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jackelinmandragor's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
merrysociopath's review against another edition
2.0
Qualche mese fa ho visto alcune illustrazioni di Kubin che mi erano subito piaciute, ho cercato qualche informazione in più sull'autore e ho scoperto che aveva scritto anche un romanzo. L'ho preso a scatola chiusa aspettandomi quel fantasy un po' horror e un po' weird che ai tempi scrivevano Hodgson, Machen, Blackwood e che più avanti sarebbe stato il pane quotidiano di Clark Ashton Smith e Howard Phillips Lovecraft. L'altra parte, però, è tutt'altro che memorabile. L'ho trovato eccessivamente ingenuo e privo del gusto per l'ignoto degli autori che hanno fatto la storia del weird. Non aiuta che l'edizione Adelphi abbia ancora la traduzione del 1965 che usa parole come "bricconate".
changbineyeskz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Racial slurs and Grief
Minor: Infidelity
strider's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
eliisa's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Loved the Marx references, but other than that this book was mostly a fever dream. If you're into dark magical realism this is for you, but for me it lacked consistency and a plot I was interested in. Things just seemed to happen wihtout rhyme or reason, maybe that was the point?
sandropology's review against another edition
5.0
There is a lot of things I want to say about this book but I can't quite yet string my head around doing so.
bookwomble's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
ctgt's review
4.0
Surrealistic nightmare?
Satire on capitalism?
Study of the subconscious mind?
Damned if I know.
A man receives a "summons"
"Claus Patera, Absolute Lord of the Dream Kingdom, charges me as his agent to present you with an invitation to come and live in his country
Patera, a former classmate came into a vast sum of money while in Asia and has created a walled city/kingdom over which he exerts full control. He has even gone so far as to move buildings from throughout the world into his new kingdom,
They are all ancient structures; many, indeed, are in ruins and would be worthless in anyone else's eyes, but others are massive and well preserved. Formerly they were scattered all over Europe.
Our protagonist(?), and his wife travel by rail to the Dream Kingdom. The next few chapters are fairly mundane and Kubin briefly explores the class structure, economics and religion of this newly formed kingdom before we gradually slide down the slippery slope. Things in the kingdom seem just a bit off and in fact his wife is never comfortable or happy once they arrive. As discoveries are made and things start to deteriorate, a foil to Patera appears in the form of an American, Hercules Bell who begins to accelerate the collapse of the kingdom.
Some vivid passages;
A dream sequence,
An elderly fellow with an abnormally big torso and short legs approached me; he was naked except for a pair of greasy duck workman's trousers. He had two long vertical rows of nipples, I counted eighteen. With a snort, he inflated his lungs, filling first the right and then the left side of his chest, and then with his fingers on the eighteen nipples played the most beautiful harmonica pieces.
as the kingdom deteriorates;
the most valuable objects had clearly lost the will to live. A fine pattern of cracks appeared in the precious vases and porcelains. The splendid paintings developed black spots, which rapidly spread over the entire surface. Engravings became porous and fell to pieces. The speed with which so many well-preserved and carefully repaired household furnishings turned into piles of rubbish was hardly credible.
Now he grew boundlessly, he dug up a volcano from which still hung, snail-shaped and twisted, a granite intestine torn from the entrails of the earth. He put this gigantic instrument to his lips-it roared so that the universe shook. The city had long since disappeared beneath his feet. He stood there upright, his torso reaching the clouds; his flesh was as if made of hills.
This won't be for everyone but if you like weird fiction...Kafka....Peake, I would say give this a shot. It's definitely one of those books I will need to read again.
Satire on capitalism?
Study of the subconscious mind?
Damned if I know.
A man receives a "summons"
"Claus Patera, Absolute Lord of the Dream Kingdom, charges me as his agent to present you with an invitation to come and live in his country
Patera, a former classmate came into a vast sum of money while in Asia and has created a walled city/kingdom over which he exerts full control. He has even gone so far as to move buildings from throughout the world into his new kingdom,
They are all ancient structures; many, indeed, are in ruins and would be worthless in anyone else's eyes, but others are massive and well preserved. Formerly they were scattered all over Europe.
Our protagonist(?), and his wife travel by rail to the Dream Kingdom. The next few chapters are fairly mundane and Kubin briefly explores the class structure, economics and religion of this newly formed kingdom before we gradually slide down the slippery slope. Things in the kingdom seem just a bit off and in fact his wife is never comfortable or happy once they arrive. As discoveries are made and things start to deteriorate, a foil to Patera appears in the form of an American, Hercules Bell who begins to accelerate the collapse of the kingdom.
Some vivid passages;
A dream sequence,
An elderly fellow with an abnormally big torso and short legs approached me; he was naked except for a pair of greasy duck workman's trousers. He had two long vertical rows of nipples, I counted eighteen. With a snort, he inflated his lungs, filling first the right and then the left side of his chest, and then with his fingers on the eighteen nipples played the most beautiful harmonica pieces.
as the kingdom deteriorates;
the most valuable objects had clearly lost the will to live. A fine pattern of cracks appeared in the precious vases and porcelains. The splendid paintings developed black spots, which rapidly spread over the entire surface. Engravings became porous and fell to pieces. The speed with which so many well-preserved and carefully repaired household furnishings turned into piles of rubbish was hardly credible.
Now he grew boundlessly, he dug up a volcano from which still hung, snail-shaped and twisted, a granite intestine torn from the entrails of the earth. He put this gigantic instrument to his lips-it roared so that the universe shook. The city had long since disappeared beneath his feet. He stood there upright, his torso reaching the clouds; his flesh was as if made of hills.
This won't be for everyone but if you like weird fiction...Kafka....Peake, I would say give this a shot. It's definitely one of those books I will need to read again.
myxomycetes's review against another edition
5.0
A Gothic fantasy novel from 1908 by noted expressionist illustrator Alfred Kubin that dissolves into decadent surrealism at its end, it’s a book you’re either going to love or hate. I loved it, but I enjoy long slow train rides to oblivion. It’s easy to see that this book influenced both Kafka and Peake, as well as provided a satire of all reactionary, idealistic utopias where one wealthy genius (or man of ego), heaves off to some isolated spot with his followers and impresses his will completely upon them to disastrous results.
brynhammond's review against another edition
4.0
Just east of Samarkand... features a clan descended from Genghis Khan... Orientalist science fiction, with a Zoroastrian bent (?). What won me was the second half which is a vivid rendition of chaos come, end-of-times. In the first half I thought it a political fable but I lost that sense. Wild and compelling, mostly in the second half (and in this translation). An artist's only novel: that figures. It has his black-and-whites throughout.
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