#008 - The S&L Podcast: Elf Noir? Seriously?
Friday, May 23, 2008 at 3:50PM We're just starting the new story, but somehow we found a ton to talk about anyway!
NEW BOOK!
Unshapely Things by Mark Del Franco
“In an alternate reality Boston where you are just as likely to see a troll or an elf walk down the street as you are to see a human, Fairy hustlers are winding up dead with their hearts cut out and replaced with stones. Druid Conner Grey uses his magical abilities to crack the case in this fun, interesting novel.”
Mark Del Franco takes an entirely straight-faced approach to the hard-boiled detective/police procedural template, keeping the snark to a minimum even when presenting us with dead fairy prostitutes.
Mark Del Franco spent several years in the publishing field in editorial and administrative roles and in the institutional finance field as a proposal writer. He currently is pursuing a freelance career in both these fields.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=190541030
http://markdf.livejournal.com/
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Reader Comments (6)
I didn't understand elfpunk until I realized I actually wrote a short story in this genre myself about something...maybe a troll that lived under an LA overpass..strange.
If you've played Diablo 2... Sword and Cows is totally acceptable to discuss on this podcast :P
The best series by far I've read is the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin that's unfortunately not done yet, but is the most realistic fantasy I've ever read.
I happen to love the book so far, as I am in the second chapter. First person always flips my switch. Has anyone started a discussion group yet?
I'd like to expand on something you mentioned in this podcast: _The Book of the New Sun_, by Gene Wolfe. Ok, ok, it's my favorite work. A couple of points: Veronica said it sounded like something she'd like to read as it spanned the SF and Fantasy genres. It's hard SF at its core, but has a heavy fantasy atmosphere due to the extremely strange environment. It's also very hard work to read! Wolfe pulled out all the stops on this work. You have to bring a lot to it to figure out what's going on, because he doesn't hit you over the head with anything. He made up no new words; all the words are real words from...somewhere. Demilune, cacogen, anpiel, zoanthrope... I had to write and ask him what an "anpiel" was (answer: "Anpiel is the angel who takes care of birds.").
Names are equally wonderful, equally real: Severian, Valeria, Baldanders, Father Inire, Thecla. I wondered about that last one until I went to Italy and saw the name Thecla, in Greek letters, on a tombstone there in a museum.
I should also mention that the whole work is itself an homage to a Hugo and Nebula award-winning book, _The Dying Earth_, by Jack Vance. Also very well worth your time. This is probably the better book, though.
Finally, here's the entrance exam: at the start of the first book, our hero is watching the conservator of the ruler's art gallery cleaning paintings. He stares at one painting in particular, of an armored warrior standing on a grey and lifeless plain before a black, starry sky, carrying on a pole the flag of some forgotten nation. In the warrior's golden helment a blue globe is reflected.
a) This is the only reference to our own time anywhere in the book.
b) The protagonist thinks this is a painting because he's never seen a photograph.
c) In the hero's time, moonlight is green, and there are references to "The Forests of Lune."
These three facts should let you identify what the hero is staring at.
The whole damn book is like this. I love it. But as Severian says, "It is no easy road."
STILL haven't finished it. On Chapter 9 now. I really like this style of writing and how he presents back story right in the narrative.
I think I like Holly Black more, actually.