it doesnt refer specifically to Detroit, but i just got done reading samuel delany's "Dhalgren". it takes place in a mostly destroyed midwestern US city called "Bellona" (they name lots of other cities surrounding it, like chicago, but never mention detroit, which makes me think that it was at least partially inspired by detroit), and it has to be one of the best books ive ever read. part sci-fi, part fantasy, and just altogether a good old mind f*ck. i highly reccomend it.
tom ---------- Original Message ---------------------------------- From: Kent williams <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2003 11:36:18 -0600 (CST) >Coming off the stunningly beside-the-point thread on IDM about gay electronica >in which I just participated, here's another one: > >I read science fiction novels all the time, always have, probably always >will. It's up there on my list of grand obsessions along with electronic >music. In fact I frequently put on techno and read sci fi. Both techno >and sci fi are redolent of the same sort of inverted nostalgia for the >future: We're in the future now, and it has both surpassed the Sci Fi >I was reading 30 years ago, and come out a lot meaner and sadder. > >Anyways, I've read a couple of books lately that touch on Detroit: > >"The Impossible Birds" Patrick O'Leary >http://www.bordersstores.com/search/title_detail.jsp?id=52798875 > >I won't synopsize because synpopses of Sci Fi novels always sound absurd >and dorky, but it is concerned with a weird virtual-reality afterlife >brought about by aliens who appear as hummingbirds. The end of the book >takes place in and around Detroit, including Greektown and the RenCen. >A pivotal character lives in a house out in the burbs that for some >strange reason reminded me of Ron Murphy's old place. > >"Accidental Creatures" Anne Harris >http://www.epiphyte.net/SF/accidental-creatures.html > >Just getting into this. Pretty wicked kinda post-cyberpunk dystopia >set in Detroit. The Fisher Building plays a large role, and the pitting >of a large corporation against a disenfranchised population is a not-too-subtle >allegory for Detroit and the auto industry. > >Anne Harris according to the jacket copy lives in Royal Oak, and she really >nails the feel of Detroit. I wouldn't be surprised if someone on 313 >knows her -- if you do tell her she done good. > > > ________________________________________________________________ andythepooh.com
