Welcome to Kherishdar: Big ideas from a small press

[ed_rex]

I've never liked the aphoristic form, never warmed to twee, manga-style illustrations and have always been suspicious of Utopias - in my experience, the latter tend to be either fascist or ridiculously simplistic in nature - or both.

Comments

[tokio]

This sounds strangely intriguing. I agree with you whole-heartedly about the cover, but the art you linked to is... dream-worthy. It sends me to a happy place. I enjoy your approach to reviewing.

Thank you!

[ed_rex]

I'm most please you enjoy my approach to reviewing. I still don't think I've gotten where I want to with it, but I'm getting closer. As the late Algis Budrys once said when he was the regular book reviewer for The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, I don't aspire to be a "reviewer" or a "critic", but rather, someone who is talking about books with a bunch of intelligent friends. (I paraphrase from memory.)

Still the journey is the point of the trip, so the process getting to that point is half the fun.

Re: Thank you!

[tokio]

I particularly thought your initial unwillingness to review the books was quite noble. So many people look for opportunities to be cruel; they want to be the one to make or break someone's career, ego, esteem, etc., and the opportunity to break others comes along much more often than anything else. Many "critics" would jump on the chance to review a book with one notable flaw, so it's very nice to see someone trying to avoid being cruel.

I take a much more quantified approach to reviewing because I primarily review perfumes. Obviously, words, themes, and concepts are processed in such a different manner than anything olfactic. "Word of mouth" will never die, never go out of style, not as long as there are people willing to vouch for things. I like it. It seems old fashioned yet timeless.

Re: Thank you!

[ed_rex]

Less noble, perhaps than a recognition - or assertion - that there is something inherently er, noble is "sisters (and brothers) doin' it for themselves". I'm a big fan of people who are exploring alternative means of publication, production, etc. and so would rather be supportive than not.

At the same time, I don't want to damage whatever credibility I might have (or be building) by blindly cheering for crap because it's independent or whatever.

In any case, being cruel can be fun, but I'd prefer to save those moments for big targets, like Ayn Rand or BSG.