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McDonald's Brasyl
over on BoingBoing.net."Ian McDonald's Brasyl is his finest novel to date, and that's really, really saying something. There are McDonald novels -- Hearts, Hands and Voices, Desolation Road, Out on Blue Six that I must have read dozens of times, as you might watch Gene Kelly dance over and over, seeing it but never quite understanding how he does it.
Cory goes on to describe the trifold structure of the narrative, then comes up with my favorite literary metaphor to date:
"McDonald's prose is like chili-spiced chocolate and rum -- it reels drunken and mad through the book, filling your head to the sinuses, with rich complex tastes, until it seems that they'll run out of your ears and eyeballs, until it feels like you're sweating poetry."
Finally, he concludes:
"Brasyl masterfully braids its three timelines together into a master story that is both exciting and enlightening. I don't think I've had as many a-ha! moments about the metaphysics of computation since reading Cryptonomicon.
"Try reading that intro and not getting hooked!"
19 comments:
Brasyl is one of the book that really blows you away, it's tighter and faster paced than RofG and the characters are more interesting, while the imagery is fantastic.
A nice touch for me was the famous 1950 World Cup final as part of the book since I grew up with World Cup history and used to know all the action in all the important games.
The essential SF book of the year until now, hope it will be the really big success it deserves to be.
Liviu
Hey Liviu!
I haven't heard from you in a while. Nice to do so now - and very glad you enjoyed this!
Copies spotted in Borders on Powell Street in San Francisco. They have it in their New Fiction section as well as in the ghetto.
Hey Cheryl - that's good to hear.
Also, if you're back in the Borders - we started an end cap that began 4/24 and runs 5/28. Should be for FF1, Crossover, Breakaway, Keeping It Real and Bright of the Sky, with Brasyl as an optional 6th book. Would love to hear if it's there.
Won't be back in The City until next week. I could check my local Borders in Fremont today. Does the promotion cover all stores? (And what exactly is an end cap?)
Yes, the promotion is nationwide. All Borders but not, I think, sister stores like Waldenbooks or Borders Express.
And end cap is the display of books on the flat end of a row. There should be five or six Pyr books (exclusively) faced out on those little plastic holders.
I'm still glad to hear Brasyl was in the New Fiction section.
I saw Brasyl displayed prominetly at several Borders and B&N's around me (the cover is striking and really holds your attention; personally I got it about 10 days ago from Amazon), and I will look for the end-cap display.
I do not know the whys of marketing but I think that Brasyl and the Blade Itself are the Pyr books with the most commercial appeal (and happen to be by far the best 2 also) for this period and they have the potential of selling well.
Liviu
HEy Liviu:
By "prominently displayed" do you mean faced out, in the new SF&F books section, elsewhere? Glad you like the cover. I was very nervous before it printed to make sure it didn't go dark and the neon really popped. They added a fourth color to the printing process to make sure it did and I'm very happy with the result.
I would agree with your assessment that The Blade Itself is very commercial but also very good. I think that from this past March thru December we have a run of books that up the commercial appeal without sacrificing the intelligence. I need to get around to posting our version of the Blade cover - we ended up changing the font slightly with what I hope are good results.
Just got confirmation of the end cap at the Gaithersburg Borders in Washington DC. Also, the Germantown, MD store - which did not have the end cap (shame on them!) - did have Joel Shepherd's Crossover on their new trade paperback table at the front fo the store.
At one of the big bookstores (BN) I went in the weekend, Brasyl was in the new books section in front of the store as well as in the new SFF section (that one is near the cafe, sort of straight back from the main entrance) facing out; I remember entering the store and seeing the striking cover the first thing.
At the other big box (Borders) I saw it in the new SFF facing out, but I cannot say about the new books section from the front of the store since I was running after my son :) I managed to steer him through the sff section (here is in the middle of the store, close to the cashiers) on the way to the children's section which is the back end of the store...
Liviu
Interesting. There is a Brasyl promotion slated for the end of the month/beginning of June for the top 200 stores or so, but am surprised to hear it's in front of store placement now. Gladdened too, as I think this book rawks.
I guess it depends a lot on the store manager too. This big BN (White Plains city center, NYC suburb) seems to have a manager that loves SFF since I saw many SFF and related books at the main entrance in the 3-4 years since it opened; also the sff section is very nicely situated near the cafe, just where the misc (games, sales) part of the stores that follows the front ends, so people pass by all the time. I am not into comics and such but could not help to notice the huge collection of graphic novels, mostly japanese stuff, situated there too.
Liviu
On the independents' side of things, just heard that it is now in one of my favorite genre stores in the country - Borderlands Books in the mission district in San Francisco. They run a store bestseller list in their newsletter and I am hopeful it will show up there sometime soon! Also think it's in Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego, a store I've always wanted to visit.
Sorry, no end capping of any Pyr books in Fremont. Will try to check other stores.
Oh, and Brasyl is awesome so far, but then you knew that, right?
Still good to hear. Uh, the "awesome" part not the lack o'end cap.
Lou,
The Tempe AZ Borders is displaying BRASYL face out in their new SFF section.
They have copies of CROSSOVER shelved spine out in the general SFF section. Or at least they were spine out until I placed 'em face out...
Robert
But no end cap, huh?
Thanks for the reported sighting - and the facing out.
Lou,
An update from Tempe: BRASYL appears to be sold out as of earlier this (Tues) afternoon, there is an end cap in the SFF now, featuring CROSSOVER and FAST FORWARD I...
Robert
Thanks for this Robert! This is only the second sighting of an end cap I've gotten - though I continue to hear of individual front of store placements. And I'm happy to report this isn't the first "sold out" I've gotten either!
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