Lovedeath
by Dan Simmons
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Book Summary Information
Author: Dan SimmonsEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1993-11-09
ISBN: 0446517569
Number of pages: 310
Publisher: Warner Books
Book Reviews of Lovedeath
Book Review: A Five Star Collection of Short Fiction
Summary: 5 Stars
Along with "The Crook Factory" (Simmons's last novel truly worthy of five stars) "Lovedeath" (a Five Star Collection of Short Fiction) marks a line in the sands of time; the point in which someone (or some thing) high-jacked his muse and bitch-slapped it into submission, giving free reign to over-bloated paragraphs, didacticism, and the sound of one hand clapping closed over the wrong part of his anatomy.
Here then, is a rundown of what may prove to be Simmons's masterpiece:
1)"Entropy's Bed At Midnight": Along with PHASES OF GRAVITY, this is one of the few forays Simmons has made into mainstream literature (his excellent first novel _could_ be called mainstream, but there is such tone of fore-boding and dread hovering over the narration, and it has such an edge of suspense about it, that it's hard for _anyone_ not to think of it as a thriller; and there _are) half a handful of stories, collected or not). This ranks as one of the top five bits of short fiction Simmons has written (for the record, the other four are "Two Minutes Forty-Five Seconds," "The Great Lover," "Looking For Kelly Dahl" and "Carrion Comfort"). The non-linear construction gives rise to the idea of entropy. The father's over-protectiveness regarding his daughter is nearly as good as that on display in novels by John Irving (GARP, etc). And the litany of accidents (one or two apparently derived from urban legends) works just fine, because the comedy is needed to off-set the tragedy at the heart of things. (THIS is what Simmons should have been shooting for in DARWIN'S BLADE -- unfortunately, he settled for a below par "thriller").
2)"Dying in Bangkok": Not only does the story do a good job of describing how even something as beautiful as sex can be debased by humans (in the name of capitalism, of course), but it works as both a horror story and a mirror of the crazed fears everyone was developing over things like AIDS at that point in time (i.e., people with the disease -- in America, more often than not, gay men -- are somehow less than human -- monsters who deserve their fates). Even if that isn't the author's intended "message" or subtheme of the story, the changing times have made it so (sometimes stories take on meaning and life of their own, ala "A Christmas Carol").
3) "Sleeping With Teeth Women": Although Simmons's natural inclination to pontificate and be didactic threatens to overwhelm the tale; in the end, the simple, somewhat horrific (for men), somewhat amusing (for women) story of a Sioux indian man who must choose the right woman, actually comes off like some sort of old folk tale (passed down from generation to generation). Even the unfortunate undertone (men supressing women, controlling them by pulling their "teeth") doesn't quite ruin the flavor of the story.
4) "Flashback": a drug that lets one relive a certain moment in time from their own life. Most of us could imagine how happy that would make us: of course one would miss out on the rest of life, and in the natural progression and development that comes from living the bad parts of life as well as the good parts. Unfortunately, the protagonist of this story wants to keep reliving a tragic part of his past: when he just missed saving the life of a famous man who was assassinated. The elegiac tone of the story -- and the sense that (at the time this was written) -- America was a country that stood on the precipice of greatness, if only it could overcome its regrets, adds to the power of the tale.
5) "The Great Lover": Told from the view of a poet/soldier stuck in the trenches during WWI, this novella is one of the most powerful pieces of antiwar fiction I've ever read (even if the author _didn't_ intend it as such). And the scenes the narrator witnesses in the trenches are some of the most horrific visions Simmons has ever cobbled up. In the end, it's all about love: the love of a good woman...the love of a beautiful, sunny day...the love of soft sheets on one's face in the early morning hours...the love of great-tasting food on the tongue...the love of life.
This one is out of print, but if the author (and his publishers) are wise, it will be rushed back into production. It just might be the best thing Simmons has ever written. Period.
Summary of Lovedeath
In the tradition of Michele Slung's I Shudder at Your Touch, the ard-winning author of Children of the Night explores the fascinating relationship between eroticism and horror in an original collection of psycho-sexual themes, some touched by the supernatural.The novella is an ideal length for dark fiction: short enough to sustain mood, long enough to develop interesting characters. This fine collection of five novellas shows off Simmons' range of styles: a literary tale of a man and his daughter on a scary mountainside; a Bram Stoker Award-winning horror tale about female vampires in Thailand; a semi-horrific Native American story about a young Sioux who undertakes various trials in order to become holy; a dark science fiction tale about a drug that has pernicious effects on society; and a harrowing, ambitious tale about the horrors of World War I.
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