The Gamer's Quarter

kirkjerk · . Joined: 12 Apr 2006 Posts: 1227

Has anyone else read D. B. Weiss' "Lucky Wander Boy"? It's a great little novel...

OtakupunkX · . Joined: 23 Mar 2006 Posts: 730

I've been wanting to read that novel. In fact, I'm not exactly sure why I haven't yet...

Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

I have heard pretty negative things about it. I bought it over a year ago now, but because of all the negative feedback I never pull it off my shelf . . .
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“The average man has a secret desire to be a swaggering, drunken, fighting, raping swashbuckler.”
-Robert E. Howard in a letter to a friend circa Decmber 1932

"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!"

dhex · Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 9:28 am Post subject:

i've only read the angry reactions of people who have read it and commented...angrily.
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kirkjerk · . Joined: 12 Apr 2006 Posts: 1227

kirkjerk · . Joined: 12 Apr 2006 Posts: 1227

It's interesting that you have heard so much negative about it.

Every review, mostly casual, blog-y stuff, linked to from the first page of Google hits for "Lucky Wander Boy" is positive, if not glowing.

Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

Perhaps Seryogin will bring his commentary to the table, I know that he was one of the overly negative commentators on it that is here.

Mainly I just get the opinion that it is poorly written and not very interesting at times.

Then again, I did read Powered-Up... which is about half good and half Final Fantasy wanking.
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“The average man has a secret desire to be a swaggering, drunken, fighting, raping swashbuckler.”
-Robert E. Howard in a letter to a friend circa Decmber 1932

"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!"

kirkjerk · . Joined: 12 Apr 2006 Posts: 1227

Hmm. If memory serves, it wasn't stellar writing, or flawlessly constructed, and it had a kind of interesting metapointlessness to parts of it, but I thought it worked pretty well.

Mostly I measure books by their "cool ideas to # of pages ratio", and by this measure Lucky Wander Boy stands up well. (This ratio is also one of the reasons why I shun most large reading endeavors, a book has to have a HELL of a lot of ideas to be worth more than 350 or so pages.)

ApM · Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 10:07 am Post subject:

Trust me, Lucky Wander Boy has way more intelligent things to say than Power-Up.

I actually remember really liking it. It's been a while since I've read it, though, so I'm not sure what else I can say about it.

seryogin · Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 10:08 am Post subject:

Oh, my brothers! Why must I hate so many things? Is there no peach for this foolish boy with a heart of iron?

No...not when dishonest, evil tripe like Lucky Wander Boy is continually thrown upon my exalted altar. I've said all of these things so many times, that it's giving me a headache, but liking Lucky Wander Boy is a symptom of hardcore suckerdom. Okay, maybe that's too harsh. I recall, Mr. Mech and I arguing about this a long time ago... It's a sham of a novel, a dirty piece of pure toxic waste boiled in the seething, vile cauldrons of Iowa. It's the same type of "ironic" hipster tripe that's called great literature by beige snobs who think Dave Eggers is a riot. Even though it's the same bullshit as Franzen's Corrections, only with some cheap, unfunny, un-lucid videogame pedantry thrown into the mix.
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kirkjerk · . Joined: 12 Apr 2006 Posts: 1227

Irony is the new sincerity.

Anyway, do you have any links where you talk about what bugs you about this book? I'd seriously be interested in detailed criticism but I don't want to make you relive something you find so unpleasant, or redundant...

seryogin · Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 10:29 am Post subject:

I had an article up on my lj, though I lost it when most of my lj magically disappeared. I also made a long post on IC about it, back when I did post and that was over a year ago.

If you'd really like, I'll write it all again, but I doubt it would be particularly informative to you.

And irony is not the new sincerity. Self-conscious irony is the worst trait of modern Americans. It kills anything good about human beings and makes humor and any sort of interesting or affecting thought almost impossible.
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kirkjerk · . Joined: 12 Apr 2006 Posts: 1227

Zack · . Joined: 21 Oct 2005 Posts: 26

I read this book a a few years ago. I liked some elebits of it, the brief passages like the Pac-Man bit excerpted by kirkjerk. Those passages were not very common, though, so I don't think the book merits a thumbs up for those, and there wasn't much else to like.

I remember being extremely frustrated by the ending of the book, such as it wasn't. I know it must have been designed to frustrate the reader, but I won't pretend I liked being fucked with.

When I finished this book, it was on the train ride home from work. I remember walking in the door, hurling the book at the wall, and yeling, "FUCK Lucky Wander Boy."

Mr. Mechanical · Friendly Stranger Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 1276

I read it a few years ago. I enjoyed it for the most part back then, as far as these types of stories go. It got a little heavy handed in a few spots, particularly the image of the main character sitting amidst all of his Atari carts in some kind of alter still sticks out in my mind, but it's got its clever moments.

The Catalogue of Obsolete Entertainments wasn't nearly as fleshed out for me as I would have liked. There only, what? Five or six game entries throughout the entire book? I think it would have been even cleverer if Weiss had made an actual catalogue and then appendixed it in the back of the book.

GilloD · . Joined: 03 Feb 2006 Posts: 33

Lackey · . Joined: 11 Jul 2005 Posts: 1107 Location: Canada

Thought it was interesting when I read that Weiss apparently was involved in the Mortal Kombat movie on some level. This is the obvious inspiriation for the Eviscerator movie described in the book, but also the same (real life) company went on to produce Beowulf, which matches pretty much exactly his description of the (fictional) Viking movie. So this makes me wonder how much of the parts of the book set at the movie company were based on his actual experiences.

Also, I enjoyed the book but I found it neither ironic nor humorous. Did I read it wrong or something? Is that even possible? Just not sure where you get intent from, Seryogin.
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| Little bird fighting against a bat sect game |

dark steve · . Joined: 17 Jun 2005 Posts: 1110

I thought it was pretty cute.

"Gnostic Donkey Kong" was hilarious.

Fred · . Joined: 18 Apr 2006 Posts: 99 Location: Iowa

Hey, I saw this book at the local used book store a couple of years ago for six bucks. I flipped through it a bit and decided that was too much to pay for it. I didn't realize it had any following anywhere; to me it just seemed like someone's idea of pulp fiction for nerds. Granted, being a nerd it had some draw I guess. But while there may have been some interesting ideas in there somewhere, the author did not express them with much finesse. Take that quote up there:

kirkjerk · . Joined: 12 Apr 2006 Posts: 1227

dhex · Posted: Thu May 18, 2006 6:19 am Post subject:

ewwww.
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Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

OtakupunkX · . Joined: 23 Mar 2006 Posts: 730

dark steve · . Joined: 17 Jun 2005 Posts: 1110

Man, my AP english teacher was so much better than yours. He was well over 60 years old and showed us the claymation version of "Junky's Chirstmas." before winter break.

dhex · Posted: Thu May 18, 2006 11:41 am Post subject:

i gotta get me a copy of that.
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helicopterp · . Joined: 13 May 2006 Posts: 1435 Location: Philadelphia

Eggers puts together a good sentence, sure. And if he wants to, Eggers can put together a good story. He just doesn't use any of his talent for anything productive. A confessional memoir mixed with an ironic--I don't know why you think he's such an earnest writer--succession of literary clichés is not productive. If he wants to overcome convention, he doesn't need to make fun of it like some adolescent asking himself whether the blue color he sees is really somebody else's green or brown or orange. I did think the drawing of the stapler was good for a quick laugh, though. Oh, and I haven't read You Shall Know Our Velocity!: should I?
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Like you thought you'd seen copter perverts before. They were nothing compared to this one.

GSL · Posted: Fri May 19, 2006 2:35 am Post subject:

kirkjerk · . Joined: 12 Apr 2006 Posts: 1227

OtakupunkX · . Joined: 23 Mar 2006 Posts: 730

GilloD · . Joined: 03 Feb 2006 Posts: 33

seryogin · Posted: Sat May 20, 2006 8:04 pm Post subject:

Eggers and his ilk have never been "underground," he and his Iowa pals have been fouling up American letters for a good amount of time now.

This Amazon review (by the ever lucid and mighty John Dolan) pretty much sums up the ethos of Eggers and vile clique:

dhex · Posted: Sun May 21, 2006 12:35 am Post subject:

seryogin · Posted: Sun May 21, 2006 2:00 am Post subject:

I dislike most modern American fiction for the most part, the New Yorker-group especially.

The last "modern" novel that I read was Pattern Recognition, by good ol' William Gibson, and I was shocked...I couldnt' believe that this was the same man who wrote Neuromancer. Apologies to both GSL and Mr. Mech, but PR just sucked horribly; it's so worthless that I threw it into the trash on the train ride home. Remember that tokkotai short story you sent me, GSL? Well, that's honestly better than PR.

I don't understand what's wrong with Americans these days? You gave the world Philip K. Dick and John Toland, Flannery O'Connor and Henry Miller. You invented modern science fiction and then cyberpunk. Yet, your writers these days are all trash, even the so-called "literary ones."
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GSL · Posted: Sun May 21, 2006 3:57 am Post subject:

No apologies necessicary for Pattern Recognition; it was certainly a different beast. I can't say I disliked it for sure, but it was the only one of Gibson's novels that I have not re-read even once. My eBay-ed advance review copy sits on my bookshelf, untouched since I closed the back cover in March of 2003. I like to think my ability to appreciate decent writing has improved since then, so I really ought to re-read it and try and form some concrete impression about it. I remember the modern-day setting was certainly a bit odd considering Gibson's typical timeframe of a future just out of reach. I think a lot of his usual magic was lost due to this--as a middle schooler and high schooler when I first read most of Gibson's books, I remember being fascinated by these plausable and almost impending futures he could weave into his narratives, scenes that combined the infinite possibilities of science and technology with the grime and decay wrought by the inexorable march of time and present already in our own world. Pattern Recognition didn't really bring anything terribly new to the table, as it leaves little to our imagination. Ironically, I was less able to envision and relate to Cayce Pollard Googling up some tidy scrap of information than I was to Case in almost any part of Neuromancer.

I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with this; it's 3 am and I ought to be asleep. Basically, I think that the present-day setting combined with very Gibson-esque characters is a forumula that doesn't work. And most of it is set in LONDON, for God's sake! How much more generic of an 'exotic locale' can you come up with?

I highly doubt, Sergei, that the story I sent you is anywhere close to being as--relatively--good as Pattern Recognition, but then I think very little of my work in the first place, so my opinion is rather irrelevant. Thanks, either way, for the compliment! And I take it that you've finished Neuromancer?

Mr. Mechanical · Friendly Stranger Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 1276

kirkjerk · . Joined: 12 Apr 2006 Posts: 1227

Well, Sergei's un-watered-down ire is at least reminding me of my attempts to discern what's important to me in books. And I guess I have to admit, it's not traditionally literary...

I think books that are solely about the human struggle and condition and passions and triumph and despair are pointless. Live your damn life, don't read about others. What I think books can really bring to the table are new ideas, new perspectives about the same old world. Concept over narrative. Cleverness over passion.

Oddly enough there's a parallel between this and my interest in 2600-era games, and there might be a TGQ article lurking in there if I ever work up the chutzpah.

I'm sure my Russian girlfriend would like for me tackle some of the giants of Russian literature, Dostoevsky and Tolstoy and what not, but the books (at least by reputation) seem too massive to have a good "novelty per page" ratio that I'm looking for. (On the other hand I might reconsider a reread of "Master and Margarita" now that they say there's a stronger translation of it.)

Conversely, the (il)logical conclusion of my preference for ideas over story leads to stuff like "The DaVinci Code". Which might've been good without all the running around.

Just wondering, Sergei, are you familiar with and what do you think of Milan Kundera? In my outlook he does a good job of balancing what I like in reading with what I think of as some of the elements of traditional literature.

As for Eggers hunting for fame, who can blame him? Cultural fame or even infamy is about as close to immortality as this world has to offer.

helicopterp · . Joined: 13 May 2006 Posts: 1435 Location: Philadelphia

seryogin · Posted: Wed May 24, 2006 10:49 pm Post subject:

I don't particularly care for Kundera (mostly because the only good book the Czechs ever produced was The Good Soldier Schweik by Jaroslav Hasek). I find him boring, but then our tastes in literature seem to be very different.
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dhex · Posted: Wed May 24, 2006 11:22 pm Post subject:

i wanted to post some stuff making fun of both william gibson and mcsweeney's but that's pretty pointless, so here are some unrelated links to russians sporting high fashion:

http://www.viceland.com/int/dos_donts/72/main.jpg

http://www.viceland.com/int/dd.php?id=69&country=us

http://www.viceland.com/int/dd.php?id=68&country=us

http://www.viceland.com/int/dd.php?id=67&country=us

i really like that first guy.

edit: there's probably some very good american fiction out there but i'm still catching up to the 20th century and won't get there for a while.
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seryogin · Posted: Wed May 24, 2006 11:58 pm Post subject:

Those Russians are pretty stylish (I mean that, I like the way they dress more than Americans).

Incidentally, I was listening to some Russian rap today and couldn't contain my laughter. Most Russian rap is just a copy of everything that Americans produce--only in Russia. So you have one minute long skits with Russians saying shit like "Yo, blow it up (rus. for light up that weed)," and cops appearing with long shoot outs. It was even worse when I was watching a video of Seryoga (a bastard that happens to have my name, his only good song is About Football, which is based around Russian weed puns).

You see, I bought a Bad Balance cd last year, because my friend told me that one of their songs (Cossacks) really rocks. And, yeah, it's pretty good; wasn't worth the album though. The high point came when I was listening to a song called Moscow-New York, which has a chorus sung by some "pipe-hitin' niggaz" (to quote Mr. Wallace) that goes something like "We livin' it up in New York to Moscow, goin' round and round." The Russian portion of the song attempts to compare Russian reality to the New York thug life, which is so ridiculous as to be a parody of itself. I find it sad that most Russian rap is a parody of itself (I mean, how can you take a group calling themselves "The White Niggaz" seriously?).

The only exeption is a Belarussian rapper named Dolphin, whose lyrics are truly profound (though his work sounds more like techno/house with an early twentieth century poet boredly reading his work). His songs are completely original and not at all an imitation of anything Western; he's depressing and eerily prescient and eloquent about topics like love--he has a trio of songs celebrating the Russian holy trininity Lyubov, Nadezhda, Vera (rus. for love, hope, and faith; incidentally all are also Russian girls' names).
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OtakupunkX · . Joined: 23 Mar 2006 Posts: 730

Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

I would just like to bring up EXIBIT A: Seryogin really enjoys anime, even the bad stuff (yes Gundam). So don't take his opinion of your book too seriously.

Also, Kirk, if you are going to read Dostoevsky's Notes From the Underground, I highly recommend skipping part one (or reading it after part 2) unless you really need to get some sleep or something.
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“The average man has a secret desire to be a swaggering, drunken, fighting, raping swashbuckler.”
-Robert E. Howard in a letter to a friend circa Decmber 1932

"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!"

dhex · Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 7:42 am Post subject:

seryogin · Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 10:00 am Post subject:

Lockeownzj00 · . Joined: 16 Aug 2005 Posts: 214

dhex · Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 11:05 am Post subject:

simplicio · . Joined: 03 May 2005 Posts: 1091

Holy shit Guile would be jealous.

seryogin · Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 11:13 am Post subject:

Screw you, hex!

I am pretty hip, but, you know, I can rock that CCCP shit cause I iz teh Russian. But really I am into fashion, and, you better believe that that jacket is pretty tight. And the second pic is a no-go.
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seryogin · Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 11:15 am Post subject:

dhex · Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 11:43 am Post subject:

And the second pic is a no-go.

sorry, i don't mean to turn this into the axe but i'm just trying to avoid saying anything bad about mcsweeneys. i know people love that stuff a lot. i get a lot of forwards from friends who really love it. they ask me if i got that "hilarious" forward the other day. i say, yeah, thanks, and then i move the fuck on.

sergei: the jacket, well, i can see making a case for it if it were a print, but that thing has like "totally gnarly" stenciled on it in a socal biker font from 1996. that guy's such a rebel that he was barely able to take a few seconds away from his busy schedule of "breaking all the rules" to pose for the camera.

it also raises the question as to whether russians believe fluoride to be a jewish plot.
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