A Canticle for Leibowitz

Bookian — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 20:13:17 +0000

Nothing like post apocalyptic Monks to cheer one up. An argument could be made that monks took us out of the middle ages, or at least helped something of ourselves survive the period. But perhaps, it has just prolonged our suffering? These are metaphysical questions, best left to priests and jesuetical dreamers and profits (sic). The real question from this book is, if tehre are future monks looking back at us, then what did our monks from the past do when they looked upon the previous past? Perhaps everything they saved is merely fiction, and the truth of pre-monk-times is obscured behind their distortions. Gotta go think about this… – reviewed by monkman

Against the Day

Bookian — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:34:17 +0000

Thomas Pynchon: Ultimate Space Junky. Back before we had the neutrino ultra-engine drive, we had dirigibles and zeppelins and rattlesnakes in the desert which no one visited except old prospecting mountain men. And then, we had Pynchon. Against the Day is like steampunked cyberpunk with old pieces of wood and dried twigs for broadband. Thats steam-Punkt cyberpunk. Another Bookian reviewer, un-named, has stated the book is “too long, too flowery, to arcane, and too long.”, but obviously is a Neanderthal living in a modern time-warp. This is one of the best Pynchons Ive read in a long time. I really enjoyed vineland, because of clear connection to the time and place… Pynchon has well proven that he is a master of the real. So when he writes something as intricate, surfacey, flat, and ultra-modern as Against The Day, even though its set back awhile, Its clear to me how cartoony our modern reality really is. hey! Its realism! If I want fiction Ill go watch the news. Yeah, thanks. – reviewed by mr. anarchy

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A Canticle for Leibowitz

Against the Day