Lovedeath
by Dan Simmons
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Book Summary Information
Author: Dan SimmonsEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1994-11
ISBN: 0446600776
Number of pages: 354
Publisher: Warner Books
Book Reviews of Lovedeath
Book Review: Both hit and miss
Summary: 3 Stars
This book is touted as a "Scattershot of writing" and the reader is "Guaranteed to find at least one novella that they will love" the problem with such a scattershot approach is that with people's varying tastes, odds are that they will only "Love" one or maybe two of the stories rather than all or even most of them.
The first story in the book is "Entropy's Bed at Midnight" - 38 or so pages of a panicky father's musings on life and death as his paranoia about his daughter's safety hamper's his life. This story was extremely well written but never really went anywhere. Still I won't say that I didn't enjoy it, it was rather interesting to read about.
The Second is "Dying in Bangkok" probably the most controversial of the stories in this collection... yes what the other reviewers have said is true, this story has some extremely explicit sexual scenes that seem to go on and on and on. The story does actually go somewhere, so if you can stomach the almost pornographic level of sex described in the story, it actually turns out pretty good in the end.
"Sleeping with Teeth Women" was strange. The tale of a Native American boy who is extremely horny, wants to marry the pretty young maiden in the tribe, but ends up on a vision quest instead in the hopes that he would save all of their people. This tale had a lot of potential but wandered all over the place as if Simmons was never 100% sure where he intended to go with it. It was well written but meandered about to the point of losing the reader's interest.
"Flashback" was more of a Sci-Fi story about a drug appropriately called "Flashback" that people are addicted to. The drug allows them to relive their memories and stars causing chaos throughout society. It reminded me somewhat of "Strange Days" though not as interesting. I had a hard time getting through this story; I guess I just really can't get into Sci-Fi. Sorry.
"The Great Lover" the final and longest story in the book... more of a war story told through the journal of a great poet. Though this was the best researched and "educational" of the stories in the book, but it failed to hold my attention. I don't know why, but I just couldn't get into it.
On the whole, all of the stories are very well written they are just so different in their topics and styles that odds are very few people will either love or loath all of them. I personally enjoyed the first three and had a hard time with the last two; my friend liked the last three and hated the first two. Either way if you find a copy of this, odds are you will find something you like and something that really isn't your style. I don't find this is indicative of all of Simmons work, which I generally enjoy. His short stories really seem very hit and miss.
Summary of Lovedeath
A collection of novellas follow themes of unbridled sexuality, love, and death, with such stories as ""Entropy's Bed at Midnight,"" ""Dying in Bangkok,"" ""Sleeping with Teeth Women,"" and ""Flashback."" Reprint. K.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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