Fantastic Metropolis

When sailing the Sea of Story, it is best to keep watch for strange, fabulous harbors that may appear on the horizon.

While it is true that a journey is rarely about the destination, and more about the getting there, it is equally true that there are usually compelling stops along the way. And in literature, sometimes the places are as interesting and fascinating as the locals.

Developing my list for the Best of 2002, I realized that many of the novels and stories I considered had one thread binding them together—the thread of setting.

Magical worlds. Strange worlds. Familiar worlds. Eerie worlds. All fabulous harbors on the Sea of Story.

Place isn’t the only thing to seek out on a journey, though. As I mentioned above, the locals are pretty fascinating in their own right… and they’re better when they’ve got attitude. Who wants boring old fuddy-duddies when you can find people with flair, with joie de vivre? Who wants Mel the frycook when you can find Dante the radical anarchist? Attitude challenges perception, and finely-displayed attitude is as worthy a trait as any.

That said, I’d like to point out that this is the best work I’ve encountered this year. Not all of the works are from 2002; some are older, some will be out in 2003. Some were out in the UK this year, but not in the US —and vice versa. Some are out of print, and for that, you’ll just have to forgive me…

A Year in the Linear City

Paul Di Filippo does it again. It’s the marvelous story of Cosmogonic Fiction writer Diego, set in the city that squats between The Other Shore and The Wrong Side Of The Tracks, infinitely long and only one street-block wide. This is one of the most off-handedly bizarre, unique world creations to come along since Gormenghast, and it’s all wrapped in shiny, delightful prose from a punk stylist that has no equal. For sheer invention and power, this novella from PS Publishing wins my highest recommendation.

The Scar

China Miéville is one of those people. You know them. The ones that effortlessly churn out blatantly weird, provocatively surreal, off-kilter madness at the drop of a hat. Don’t believe me? Just visit New Crobuzon. Or, better still, journey into the lands beyond by reading The Scar. If Tolkien had dropped enough acid, he could have written about Armada and its inhabitants… but he could never match Miéville’s razor-keen writing. If you demand more than McEpics from your fantasy, Miéville is your man.

City of Saints and Madmen

Jeff VanderMeer likes squid too much, but that doesn’t detract from his wonderfully warped perspective of life and (un)reality. This collection, centering on the city of Ambergris and its menagerie of inhabitants, is truly a unique experience in fantastic fiction. The stories here straddle all genres, all styles; from baroque weirdness to magical whimsy, VanderMeer brings Ambergris to tangible life for the reader, an unsettling sense of place that disturbs reader convention as deftly as M John Harrison’s Viriconium sequence does. City of Saints and Madmen is a must-read collection.

Heroes Die

Matthew Stover is the writer that brought me back to reading fantasy, and Heroes Die is the novel that did it. A compelling, dangerous tale of love and murder in two different worlds, it’s an absolutely essential novel for anyone that likes their fantastic fiction hard-edged. Stover is the John Woo of fantasy, cramming his work with nonstop action, hyper-realistic violence, and gritty realism that lets you smell the shit stench in the air. Underneath is the heart of a philosopher, though, and characterization that singes the mind. Two fully-realized worlds make this novel unique in fantastic fiction, and Stover unique in the field.

The Luck of Madonna 13

E. T. Ellison is perhaps the most talented newcomer to spring onto the scene since Paul Di Filippo. The city of St. Coriander and its surrounds are a wonderful, satirical setting for a bitingly insightful tale that spins hyperspeed circles around 98% of the shit on the shelves. Ellison writes with a flair for the absurd, but never slides over the edge into farce. A serious and funny novel that challenges our perceptions of a lot of things, from media stardom to cloning; from spiritualism to commercialism. An amazing first novel.

Dhalgren

Samuel R. Delany is the postmodern SF writer, and Dhalgren is a vital excursion into experimentation that manages to become a text-as-world, while injecting the reader with enough prose-as-crack-cocaine to satiate even the most demanding appetite. The city of Bellona is a creation that has no equal; a ruined place, a no-where wrapped inside a no-when, where desperate characters may or may not exist. If the sheer, stunning brilliance of the book doesn’t entice you, then read it for the graphic sex and violence.

Altered Carbon

Grimy, future Earth settings hold a special place in my heart, and Richard Morgan excels at crafting a dystopian society as a backdrop to his neo-cyberpunk novel. Altered Carbon doesn’t present a shiny, chrome-plated Future; this tale of Takeshi Kovacs’ search for a killer revels in gritty, grungy details, while examining digital immortality in a Big Business world. It’s Raymond Chandler ass-fucking William Gibson, and it works. Morgan has injected vitality into a sagging SF genre with Chernobyl-style strength.

interlude

Of course, not all of the Best Of occurred in fantastic fiction. There were plenty of other bits of attitude and wonderful settings found throughout the spectrum of entertainment. And hey, if you confine yourself to one niche, you’re gonna stagnate as surely as any free-standing pond. Who wants a gloss of scum?

The Buzzing

Jim Knipfel has written what can only be described as a fucking hilarious first novel. With an oddball cast of characters, a plot that makes the phrase ‘conspiracy theory’ an understatement, and a unique vision of reality, The Buzzing is destined to rocket up the bestseller lists. Read it before it gets too trendy.

The War Against Cliché

Martin Amis may be a putz, but one thing is certain; he oozes attitude, and The War Against Cliché features him digging out a role as a critic, tackling books and movies with the fervor of a dedicated professional asshole. I disagreed with almost every review in the book, but was so overwhelmed by Amis’ bullheaded opinions, I couldn’t help but like it.

Insomnia

Robin Williams. Al Pacino. The Land of the Midnight Sun. Murders. Hell yeah! Beautifully shot, and intensely atmospheric, this was one of the few films I saw this year that I actually liked. The director’s use of color in the movie is admirable, giving the picture a unique concrete reality, while saturating it with a surreal undertone that captures the feeling of a town where night doesn’t come. The performances are excellent, with Pacino’s descent into sleep deprivation deserving an Oscar.

The Fellowship of the Ring (Extended Edition)

There’s still a small piece of hardcore geek within me, and that piece says that Peter Jackson’s epic masterwork of Tolkien-inspired filmmaking is a triumph. The extended edition fleshes the story out just enough to make it worthwhile, and the fact that Jackson has brought Middle-earth to exciting life is a boon to fantastic fiction as well as film. See, kids? Fantasy can be cool…

Step Across This Line

I was never really a fan of Salman Rushdie. I found The Satanic Verses supremely overrated, and never looked back. Then I read Step Across This Line and changed my mind. Rushdie is smart, erudite, witty, and opinionated. My type of guy. The essays and articles collected here exude attitude, while Rushdie’s unique perspective offers an absorbingly strange worldview. Good stuff.

The Tenacity of the Cockroach

The Onion AV Department interviews various madmen and cultural guerrillas like Henry Rollins, Ray Bradbury, Ralph Bakshi, Penn and Teller, Alan Moore and a host of others. Always opinionated, always funny, always intriguing. An absolutely worthwhile read.

Coraline

I read this aloud to my three-year-old daughter. By the time we finished, the both of us were huddled together under a blanket, shivering with delight. She looked up at me and said “That was cool, daddy.”, and she nailed it. Coraline is what Harry Potter should be; smart, subversive, and cool as hell. J. K. Rowling should take some lessons from Neil Gaiman… or has she taken enough already?

Memento

From the first scene, I knew this movie would alter my perceptions. By the last scene, I knew this was the fucking coolest DVD I’d see all year. I was right.

Things That Never Happen

Along with Chip Delany, M. John Harrison is my de facto rival/mentor. Any time I write something, I ask myself “How much better could MJH do it?”, and immediately return to scribbling away, hoping to make it better. Because Harrison is a master that I couldn’t hope to compete with. Read this fucking collection, or suffer the loss in silence, kiddos.

The Art of Fiction

John Gardner is perhaps the only writer-on-writing that I respect. I read this book annually, because it has a lot to say in a little package, and Gardner says it with supreme attitude. If you are a writer, you need to read this book, and need to ignore all the other self-congratulatory bullshit pap on the Writing Instruction shelves. They’re toilet paper compared to Gardner.

interlude 2

Music is my second love, after books. I’m a huge music freak fan, and I absolutely cannot live without something playing on the changer. My taste ranges the spectrum, though there’s a distinct focus on electronic music for some reason. Maybe it has something to do with those SFnal leanings of mine…

A Ruff Guide

Tricky was cooler than hell when he was a part of Massive Attack. Then he released some solo and collaboration albums that put me off. So when I bought A Ruff Guide, I expected disappointment. What I got instead was a stellar disc that absolutely drips urban coolness and slinky vibe. This is a must-own CD for everyone.

Loud

Timo Maas. German trance music mixed with Fatboy Slim-style breaks and beats. Guitars on a techno album. What can I say? This is the most fun disc I bought this year.

UP

Peter Gabriel always gets a special spot in my heart, for some reason. And his latest album is a gem, showcasing all the things that make Gabriel (Oh, that must be it!) so fraggin’ cool. From distorted madness that screeches through the ears and into the brain to orchestral beauty that makes every nerve hum, this is a stellar piece of musical history. If you don’t own UP, you’re nobody.

Play

None of that Play-Part-Two titled 18 for me; Moby’s 1999 release rarely leaves the changer. And while Jeff Ford won’t like me saying it, I think Moby is one of the best electronic artists around. Infectious, fun, melodic and off-beat. Excellent stuff.

Global Underground

Global Underground is a series of 2-disc sets put out by Thrive, and each one features a superstar DJ mix that represents some city that they’ve played in. I don’t know why, but I buy every single GU release… and there’s been over twenty of them. Top talent from Paul Oakenfold to John Digweed, from newer DJs like Sebastian Fontaine to Steve Lawler, these sets run the gamut from trance to prog house, from drum-n-bass to groovy tribal house. Worth getting if you like DJs or dance music of any sort.

Epitaph

Front Line Assembly have been the industrial sound of cyberpunk for decades, and their latest offering is a masterwork of moody melodic electronica backed by thumping bass and twitchy beats. Dave McKean’s gorgeous designwork on every FLA release is a bonus as well. If you like growly industrial, FLA is the old workhorse that never lets you down. NIN and Marilyn Manson can fuck off; I’ll take the non-pop version, thanks.

Used Songs

Everyone was buzzing over Tom Waits’ double releases, Alice and Blood Money. Me? I’ll take classic Waits any day. Gimme some more Wrong Side of the Road, thanks.

postlude

There are literally hundreds of other books, movies and musicians that I could add to this list. Jeffrey Ford did great things this year, too many to list. Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet is a spectacular ‘zine that’s doing us all a service by offering up great stories. nemonymous is a killer experience. Groove Armada kicks ass. Mark Leyner writes some funny shit. Kage Baker sent me the best short story I read all year. Graham Joyce let me take him to lunch, and made me laugh until I wanted to snort my Bloody Mary. Rodger Turner at The SF Site runs the coolest… erm… sf site around. PS Publishing wins as the best publisher of the year. Steven Erikson rules. John Marco put out a staggeringly awesome reinterpretation of the King Arthur mythos, The Eyes of God. It’s been a fucking good year, in fact, and I hope the coming year is even half as good to us.

If it isn’t, you’ll hear from me.