right!
enough of this. Time to plough through more of an overrated ballard book - night all, have lovely dreams and luscious mornings
( Citizen Cavy Admires your passion for conformity, Thu 20 Oct 2011, 22:47, 3 replies, latest was 14 years ago)

Concrete Island is boss

( Roota zweeeeeoooooowm, Thu 20 Oct 2011, 22:48, Reply)

Ballard overrated?
He was our greatest living novelist until he carked it. The baton was of course passed to John Berger.
(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Thu 20 Oct 2011, 22:49, Reply)

seriously?
cocaine nights appears to be some detective story with nothing special about it at all. I think I read another by him and was underwhelmed, but that was some time ago
( Citizen Cavy Admires your passion for conformity, Thu 20 Oct 2011, 22:51, Reply)

Seriously.

(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Thu 20 Oct 2011, 22:54, Reply)

Empire of the Sun was good
most of his work ranges between alright and pretty good
( Amberl was stripey and dominated Europe, Thu 20 Oct 2011, 22:53, Reply)

'alright' and 'pretty good'?
Where do you place The Atrocity Exhibition?
(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Thu 20 Oct 2011, 22:54, Reply)

Never read it I'm afraid

( Amberl was stripey and dominated Europe, Thu 20 Oct 2011, 23:00, Reply)

Perhaps you should.
Ballard has three distinct phases- the sci fi that he wrote in the 50s and 60s, his experimental period in the 70s, and his more realist work in the 80s and 90s. The Atrocity Exhibition is the beginning of the experimental phase, it's Burroughsian in its form but firmly rooted in the established, formal intellectualism that marked out Ballard's narrative voice.

He was a wonderful writer of short stories too- his later period sci fi leanings were at their best in short prose- Memories of the Space Age is a great jumping off point. If you have the stamina, his collected short stories is well worth getting through. It's pretty much 50 years worth of short prose. I'd get the single, 1000 odd page one rather than the two standalone volumes.
(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Thu 20 Oct 2011, 23:07, Reply)

I prefer Shatner's Tek War stuff m'self, like.

( CQ Knows the truth, all of it., Thu 20 Oct 2011, 23:10, Reply)

Why am I not surprised?

(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Thu 20 Oct 2011, 23:11, Reply)

Because you have no noticeable sense of irony?

( CQ Knows the truth, all of it., Thu 20 Oct 2011, 23:14, Reply)

I am a highly ironic man.
Though I concede that text may not be the best vehicle for irony when one considers the lack of affect a messageboard affords.
(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Thu 20 Oct 2011, 23:17, Reply)

Fair point.
I'll admit to wondering earlier If I have misjudged you and your online persona is in fact a massive ans subtle wind up.
( CQ Knows the truth, all of it., Thu 20 Oct 2011, 23:18, Reply)

What the deuce do you mean?

(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Thu 20 Oct 2011, 23:22, Reply)

I believe he's saying you're so pretentious that it all has to be an elaborate joke.

(berk, Thu 20 Oct 2011, 23:26, Reply)

Since when am I pretentious?

(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Thu 20 Oct 2011, 23:27, Reply)

Genuinely and absolutely LMFMAO
You have one hell of a way of cutting through the crap Berk. Love it.
( CQ Knows the truth, all of it., Thu 20 Oct 2011, 23:30, Reply)

my main beef with you is your absolutism.
You seem a decent enough chap, but, it appears, that when you like something, or believe something you believe it to be absolute truth and everyone else to be wrong.

I have always held this to be the mark of a child or an absolute tool. This, by the way is why I assumed you were younger than you are.

Now it did cross my mind earlier, I think when Kroney was winding you up about JD, that maybe you put this on as quite a clever wind up, subtle and long running as I say.

This is probably all shit, but I like to think the best of people, it's a failing of mine.
( CQ Knows the truth, all of it., Thu 20 Oct 2011, 23:28, Reply)

We all create characters on here.
Mine is a mixture, and an exaggeration of, my cultural tastes and references. At the same time, I know what shit smells like and I have no qualms about calling it out as such.

And I've never really had a beef about pretentiousness- I see it as harmless posturing. Rather that than brash, vulgar celebration of ignorance. By that I am absolutely not referring to anyone here, just something I often encounter, what with frequenting the sort of establishments as I frequently diddly do.

Alright?
(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Thu 20 Oct 2011, 23:40, Reply)

Fair enough.
Night Doze.
( CQ Knows the truth, all of it., Thu 20 Oct 2011, 23:42, Reply)

Aight bbz.

(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Thu 20 Oct 2011, 23:43, Reply)