Lovedeath

Wow- every time I even entertain the thought of becoming a writer I read Dan Simmons and realize I am not even CLOSE to being in his league. This is an incredible collection of novellas that will resonate within you long after you have finished reading them. The first story "Entropy's Bed at Midnight" is a roller coaster ride in which the emotions of the protagonist ( a father and the feelings he has for his daughter) are projected onto the reader. Anyone who has been or is a parent will identify with this tale about love, loss, life and learning to let go and enjoy the ride. The second is "Dying in Bangkok" is a slam-bang powerful tale of AIDS, casual sex, war, cultural differences and the lengths and depths a person will go to in order to achieve the ultimate revenge. The third tale and in my opinion the weakest of the set is "Sleeping with Teeth Women". This is a raw-edged and perhaps overly angry reaction to the sugary Indian stories ala "Dances with Wolves." Although I understand his (over?) reaction to these stories and his wanting to portray his Native American ancestors in a more realistic light this story is perhaps a bit too much in the other direction. It is salvaged by a wonderful ending that wraps the tale up neatly. The fourth tale "Flashback" is a cyberpunky tale that touches on realism with its portrayal of addicts who participate in flashback experiences and become more intertwined in their past to care about or shape their present. The fifth tale and the showcase of the book is "The Great Lover", a visceral, gut-wrenching, incredibly well-researched tale that occurs during WWI. This story is like watching a particularly grotesque auto accident in that you can not tear yourself away from it and it will leave images in your mind that will haunt you long after you have finished reading it. Good writers can transport you to a different place. Dan Simmons will take you there, drop you head-first, immerse you, and blast you on spin cycle while he is at it. Incredibly powerful tales from a truly masterful writer.

Sometimes I think about these stories. I've actually bought a second copy when I couldn't find mine to reread. Dying in Bangkok is the most sensational and obviously sexual and sinister but The Great Lover left the strongest and most enduring impression and encouraged me to seek out the poems used in the story and I will always remember why it was so difficult for that generation to enter into a second World War. In the new Battlestar Galactica, the scenes of anguish and yearning when Gaius Balter hallucinates about his lover are strangely affecting in contrast to his self-centered ways and reminded me of The Great Lover so strongly that I immediately wondered whether the writer(s) had read THE GREAT LOVER and the character's hallucinations were a tribute. I didn't seek out other works by the author but recently read Carrion Comfort and Song of Kali. Both books were well-written but both books made me want to throw them away after reading them. I think I wanted to process them out of me not because the books should be destroyed. Carrion Comfort is incredibly long whereas Song of Kali reads more like a novella. Both are about maintaining a moral position in the face of evil reality at great personal cost and both mention the Holocaust. There is one page near the end of Carrion Comfort that I saved for the biblical quotation because it was about how Dan Simmons understands how victims feel but I tore the rest of the book to pieces and recycled it. I wanted to do the same with Song of Kali but I haven't.

For those wanting to get into the fiction of Dan Simmons without running into the science fiction of Hyperion and the like, this is just about perfect for them. It hits all his other styles in one fell swoop, and at the same time gives them to you in small digestible doses, so if you don't like one, well there's four others to choose from. This is basically five novellas with the common theme of either love or death. Now, neither are very original themes for fiction (or anything) but the way Simmons tackles them makes them infinitely memorable. Most of this stuff is probably considered horror, though only story is truly creepy, that being the sublimely frightening "Dying in Bangkok" one of the few stories that gave me a sick feeling while reading it (though the fact I was barrelling down the highway in a car didn't help, I'm sure) and if you like horror, that one alone makes the book worthwhile. However there are others. You've got a fairly authentic Native American story, told by a slightly sardonic narrator that never ceases to fascinate. The lone science fiction story is fairly touching as it shows a world where everyone keeps reliving the past for lack of anything else to do (and some people live in the past's of others . . . go read the book to find out what I mean). This one actually benefits the most from the short format, since he gives enough detail about this world, but not so much that you're bored and it overwhelms the story. You want to know more, but you know enough to be entertained. There's a small story of a father and daughter that shows off his skill with words and makes some nice points about life and love and death and where they all fit together. The centerpiece of the novel is probably the WWI story, written as a diary of a man fighting in the trenches, interspersed with poetry from the front. Simmons obviously spent the most time on this one, it's the longest and best researched and the work shows. This one shines in its poignancy and humanity, there are touches of humor and horror and everything that makes a great story. So, chances are you're going to like at least two of these stories and you'll like them enough so that it'll make the book worthwhile. Simmons deserves to be explored in other areas other than science fiction and this is by far the best place to experience that. Without a doubt.

As Simmons states in the foreword, a collection of novellas is a great way for a writer to display his range. And LOVEDEATH is ample proof that Simmons can soar with the best of them. From the (John) Irvingesque opener, "Entropy's Bed At Midnight" (whose structure reflects the title), to the horrific AIDS fable, "Dying In Bangkok," to the western folklore style of "Sleeping With Teeth Women" and the SF-cum-thriller of "Flashback" and the metaphysical, ghostly romance of "The Great Lover" (quite possibly one of the best WWI fictions ever written), Simmons dazzles with his wide-ranging story-telling styles and keen eye for detail. A masterpiece.

While Dan Simmons has produced some extraordinary books in the past few years, including the much acclaimed Hyperion and Children of the Night, this masterwork surpasses them all. Lovedeath is a one-volume illustration of the fact that Dan Simmons is one of the most talented writers of the generation, with a stunning ability that transends genre. In the opening story, Entropy's Bed at Midnight, Simmons spins a suspensful, poetic tale that includes everything good about the way Stephen King writes internal dialog along with a dash of humor and a aura of quiet forboding. This is pure dramatic short story and compares well to any recent work of "serious" short fiction. Dying in Bangkok, the next story, has a much different, darker tone. Here, Simmons takes a genre flooded with terrible writing, the erotic horror tale, and weaves a masterwork. Brilliant characterizations, a breathtaking description of a city lost in empty sensuality and sensationalism and a subtle blending of the supernatural carry the reader on a quest, deep into a dark, mysterious world. His next tale would best be described as fantasy. It's an invented Native American legend, as told by an old tribal medicine man. Suffice it to say that I spent quite a while in the library trying to find out whether this story was Simmons's invention or the real thing. Once again, Simmons creates characters so human, the reader can't help but accept their world as real. In the final story, The Great Lover, the theme of love, death and hope present in all four stories, takes clearer shape. Here Simmons writes what I believe is possibly one of the finest short story ever put to paper. On the surface, it's a touching story about the horors of war, but it's the subtle philosophy of hope that Simmons has been hinting at throughout the entire collection that really takes center stage here. This collection is a sterling example the increadible talent that is Dan Simmons. The only question left is "is there anything he _can't_ do?"