Fantasist’s Scroll

Another Christopher Moore novel down.
I really like his work, in general, and this one was no different. Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings is about, well, whales. Of course, in typical Christopher Moore fashion, it’s also about a whole lot more. And, it’s pretty complicates, a little convoluted, and more than a little funny. But, it’s a dry funny. The basic plot follows a whale researcher, his research assistant, a photographer, his girlfriend, his ex-wife, their moderately rich benefactor, and a Rasta-surfer gopher as they try to discover the meaning behind the whale’s songs and who might want to stop them from finding it. Moore hits all the big themes here. Everything from whale conservation to loyalty to sex and the meaning of life. It’s all in there, just like almost every one of his books.
It was a good book, but, not quite as good as I remember Practical Demonkeeping or Lamb : The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal or even Bloodsucking Fiends, but it was still good. I like his style. Dry wit and a slightly skeptical view of the world that just seem to fit together well when telling a story of such strangeness that even the characters have a hard time suspending disbelief. But, he does always manage to pull it off, somehow. And, any of his work is a great, light read that’s perfect for the beach.

Okay, so I’ve been reading a lot of Christopher Moore lately!
It’s the upside to travelling for work, actually, having all that time to read on the plane or in airports. I took advantage of it to read another delightful tale by Moore, titled The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove. Obviously, the story is about a large lizard, but it’s not quite what you might think. It’s actually a love story.
The story follows the antics of Moore’s favorite fictional town as the local psychiatrist decides to make up for past apathy by putting all her patients on sugar-pills instead of their regular medication. Throw in a giant sea-lizard, a hidden drug lab, a Mississippi Blues man, and a former B-movie star and you get classic Moore. This time around we get to see some old friends from Practical Demonkeeping, too, like Howard Phillips, occult owner of the local diner and “The Hammer/Nailgun”, super-geek police computer specialist and source of lots of interesting information. Oddly enough, the main “love story” is between the fallen movie star and the sea-creature. Though, there are actually several love stories going on all at once. There’s a little bit of everything in The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove and so many sub-plots it’ll make your head spin. But, in a good way.

And again, there’s that underlying current of a spiritual search. A search for meaning and love in a sad, drab world. Surprisingly, despite opening with an apparent suicide and lots of mental anguish, including a somewhat dark look at psychotherapy, it’s really an upbeat and fun book. As always, Moore manages to tie everything together and end on a rather happy note. Again, The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove is a great book, like everything by Christopher Moore, and I cannot reccomend it enough.

I love Christopher Moore’s writing!
Of course, that’s neither anything new or particularly startling since he’s a best-selling author. He writes mainly light comedic fantasy, which is just what I need these days, so I’ve been churning through quite a bit of his work. One of the things that I like about Mr. Moore’s work is that he always seems to have an undercurrent of spirituality in all his work. Coyote Blue is no exception. The “hero” of Coyote Blue is a severly repressed Crow (from the American Indian tribe, not the bird) named “Samson Hunter”. Though, actually, his real name is Samson Hunts Alone. He’s living in the White world, hiding from a terrible secret he left behind on the Crow reservation. And, he’s one of Coyote’s chosen. Of course, in his “White” persona, a chameleon-like insurance salesman, he denies everything Crow, including his family’s association with the traditonal trickster god.
Unfortunately for him, his shaman uncle is still looking for Samson. And Coyote hears the call. As you might have guessed, when the trickster god takes an interest in your life, things get a little confusing. Not to mention dangerous. It all works out in the end, of course, though someone dies and poor Samson’s life is completely torn apart. Oddly enough, it’s a happy ending.

Well, I won’t spoil the book with too much plot, but Moore takes us on a journey of rediscovery and spirituality. One of the things I liked about the book was that it was a non-standard, non-JudeoChristian exploration of spirituality. And, from what I’ve read of American Indian religion, it’s fairly accurate, too. It’s both fun and funny. Coyote Blue was light-hearted enough to make it a pleasure to read, but deep enough to keep me coming back for more. I heartily reccomend it.

I’ve been reading a lot of fiction lately.

But, I’m going to dole out the reviews on separate days this week!
It’s been hard to motivate myself to write relavant entries on this blog, especially when I’m writing on the other blog, so I’m milking my review entries. I had been reading a linguistics book, but the divorce thing, along with the holidays, made it just too hard to read non-fiction for a bit. So, instead, I turned to Christopher Moore’s Blood Sucking Fiends. I’ve read several of his books before and Mr. Moore never fails to delight. This was no exception.

The story, in short, is about a somewhat insecure young woman who is turned into a vampire, in San Francisco, and has to learn to cope with it. Along the way, we find out about a young writer who becomes her modern-day Renfield. We also meet a cast of characters that are truly charming, amusing and Moore-eseque. Mr. Moore has a way of creating characters that just tickles me to no end. They’re funny and tragic and real in a way that few authors seem to be able to duplicate. Oh, this is a comedy, BTW. In fact, as far as I know, everything Mr. Moore writes is, more or less, a comedy. But that works, since life is pretty funny.
The story is a rolicking ride through both San Francisco and the vampire myth. Virtually every aspect is explored, primarily from the standpoint of a fledgling vampire and her “ghoul”. But, we also get a look at the human condition and relationships and, yes, even a bit of sex. It’s all pretty light-hearted, of course, which is Mr. Moore’s style and, frankly, why I turned to him in my despair.

In short, this is a very fun, light, funny book that also has a deeper message about love, loss and life. Or, if you prefer, un-life. I cannot reccomend it enough. It’s the perfect antidote to the holiday blues!