine. I have guest-curated at an art museum, shot fireworks professionally, been the head of a pagan religion, and worked in a corndog factory

I was born on Walpurgisnacht (April 30), 1960 in Amarillo, Texas -- a town whose major industry was the assemblage of plutonium enriched parts of atomic weapons. My mother's family had share-cropped at the first ranch in the world to use barbed wire. Mys work has been translated into 12 languages. In 1988 Ie watched a documentary entitled "Satanism in America" --a cheap piece of yellow
journalism that promoted the (now debunked) myth of "Satanic Crime." I was impressed with the calm logical answers of Dr. Michael Aquino and sent him an approving letter. My letter noted that I did not understand how "Working in a group could strengthen individuality." Dr. Aquino humorously
challenged me to join and explain it to them. Eight years later I becamethe High Priest of Set and a Magus (V*) of the Temple. My major Initiator was Dr. Stephen E. Flowers, and I have written four books on Left Hand Path topics for Flowers' Runa Raven Press. In addition to my
prose, I has published a volume of poetry, written lyrics for rock-n-roll songs, and been in a documentary about his home town, _Plutonium Circus_.

My formative teachers include Paulea Patterson, whp taught Latin at Tascosa High School in Amarillo, from whom I gained a love of classics, a high school counselor who told me that because of his ever dyslexia he should not ever even think
of becoming a writer, and Bruce Sterling, Austin Science Fiction writer, who founded the important writers' group Turkey City. I teaches a variety of on-line creative writing classes for UCLA.

 

Customer Reviews

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Average Customer Review
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Don Webb, Stunt Writer, March 10, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: A Spell for the Fulfillment of Desire (Black Ice Books) (Paperback)
Don Webb is a major figure on the fringe of science fiction (or "speculative literature" or whatever they started calling it ten minutes ago) who hasn't yet gotten the attention he deserves. Combining sharp self-awareness, poison wit, and an itchy need to write stories a few standard deviations from the norm, he takes more chances on a single page than many writers take in their lifetimes. Webb reminds me of Robert Anton Wilson's Cagliostro the Great, who followed his magic act with explanations of how he fooled the audience and then went on to explain how they were also fooled by the government, media, religion, etc.

Sometimes his trickery inspires great fiction, as in "Nor Sleet Nor Hail," in which a postal worker can't bear to deliver bad news and takes matters into his own hands, sometimes it inspires amusement--"After Abish" contains only words starting with the letter "A." Mostly, though, Webb simply inspires thought, a claim credibly made by few authors.

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