Previous SFF Author: Dave Freer
(1965- )
Max Frei (Макс Фрай) is the fictional author and narrator of Labyrinths of Echo (Лабиринты Eхо), a series of ten award-winning Russian fantasy novels written by Svetlana Martynchik. Labyrinths of Echo is now being translated into English. Here’s the Max Frie website and here’s Svetlana Martynchik’s blog (both in Russian).
Max Frei’s The Stranger is an interesting novel to say the least. For starters, I almost gave up on the book at three different times. Why? Well for one, it took a long while before the book started making sense to me, especially the setting, the story and the novel’s direction. It took even longer for me to get used to The Stranger’s peculiar brand of humor, not to mention the author’s liberal use of exclamation points. And finally,
Robert Thompson´s rating: 4.5 | Max Frei | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Stranger’s Woes by Max Frei
ABOUT THE STRANGER’S WOES: The Stranger’s Woes continues the story of twenty-something loser Max Frei. A loafer who sleeps all day, Max one night finds himself transported to the magical world of Echo, where he possesses magical abilities and becomes the Nocturnal Representative of the Most Venerable Head of the Minor Secret Investigative Force of the City of Echo.
With his new friends and co-workers — the omniscient Sir Juffin Hully, the hilarious Melifaro and the beautiful Lady Melamori Blimm — Sir Max enjoys a life where he’s no longer a social outcast as he solves crimes,
Robert Thompson´s rating: 4 | Max Frei | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Previous SFF Author: Dave Freer
I might say "formulaic" actually.
Your review made me curious, so I looked this book up. Sure enough: Tor. Tor seems to specialize in these…
It's a tightrope act for sure.
[…] Stuart (2 December 2015). “Roadside Picnic: Russian SF classic with parallels to Vandermeer’s Area X | Fantasy Lit…. fantasyliterature.com. Retrieved 8 […]
yes, I mean, there are certainly lots of good sci-fi/fantasy novellas out there, so they aren't impossible to do, but…