(no subject)

_The Gist Hunter_, Matthew Hughes


It has been said before that if you like Jack Vance, you'll probably like Hughes. And I suppose that is true. I'm not enamored of Vance, but I do like Hughes' writing an awful lot. His prose is usually complex in a rationally-artistic manner, rather than the irrational Joycean mode. Hughes delights in using words that you know but rarely use.

This is a collection of short stories in three sections: the Henghis Hapthorn far-future mysteries; the related Guth Bandar oneiromancies; and a set of unthemed stories. Henghis has had a couple of novels, as well. I thought all the Hapthorn stories were good, and the unrelated stories at the back reminded me of Eric Frank Russell or Fredric Brown on a good day.

(no subject)

_The Gist Hunter_, Matthew Hughes


It has been said before that if you like Jack Vance, you'll probably like Hughes. And I suppose that is true. I'm not enamored of Vance, but I do like Hughes' writing an awful lot. His prose is usually complex in a rationally-artistic manner, rather than the irrational Joycean mode. Hughes delights in using words that you know but rarely use.

This is a collection of short stories in three sections: the Henghis Hapthorn far-future mysteries; the related Guth Bandar oneiromancies; and a set of unthemed stories. Henghis has had a couple of novels, as well. I thought all the Hapthorn stories were good, and the unrelated stories at the back reminded me of Eric Frank Russell or Fredric Brown on a good day.