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Filling a hole
Mar. 3rd, 2006 06:32 pmFor some reason I found it necessary recently to purchase The Doors of His Face, The Lamps of His Mouth by Roger Zelazny. The reprinting of this title meaning I was able to fill a hole in my Zelazny collection. Even though I had read it before, I thought that I should read it again before I shelved it.
It is a collection of stories well worth the re-reading. In these stories you see the genius of Zelazny shine through in ways which make the much better known Amber series just a pale glimmer by comparison. The stories are from the mid '60s. As such they represent an interesting time in the genre where is was breaking out from the old Science Fiction mould and going in strange and fascinating new directions. Zelazny was an important member of that scene. As such, this collection makes for an interesting historical insight as well as just being a good read. These stories have not really dated at all.
One side note, there are two stories in the new ibooks collection that were not in the original collection. I read the last two longish stories and didn't think they were up to the standard of the others which is why I checked up on the original contents. These stories have obviously been tacked on to make the collection seem better value (i.e. bigger). I think they just serve to dilute the quality. It happens with music more than books - classic albums with "bonus tracks" that are not as good as the ones originally on the album. I offer The Who Live at Leeds 25th anniversary edition as a most egregious example.
It is a collection of stories well worth the re-reading. In these stories you see the genius of Zelazny shine through in ways which make the much better known Amber series just a pale glimmer by comparison. The stories are from the mid '60s. As such they represent an interesting time in the genre where is was breaking out from the old Science Fiction mould and going in strange and fascinating new directions. Zelazny was an important member of that scene. As such, this collection makes for an interesting historical insight as well as just being a good read. These stories have not really dated at all.
One side note, there are two stories in the new ibooks collection that were not in the original collection. I read the last two longish stories and didn't think they were up to the standard of the others which is why I checked up on the original contents. These stories have obviously been tacked on to make the collection seem better value (i.e. bigger). I think they just serve to dilute the quality. It happens with music more than books - classic albums with "bonus tracks" that are not as good as the ones originally on the album. I offer The Who Live at Leeds 25th anniversary edition as a most egregious example.
