Masque of Dreams: Tales of Illusion and Identity, by Bruce Boston
Brand : Wildside Press
- SKU:
- 1587152738
- UPC:
- 1587152738
-- Paul Di Filippo, The Washington Post
The masques of 17th century Europe presented dramatic entertainments based on mythic themes and enhanced by lavish costumes and sets. The entertainments in Bruce Boston's Masque of Dreams fashion myths of their own and are enhanced by the voice of a poet, often lyric and at times pyrotechnic.
Journey to the depths of a mutant rain forest that strikes back against the encroachments of civilization. Join a Victorian stage magician in his search for real magic. Descend to the depths of an omnivorous singularity where everything is everything. Meet a true gentleman farmer and stand with vorpal sword in hand.
Explore these masques of illusion and identity that entertain as they mine the limits of reality and dreams.
Born in Chicago of Catholic and Jewish heritage, Bruce Boston grew up in suburban Los Angeles in an era of nuclear testing, drop drills, rock and roll, and the space race. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, at the height of the turbulent sixties, where he was active in political protest and psychedelic exploration. His poems began appearing in print when he was an undergraduate, and his fiction soon followed. Boston's occupations have included college professor, computer programmer, book designer, movie projectionist, book buyer, furniture mover, technical writer, retail clerk, warehouseman, and gardener. He lives in Ocala, Florida, City of Trees, with his wife, writer-artist, Margaret Ballif Simon.
Bruce Boston is the author of twenty-seven books and chapbooks, including the novel Stained Glass Rain. His stories and poems have appeared in hundreds of publications, including Asimov's Science Fiction, Amazing Stories, The Twilight Zone, Realms of Fantasy, Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, and the Nebula Awards anthology. His fiction has received a Pushcart Prize and the Best of Soft SF Award. His poetry has won a record six Rhysling Awards and three Asimov Readers' Choice Awards. In 1999 the Science Fiction Poetry Association honored him with the first and only Grand Master Award in its twenty-three year history.
ô. . . the poet in Boston aligns with the storyteller to create one evocative scene after another . . . awesome talents . . . writes like a demon with a stained glass hand.ö
-ù Paul Di Filippo, Asimov's Science Fiction
ô. . . uncommon grace and clarity of vision. Boston writes with the voice of a poet, the heart of a bodhisattva, and the unblinking eye of an investigative reporter.ö
-ù Daniel Marcus, Wired
ô. . . Boston's words dance along most surfaces with a silly clarity reminiscent of Lolita author Vladmir Nabokov. When Boston burrows deep, it's magic.ö
ù- Evelyn Pine, Artbeat
ôImagine if you dare Ted Sturgeonesque compassion, the needle wit of Frederic Brown, and the shockingly precise word usage of a truly skilled poet all blended seamlessly into a single (and singularly beguiling) artist's work.ö
-ù Jim Lee, Scavenger's Newsletter
ôFrom fantasy to slapstick to murder . . . his characters and scenes are drawn precisely . . . voluptuous language and good old storytelling.ö
-ù Rod Tulloss, Small Press Review
ôBoston is deft and quirky. He is also gifted with a distinctive way of seeing the æother' . . . it is the best of the classics he brings to mind.ö
-ù Tom Easton, Analog