Post by Lestat II on Jan 4, 2007 4:29:11 GMT 1
I highly recommend I, Lucifer by Glen Duncan to anyone who likes Anne Rice (especially people who like the style Lestat's books are written in). Hell, I highly recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a good book. Brilliant, brilliant book. Really. This is certainly one of the best books I've ever read, and I've read quite a few. The storyline is sharp and the narration just blows me away, it's packed with energy and honesty and originality. It's books like these that really inspire people to be writers. This is writing. Real writing. What writing is all about. Yes, plot is important. Yes, characters are important. Yes, action and dialogue is (more or less) important. But you can tell a story in a movie, or a song, or in a knitting group. A good writer doesn't just tell a story (in my opinion). A good writer can tell a terrible story with no cohesive plot and flat characters, for all I care. But a good writer writes. So, yes, that seems like a sentence from the department or redundancy department, but give me a moment. Good writers use words as an art form and craft language in such a way that it would be impossible to replicate in any other medium. Great novels can never be made into a movie (which is why, although I know the movie will be completely brilliant, I'm not sure I understand how they can even try to make a movie out of I, Lucifer, which apparently they are. But hey, it's gonna have Daniel Craig and Ewan McGregor in it, I can't complain). Anyhow, long rant aside, I finished I, Lucifer wishing desperately that a thousand more pages would suddenly appear (though it ended fantastically). My God, I can't stress enough how great this book is! RECOMMENDED TO ANYONE WITH TWO EYES!
Here is a description of the book if anyone is interested:
"The Prince of Darkness has been given one last shot at redemption, provided he can live out a reasonably blameless life on earth. Highly skeptical, naturally, the Old Dealmaker negotiates a trial period - a summer holiday in a human body, with all the delights of the flesh. The body, however, turns out to be that of Declan Gunn, a depressed writer living in Clerkenwell, interrupted in his bath mid-suicide. Ever the opportunist, and with his main scheme bubbling in the background, Luce takes the chance to tap out a few thoughts - to straighten the biblical record, to celebrate his favorite achievements, to let us know just what it's like being him. Neither living nor explaining turns out to be as easy as it looks. Beset by distractions, miscalculations and all the natural shocks that flesh is heir to, the Father of Lies slowly begins to learn what it's like being us.”
And (because I just can’t stop once I’ve started) here is the first brilliant sentence: “I, Lucifer, Fallen Angel, Prince of Darkness, Bringer of Light, Ruler of Hell, Lord of the Flies, Father of Lies, Apostate Supreme, Tempter of Mankind, Old Serpent, Prince of This World, Seducer, Accuser, Tormentor, Blasphemer, and without doubt Best Fuck in the Seen and Unseen Universe (ask Eve, that minx) have decided - oo-la-la! - to tell all.”
Here is a description of the book if anyone is interested:
"The Prince of Darkness has been given one last shot at redemption, provided he can live out a reasonably blameless life on earth. Highly skeptical, naturally, the Old Dealmaker negotiates a trial period - a summer holiday in a human body, with all the delights of the flesh. The body, however, turns out to be that of Declan Gunn, a depressed writer living in Clerkenwell, interrupted in his bath mid-suicide. Ever the opportunist, and with his main scheme bubbling in the background, Luce takes the chance to tap out a few thoughts - to straighten the biblical record, to celebrate his favorite achievements, to let us know just what it's like being him. Neither living nor explaining turns out to be as easy as it looks. Beset by distractions, miscalculations and all the natural shocks that flesh is heir to, the Father of Lies slowly begins to learn what it's like being us.”
And (because I just can’t stop once I’ve started) here is the first brilliant sentence: “I, Lucifer, Fallen Angel, Prince of Darkness, Bringer of Light, Ruler of Hell, Lord of the Flies, Father of Lies, Apostate Supreme, Tempter of Mankind, Old Serpent, Prince of This World, Seducer, Accuser, Tormentor, Blasphemer, and without doubt Best Fuck in the Seen and Unseen Universe (ask Eve, that minx) have decided - oo-la-la! - to tell all.”