So, I checked Amazon.com reviews of Summer of the Apocalypse, and found this very nice new review from Patrick S. Dorazio. It's possible to see all the reviews, including Patrick's, by going straight to Amazon.com's listing for Summer of the Apocalypse, which also includes a review from Booklist.
Critically, the novel has been well treated. I'm not sure any review can top the hyperbole of this reviewer who said in great detail why Summer of the Apocalypse is a better book than Cormac McCarthy's The Road.
If word of (a reviewer's) mouth counts for anything, the book should sell well, and the evidence shows, a year after its release, that the book does have legs, as they say.
Is it too early to say that a book makes a swell Christmas present?
If short story collections are on your list, then I humbly (yeah, right) suggest Strangers and Beggars and The Last of the O-Forms and Other Stories. Here's a dynamite review of The Last of the O-Forms and Other Stories.
Since I managed to segue onto Christmas lists, here's some of my suggestions of books worth giving:
Connie Willis, The Winds of Marble Arch. Her new collection.
Jay Lake, Mainspring. You're not going to get more interesting world building than this.
Carrie Vaughn, Kitty and the Midnight Hour and the sequels. Into its fifth or sixth printing and still kicking butt.
Ken Rand, The 10% Solution or From Idea to Story in 90 Seconds. For the writer on your Christmas list.
Louise Marley, Absalom's Mother and Other Stories. Another short story fix for the addicted.
Daniel Abraham, A Shadow in Summer, and A Betrayal in Winter. One of the most original new fantasies I've read.
And what do I want for Christmas? How about the five disc rerelease of the ulimate final cut of Blade Runner. What in the world would they put on four more discs! But I want.
- Current Music:"Cumberland Blues," Grateful Dead
Comments
I've heard of several authors who have gotten bad reviews on their books just because they made someone made. So far, I've gotten nothing but positive reviews for Opium, but I'm willing to bet that if the book gets bigger, someone would post a bad review without reading it just because of the subject matter...or just because of the cover. I'd hate to think that could influence whether or not a bookstore will pick up my book...
213 of 234 people found the following review helpful:
Details & Features of Blade Runner Final Cut are announced, July 26, 2007
By calvinnme "Texan refugee" (Fredericksburg, Va) - See all my reviews
Due for re-release in December, this motion picture is one of the finest science fiction films of the 20th century. Part of this is because it projects a future that could be - the earth as a place with a ruined environment populated by people that couldn't or wouldn't make the jump to one of the more habitable off-world colonies. The other part is because the film questions what it means to be human, and explores the possibly unsatisfactory answers you might get if you could, like the replicants, hunt down your maker and ask him Why am I here? Why must my life end? I'll pretty much let Warner's press release do the talking from this point forward. Basically you have your choice of three different sets - 2-disc, 4-disc, and 5-disc. The discs are described as follows:
Disc 1 - Ridley Scott's All-New "Final Cut" Version of the film - Restored and remastered with added and extended scenes, added lines, new and cleaner special effects and all new 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio. Also included is commentary by Ridley Scott and a host of others that worked behind the camera.
Disc 2 - Documentary - Dangerous Days: Making of Blade Runner - A feature-length documentary about the film including viewpoints and insights from the cast and crew. Included are details on every stage of production of the film including special effects, casting, and even the film's literary roots and its place in the sci-fi genre.
Disc 3 - 1982 Theatrical Version - The original that contains Deckard's narration and has Deckard and Rachel's (Sean Young) "happy ending" escape scene.
1982 International Version - Also used on U.S. home video, laserdisc and cable releases up to 1992. This version is not rated, and contains some extended action scenes in contrast to the Theatrical Version.
1992 Director's Cut - Omits Deckard's voiceover narration and removes the "happy ending" finale. It adds the famous "unicorn" sequence, which is a vision that Deckard has which suggests that he is also a replicant.
Disc 4 - BONUS Disc "Enhancement Archive" - Eight featurettes, image galleries, radio interview with the author, and screen tests for the part of Rachel.
Disc 5 - Workprint Version - This rare version of the film is considered by some to be the most radically different of all the Blade Runner cuts. It has an altered opening scene, no Deckard narration until the final scenes, no "unicorn" sequence, no Deckard/Rachel "happy ending," altered lines between Rutger Hauer and his creator Tyrell (Joe Turkell), and alternate music.
Also included is commentary by Paul M. Sammon, author of Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner and a featurette - "All Our Variant Futures: From Workprint to Final Cut".
So, now I want as well.
UhOh, I see a replicant above; would someone hit it with a blipvert, please? I thought I was already logged in, but no.
Good review of SotA! And others. I hadn't looked at the reviews over there for a while.