JoJoestar
In fairness to HP Lovecraft, I hear that he was not the one to name the cat. Thp8gh the guy is still a creep, for sure.
I’m still working through the collected short stories of JG Ballard. Highly recommend you read some JG Ballard.
I’d recommend “the light brigade” by Kameron Hurley and “the space between worlds” by Micaiah Johnson. Two recently released sci fi novels I read last year that have a surprising amount in common.
Gnomon by Nick Harkaway was the last book I read that really blew my socks off. The whole thing is like a 5 part puzzle box designed to download itself into your brain as you’re busy putting the pieces together. And I mean that more litterally than you’d think. I’d also recommend Harkaway’s “The Gone Away World” for a jocular romp. It’s a post apocalyptic kung fu epic and also a parable about the Iraq war. It features one of my favorite fictional conceits, “the reification of ideas”, where thoughts are given form and potentially lethal power. I have a copy of his “Tigerman” but havnt gotten around to reading it. I didnt care much for his novel “angelmaker”.
My favorite China Melville (I can never spell the dudes name right) book is Iron Council. I’ve read all the Bas Lag books and nearly all of his novels. “Last days of New Paris” is facinating and well researched, but unfortunately the story is intentionally left incomplete. I was burned by that because I wanted more of that world.
Heres my reading habit:
There came a point long long ago where I had read basically every novel by every author I liked. I was out of books. Exploration was required. I’d take my chances on recommendations or buying what looked good at the book store. I’d launch an expedition into these unknown books and if I liked them, I’d start working through the author’s entire body of work. Eventually that vein would be exhausted, and the process would repeat again.
I asked for russian reading recommendations from a russian expat internet friend of mine a few months ago, and I picked up “homo zapiens/generation П” and “everything was forever until it was no more”. A fictional and non fictional (respectively) account of the collapse of the Soviet government. Shamefully, I have not finished these yet, but theyve been in my line of sight for a while.