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Post by erebus on Apr 19, 2013 16:01:27 GMT
Wasn't sure where exactly to put this thread. Hope this is the correct place.
I'm still a bit unsure about this author. I read his first book Toady, after a great start and a decent middle the book went of on a very strange tangent which ultimately kind of ruined the book for me. It was one of those you say Thank God thats finished. But I took the positives from it and purchased a whole batch of his books on a whim. This being one of them. After reading this I'm still on the fence.
As you will probably know it is a book of his short stories collected and put together . The first of which is titled.
GREEN. Concerns a married man who is not liked by many people other than his wife and perhaps teenage son. One day at work he has a funny turn after touching a plant and blacks out. Then on he gets a strange aversion to the colour green. It escalates and he nearly dies in a car accident. After a spell in hospital he returns home one night in a psychotic mood.
THE FERTILIZER MAN concerns a old gardener who is plagued on his allotment by thieving youths. He happens to bump (literally) into a strange salesman on the allotment who gives him some strange fertilizer to scatter about. A late night prowler soon discovers what exactly the stuff grows. Sounds more creepy than it is believe me.
PROGENY. A seedy incestuous old man spins his yarn.
HOMEWARD BOUND. A shopkeeper hates his nightly journey home through the spooky streets. But thats the least of his worries.
BIRTHDAY. A young birthday boy is helped captive by a transparent wardrobe in the middle of a park playing field. Thing is only he can see out. Nobody can see or find him. Bizarre but a good read.
WARTS AND ALL. A young boy who lives on a farm with his Mum develops a strange bump on his fingers. This process continues and everything he touches becomes wartified ( is that a word ? ) Great idea with such a poor finish .
PLAYING GOD. A disturbed man does terribly wrong, but believes he is doing right. Told in his own words and written how he would write. Probably one of the best stories in the book.
DOWN TO EARTH. A young couple buy a rundown house with an overgrown garden. Theprevious old tenants were very keen on its upkeep. The wife here begins to develop strange urges ( dancing naked at night on the lawn ) Whilst the husband hears strange noises in the night and smells odd odours. The former tenant Mr Fleming may be back. Great start and I was expecting a showdown finish, which allthough good is a bit of a head scratcher that has you saying Why ? and is she dead or possessed ? etc.
A NEW MAN. Short couple of pages about someone/body waking in a strange place feeling ...ummm well.. very strange. I prefer his shorter tales to his longer ones. This is a good little yarn.
THE OTHER ONE. Perhaps the most stupid story in the book , or in any for that matter. What on earth happened ? I haven't a clue.
CHISELLERS REUNION. A trio of friends get together each year. Failing to do so results in death for them in or around their friends and families. I had a hard time reading this. Some of the dialogue amongst the men was awful and embarrassing. Not in a rude or crude way, just in a kind off way that makes you think Guys do not talk like that. The ending was a letdown and although this was written for the book as opposed to being sourced, it ended up being one of the weakest .
I can point to perhaps two stories I enjoyed. The others either start good and fall apart, GREEN , WARTS etc and DOWN TO EARTH being examples. The rest are very very poor. I will never return to this book as I often do with anthologies. But, I still think there is something there with Mark Morris. I can't put my finger on it. Rather like a woman with huge wonderful breasts, but will not wear short low cut tops and be proud of her assets...If you catch my drift. I do believe he is a good writer, maybe I got of on a bad start. I do have of his. STITCH, MR BADFACE, THE IMMACULATE and THE SECRET ON ANATOMY. Anybody read or know of these being good ?
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Post by dem bones on Apr 19, 2013 17:31:26 GMT
But, I still think there is something there with Mark Morris. I can't put my finger on it. Rather like a woman with huge wonderful breasts, but will not wear short low cut tops and be proud of her assets...If you catch my drift. Again and again I ask myself why we so rarely attract women to this lousy forum .... As far as I'm aware, these stories are among Mr. Morris's earliest magazine and fanzine work. The only ones I'm familiar with are Playing God - which I really like - and Homeward Bound, high on atmosphere but sabotaged by a very expected "unexpected" last line. I think Mr. Morris would likely admit that he's a far better writer these days. Am about halfway through his Vampire Circus (sort of) novelization and he's making a bloody good fist of it. The Secret Of Anatomy is a long-time malingerer on the to-read pile ... |
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Post by Craig Herbertson on Apr 20, 2013 9:23:32 GMT
But, I still think there is something there with Mark Morris. I can't put my finger on it. Rather like a woman with huge wonderful breasts, but will not wear short low cut tops and be proud of her assets...If you catch my drift. Again and again I ask myself why we so rarely attract women to this lousy forum .... As far as I'm aware, these stories are among Mr. Morris's earliest magazine and fanzine work. The only ones I'm familiar with are Playing God - which I really like - and Homeward Bound, high on atmosphere but sabotaged by a very expected "unexpected" last line. I think Mr. Morris would likely admit that he's a far better writer these days. Am about halfway through his Vampire Circus (sort of) novelization and he's making a bloody good fist of it. The Secret Of Anatomy is a long-time malingerer on the to-read pile ... The attitudes expressed in this post are simply shameful. One of the reasons I am a regular. |
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Post by andydecker on Apr 21, 2013 17:35:44 GMT
Again and again I ask myself why we so rarely attract women to this lousy forum .... As far as I'm aware, these stories are among Mr. Morris's earliest magazine and fanzine work. The only ones I'm familiar with are Playing God - which I really like - and Homeward Bound, high on atmosphere but sabotaged by a very expected "unexpected" last line. I think Mr. Morris would likely admit that he's a far better writer these days. Am about halfway through his Vampire Circus (sort of) novelization and he's making a bloody good fist of it. The Secret Of Anatomy is a long-time malingerer on the to-read pile ... The attitudes expressed in this post are simply shameful. One of the reasons I am a regular. Erebus' description has a certain ring to it. Borderline poetic. It kind of makes one proud to be a regular :-) |
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Post by finchinfin on Nov 23, 2022 17:11:31 GMT
I’m on the fence with getting this one. The reviews on Goodreads vary. One is just unfortunate, the kind of uninformative “review” I hate to read: 1 or 5 stars saying a book is either the best or the worst, without any further details.
As for the OP’s metaphor? Good god, get a grip. It was funny and illustrative. No woman in her right mind would be scared away by that very tame comment. Give the “fairer” sex more credit!
Oh, and one comment said Homeward Bound was scary.
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