Book Review: Damned by Chuck Palahniuk

Book Review:

Damned by Chuck Palahniuk

In the aftermath of Chuck Palahniuk's Haunted, with the first few books that followed it, I thought I was the only one aware of the downfall of this once very clever author. During the time between Haunted and Pygmy I was confused by Palahniuk's rise to becoming a big name author happening in parallel with the diminishing quality of his writing with each subsequent release. Haunted I thought was a fluke; it did has some potential with the main story, and a few of the shorts were impressive. But with Rant, then Snuff, then Pygmy, I noticed a lack of effort and unique cleverness that made his earlier works so impressivc. His experimentation with prose has always felt to me like an author too afraid to deviate away from trademark style, which for Chuck is his clever and witty first-person narrators, while still trying to make an effort to be cutting edge.

What Happened To Chuck Palahniuk?

What Happened To Chuck Palahniuk?


Chuck Palahniuk was once the king of Dark Satire. Some may still see him this way, but I'm sure they are a significantly less amount of people then they once were. Survivor was masterful; the first novel of his I read, it was eye opening for me. It made me realize just how fun reading could really be. Survivor was clever in a way that I had never previously experienced. I was hooked. Invisible Monster, Choke, Fight Club, Diary, and Lullaby! Absolutely page-turners.

Book Review: Redshirts by John Scalzi

I loved 'Redshirts' by John Scalzi.

Previously, I had never read anything by Scalzi. I'v had a used copy of 'Old Mans War' sitting around, but it never interested me much. Military novels don't typically excite me. But I came across 'Redshirts' at a discount price so I decided to by it. Then I decided to read it because of the hype surrounding it.

Book Review: Mall by Eric Bogosian

One night a few years ago I happened across a movie called 'Talk Radio'. I was stunned by what I was watching and barely moved until the final tense moments of this riveting film. It was about a very charismatic talk radio host (think Howard Stern but more political) and one fateful day at work. I'm not here to review the movie so I'll keep this short. It was just brilliant. The dialogue was so perfect, I was not surprised when I realized it was originally a stage play. The main character of the film was played by Eric Bogosian, who I thought looked liked Jerry Seinfeld after many years of hard drinking. I don't mean to sound cynical. 

Book Review: Embassytown by China Mieville

A couple years ago I had only heard China Mieville's name in passing. I thought of him only as one of the 'It' fantasy authors that probably wrote fantasy just like the rest of the guys who fill store bookshelves. I'm talking about the authors who write about Elves, Orcs like say, Terry Goodkind. One day I saw a cover of one of his novels with a quote comparing him to Philip K. Dick, an author I think is one of the most important writes EVER! But I didn't buy it. But I took a mental note to read him someday, particularly Embassytown, which seemed the closest to my thing.

This is a video taken by a man named Stan Romanek

Stan Romanek set up a video camera in his living room facing the window, just as a friend advised him to after he kept hearing knocks that he assumed were by pranksters. What he caught on video was an alien looking being. Watch and judge for youtself.

"The problem with introspection is that it has no end"

- Philip K. Dick

Like I always say, every good thing begins with Philip K. Dick...

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