Shriek

Jeff VanderMeer

The biography of the vanished Duncan Shriek written by his sister Janice but annotated (in brackets) by Duncan after Janice disappears (perhaps!). This book examines art, history, madness, war, big business, books, family, love and above all, truth. A bleakly ironic style has made the city of Anbergris a must-visit destination for SF fans. Will also appeal to fans of Borges (Ambergris's bookstore is named after him), Murakami, Bulgakov and other authors who examine the 'magically real'.

Extract

Duncan had been steeped in decades of alternative history, discussing his theories with the dead by way of their books, and with the living, yes, but an assortment of crackpots and eccentrics such as to make the cult of the Lord's Botches look positively mundane. He had developed a skin as tough as an oliphaunt's hide. (Yet it occurs to me now that I've never really wanted to be a historian, let alone a journalist. I've always wanted to create history, even if no-one ever realises what part of it I helped to create).

Parallels