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Publishers Weekly review of Gunning for the Buddha
So, here's one of the Very Cool Things I've been waiting and waiting to share with people -- the Publishers Weekly review of Gunning for the Buddha is now live! The review runs this week, in the March 28th issue.
I think it's pretty good (more or less) -- here it is so you can decide for yourself:
GUNNING FOR THE BUDDHA
Michael Jasper. (Prime), $17.95 paper (224p) ISBN 1-930997-72-8
Jasper’s style is all over the place in his first collection—the influence of such established SF authors as John Kessel (who provides an introduction), Tim Powers and Andy Duncan is manifest—but readers curious to see the growth of a writer one story at a time will be rewarded. The title tale involves time travel with an atmospheric twist. Black comedy marks “A Feast at the Manor,” with its desperate dieters, and “Goddamn Redneck Surfer Zombies,” about a small beach community dealing with a seasonal influx of the undead. Less successful are “Unplugged,” about outmoded cyber cowboys, and “Working the Game,” in which a downtrodden worker finally realizes there’s no way to beat the system. “Explosions” and the three tales that follow explore the repercussions when humans attempt to make a place for the alien Wannoshay after their space ship crashes on Earth. The last four entries are the most memorable, the standout being the evocative and vivid “Natural Order,” which Jasper calls in his afterword “the best story I’ve ever written in ten hours.” (Apr.)
Interesting. It's not exactly a glowing review, but I have no problem being compared to the three fine writers in that review!
Of course, me being a bit cynical, I'm trying to parse the review to find out what's really being said. I'd like to think the fact that my "style is all over the place" is a left-handed compliment, but it feels a bit like a slam, as if to say "The guy's inconsistent" or "You never know what you're going to get with one of his stories" (probably not a bad thing). I also think it's odd that he end his review with a comment I made in the Afterward (about the story I wrote in a couple days for the Writers of the Future workshop).
But in any case, it's a review in Publishers Weekly, so I can't really complain, know what I mean??? Later. :)
I think it's pretty good (more or less) -- here it is so you can decide for yourself:
GUNNING FOR THE BUDDHA
Michael Jasper. (Prime), $17.95 paper (224p) ISBN 1-930997-72-8
Jasper’s style is all over the place in his first collection—the influence of such established SF authors as John Kessel (who provides an introduction), Tim Powers and Andy Duncan is manifest—but readers curious to see the growth of a writer one story at a time will be rewarded. The title tale involves time travel with an atmospheric twist. Black comedy marks “A Feast at the Manor,” with its desperate dieters, and “Goddamn Redneck Surfer Zombies,” about a small beach community dealing with a seasonal influx of the undead. Less successful are “Unplugged,” about outmoded cyber cowboys, and “Working the Game,” in which a downtrodden worker finally realizes there’s no way to beat the system. “Explosions” and the three tales that follow explore the repercussions when humans attempt to make a place for the alien Wannoshay after their space ship crashes on Earth. The last four entries are the most memorable, the standout being the evocative and vivid “Natural Order,” which Jasper calls in his afterword “the best story I’ve ever written in ten hours.” (Apr.)
Interesting. It's not exactly a glowing review, but I have no problem being compared to the three fine writers in that review!
Of course, me being a bit cynical, I'm trying to parse the review to find out what's really being said. I'd like to think the fact that my "style is all over the place" is a left-handed compliment, but it feels a bit like a slam, as if to say "The guy's inconsistent" or "You never know what you're going to get with one of his stories" (probably not a bad thing). I also think it's odd that he end his review with a comment I made in the Afterward (about the story I wrote in a couple days for the Writers of the Future workshop).
But in any case, it's a review in Publishers Weekly, so I can't really complain, know what I mean??? Later. :)
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