Sunday, November 2, 2008

Blankety Blank: Another funny read from D.Harlan Wilson


Blankety Blank: A Memoir of Vulgaria
D.Harlan Wilson
Raw Dog Screaming Press
183 pages

The first book I read by D.Harlan Wilson was Dr. Identity and it sold me on the man’s brilliance in the first few pages. While I described the book as Monty Python meets Phillip K Dick I was unsure how his aburdist style would work outside of Science Fiction.

While Blankety Blank is not exactly horror it is a darker take on Wilson’s absurdist style that is every bit as zaney. With more laugh out loud parts than Douglas Adams books it’s pretty hard not to enjoy this Blankety Blank. While the complete absurd nature of the world created sometimes gets a bit old for me the lightning speed that the pages flip makes this book a fun and light read.

The story is of Rutger Von Trout who lives in a Wilsonish absurd vision of his home town Grand Rapids. Characters throw sausages at each other and explode into bouts of hulkamania after a serial killer begins to stalk their “perfect neighborhood.” Wilson also detours into hilarious mini-chapters on the subject ranging from the film careers of Patrick Swayze to the history of Ferris wheels.

Does this advance the plot? I’m not sure but I enjoyed it just the same. Wilson is a master of absurdist humor and if that is your cup of tea. Have a drink!

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Reading event and a radio interview


On a side note: so glad to get rid of this moron.

So I have writer type events coming where I can promote my upcoming books soon to be released by Afterbirth books. November 15th I'll be on a panel and reading at the first ever Bizarro genre convention that will held here near Portland. Honored to be asked to appear on the panel with some cool authors.Details and a link below.

On December 4th I'll a guest on Vegan radio a a radio out from the east coast that is hosted by an old friend Derrek from the Syracuse ADL days. We'll be talking about my books and veganism of course. Details further below...

http://www.bizarrocentral.com/convention.asp

3:00-3:50 pm

CROSSOVER POTENTIAL (Garrett Cook, David Agranoff, Daniel Scott Buck, Jess Gulbranson) - Discuss ways bizarro can branch off into other genres and medias, led by four authors who have one foot in bizarro and one foot somewhere else. (Location: The Mt. Hood Room)


4:40-4:50 pm

READING - David Agranoff (Location: The Mt. Hood Room)

http://veganradio.com/