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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a great place to start when looking into CM3's work, June 3, 2004
This review is from: Sunset with a Beard (Paperback)
It is a collection of fourteen stories that try and blur the lines between surrealism and science fiction. It is an enjoyable book that extemporizes the breadth and imagination that CM3 possesses. It is through this collection of eclectic works, touching on everything from the surreal to horror to science fiction, that his true genius as a write comes through. Laying off of the blatant attacks on Christianity, as well as toning down his sexual and violent references from his earlier works, makes this book an extremely accessible work, rife with his strong captivating powers. A great novel for everyone to read, and a great place to start when looking into CM3's work.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bleak to the mind, yet Touching to the heart, September 27, 2003
This review is from: Sunset with a Beard (Paperback)
Carlton Mellick III is undoubtedly amongst the most imaginative authors working today, and despite all his anarchy, has produced a perfectly civil book of stories that everyone can read and love. His claims to blend both the genres Science-Fiction and Surrealism to create a paradoxical book of Surreal Science-Fictions has been realised. Indeed, without weeks of analysis one would be unable to seperate the two genres in his book. There's a story for almost all tastes in this book, which simply shows how broad Carlton's range is, even though most of these are written in a bleak, dystopian tone.(that is quick becoming authentic to Carlton alone) The story "High-Strung Heroes" takes place in a fantasy world, and so does "Creatures of Heaven". "The Earwig Flesh Factory" is an amazingly creative apocolytic story, which could also be called subtle horror. Stories like "Kiss the Sun" are for romantics. "Drunk and King" is for the faceticious lot, and the entire book comes to a heart-wrenching conclusion in "An Era of Liquid Streets", explaining the titling of the book and leaving me in tears. [...What I'm trying to say is, buy the book. It's great stuff. Probably the best $12.55 I've ever spent in my life. Lavaix]
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Timeless Tales 4 stars review, July 29, 2003
This review is from: Sunset with a Beard (Paperback)
by Sashaemillee Myhrom Without a doubt, Carlton Mellick's book "Sunset with a Beard" lives up to the author's claim that the reader will be unable to tell science fiction from surrealism in his stories. Perhaps this is due in part to the fact that the entire collection calls for almost unreasonable stretches of the reader's imagination.
Mellick tries incredibly hard to achieve surrealism in his writing, though in places the obvious effort simply comes across as overkill. In the short story "The Earwig Flesh Factory" the oxymoron "beautiful ugliness" is overused and a bit of a stretch even for a surrealistic future. The phrase and others like it are used throughout the book and make it seem as though Mellick is trying too hard to achieve surrealism.
Aside from a few weak subplots that lead nowhere, Mellick's writing is outstanding. With a style all his own, the author uses hyphenated descriptive words to precisely depict a motion or feeling. "Slap-brushing," "droop-staring," "scream-hissed" and "tickle-crawling" are but a few examples of this incredibly effective writing technique.
Mellick is a master of painting with words; particular lines lead the reader into the story, vividly drawing a mental picture with little effort. Creative lines such as "Watching the ghostly New Yorkers walk like smoke down the icy sidewalks" and "...sky, which seems to hang a little too close above me, like I am finely printed words that it is trying to read" draw the reader into the narrator's world in a way that few authors can successfully do.
Though much of Mellick's book displays a flare for the dramatic, it is at times poignantly short. Sentences such as "he is a very decorative man" are just precise enough to make a point; some lines have no need for garnishing.
"Sunset with a Beard" is a fantastic (and fantastical) read that improves with every story. Though unnecessarily disgusting in parts, the overall effect is sensational.
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