tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32528082.post958548913821439351..comments2023-08-11T04:33:49.146-04:00Comments on Books, beer and barbarians: Books read in 2012: No. 12 - Behold the ManTyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09192814826756623212noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32528082.post-42040797051489504762012-02-19T18:16:21.423-05:002012-02-19T18:16:21.423-05:00Ah, interesting. Good call, then. I'm open to ...Ah, interesting. Good call, then. I'm open to challenge and engagement, but if a book is simply a diatribe or anti-sermon, I'm not interested. Thus I won't read Pullman. But same goes for a lot of Christian novels - they aren't novels! They're exposition veiled in allegory or typology, which to me isn't very interesting.Lynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11998346902027037420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32528082.post-73347461811179675192012-02-19T08:35:00.587-05:002012-02-19T08:35:00.587-05:00Lyn, I'd have to say it's probably not for...Lyn, I'd have to say it's probably not for you. It doesn't necessarily mock the faith as much as it attempts to destroy it entirely, even going beyond any mere historical representation, but finally even emotionally and spiritually (at least in the final words of the novel). The last page and its ramifications make this one a dark, dark novel, stepping into existential nihilism.Tyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09192814826756623212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32528082.post-1005859033840879812012-02-19T08:22:14.197-05:002012-02-19T08:22:14.197-05:00Would I like it as a conservative Christian who en...Would I like it as a conservative Christian who enjoys intellectually challenging narratives? (In other words, does it mock faith or simply explore the mythos?)Lynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11998346902027037420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32528082.post-678884112617218072012-02-17T18:32:13.834-05:002012-02-17T18:32:13.834-05:00Yep, it is going in the direction I feared, but Mo...Yep, it is going in the direction I feared, but Moorcock is doing some interesting things with the background material. I'm not sure it's exactly a flashback, more like he's writing to separate plot lines that will emerge eventually. Honestly, I'm finding the one set in the modern world (of the 1960s) more interesting, reminding a little of the writings of James Joyce.Tyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09192814826756623212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32528082.post-9757423293446301672012-02-17T11:32:54.918-05:002012-02-17T11:32:54.918-05:00I read this book many many years ago and loved it....I read this book many many years ago and loved it. Yeah, it's going where you think it's going, but Michael Moorcock is Michael Moorcock, and you are correct--this is a book which at the time of publication was something shocking. No one wrote stuff like this which any way questioned the Christian mythos.<br /><br />I think I'm going back and re reading this. Thanks for jogging the memory.Stewart Sternberg (half of L.P. Styles)https://www.blogger.com/profile/00895152179113722902noreply@blogger.com