Peter straubs blue rose trilogy koko, mystery, and the throat is one of the landmark accomplishments of modern popular fiction. If you want to get at the heart of that peter straub thing, his novel floating dragon is a one way ticket. A lot of other commenters have discussed the plot pretty accurately, if anyone in this thread reads it, just remember the seeming chaos of the events is. A classic tale of supernatural horror from the acclaimed author of koko, the talisman and mr x. All books, links to which are on the site, located on the public sites not affiliated with us to which our website does not have any relation. I good story that takes you to the heart of a small town gone crazy. Jul 10, 2015 where to start with the works of peter straub.
Praise for peter straub and floating dragon here is a novel guaranteed to double the national nightmare quotient, so watch out. Floating dragon is a whole other feel from ghost story more violence, gore, and mayhem. I hadnt previously read straub and was earnestly excited at digging into the legacy of such an iconic author. His horror fiction has received numerous literary honors such as the bram stoker award, world fantasy award, and international horror guild award. That and the similarities ive mentioned makes them fun books to compare, sidebyside. Floating dragon by peter straub 1983, hardcover for sale. Peter straub is the new york timesbestselling author of more than a dozen novels. Our cheap used books come with free delivery in the us.
Floating dragon is to it as ghost story is to salems lot. Buy a cheap copy of floating dragon book by peter straub. The hideous unstoppable creation of mans power gone mad. Normally peter straub has a distinct style from stephen king, but in the case of floating dragon, i feel peter straub outdoes stehpen king in a stephen king like novel. Some books grab you from the first word, many writers start with something compelling or shocking just for that purpose. But id say that if he did not, floating dragon might well have represented a different sort of thing for him. He has written two volumes of poetry and two collections of short fiction.
As an ancient, paranormal thing awakens to again wreak havoc on an accursed town, an equally horrid nerve gas escapes and infects the population of said town. Floating dragon by peter straub, revisited this is. X, in the night room, and two collaborations with stephen king, the talisman and black house. Peter straub made his debut as a published author in 1972 with the poetry collection ishmael. Floating dragon is an incredible book, one of my favorites.
Floating dragon was the first straub novel that i read. Floating dragon floating dragon peter straub the berkley publishing group published by the penguin group penguin group usa inc. It might theoretically be a coincidence, but on page 30 of floating dragon. Thenceforth, he processed words instead of writing them. A government experiment goes awry and a deadly gas is released over the affluent suburb of hampstead, connecticut. Like many another genre novelist who hasnt been able to come up with a fresh twist, occulthorrorman straub has instead thrown a little bit of everything into this massive mess of a book. The author has described this book as an exuberant valentine to the horror genre and to fans who had devoured his supernaturalthemed novels up to that point, but also acknowledges. Floating dragon 2003 read online free book by peter straub.
In the night room and lost boy, lost girl were winners of the bram stoker award, as was his collection 5 stories. How can they release a title with the same name that is nothing like the book. And it made me think that peter straub was probably just like stephen king. He began writing in 1969 and published two books of poetry in 1972. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read floating dragon. He taught english at his former high school for three years and worked for a time on his doctorate in ireland. Peter straubs an unquestionably accomplished writer, and, at times, even a prose stylist. Last january, bob pastorella and i started a retrospective of peter straubs most important work that would sprawl over the entire year. In 1979 peter straub wrote ghost story, arguably the greatest modern horror novel. Peter straub is probably my favourite author, but its a strange relationship. The quiet suburban town of hampstead is threatened by two horrors.
Its obviously a long novel the reader knows that going in but i also found it to be overstuffed. Floating dragon by peter straub 2003, paperback for sale. Electronic versions of the books were found automatically and may be incorrect wrong. Some of his books are annual mustreads for me, while there are others ive never finished. This is a great novel by peter straub though my favorites are ghost story, shadowland and koko. Floating dragon racks you with suspense straub is a master at having whole communities rocked by the forces of. When i first read him back in the 80s, i thought his books were cool. Im so disappointed and feel completely scammed 11 people found this helpful. Floating dragon by peter straub in chm, fb3, rtf download ebook.
He earned degrees in english from the university of wisconsin and columbia university. After three years, peter straub discreetly went to dublin, ireland in 1969 to pursue a phd so that he could take writing as an important profession. Straub admits he was experimenting with style in floating dragon, and unfortunately for me, as the book began the experiment did not pay off. After reading king for years and only king floating dragon was a revelatory experience. Victor temkin, the lively soul then president of berkley books, recommended westport, connecticut for the excellence of its school system and its proximity to new. Meanwhile, the decendants of the towns original founders return tohampstead for the firts time in over 100 years, igniting a firestorm of events that are the continuation of an ongoing curse.
Observer the terrors afflicting the sleepy town of hampstead, connecticut, were beyond. Peter straub has the same themes and characters he repeats from book to book. Straubs next novel was the talisman, his first collaboration with king. Nov 12, 2008 i was a pretty big king fan in the early 1980s not so much anymore, and so when talisman came out i read it immediately. The majority of the style seemed to be a cold, almost screenplay like succession of snapshots, often cutting between one scene or another, dropping allusions or promising revelations but never quite settling down. Ranging from the caribbean to vietnam to the american midwest and spanning decades of tumultuous history, these books a. When i read it the first time i was very young and i just didnt absorb some of the nuances but having read it now i got so much more out of the story. A monumental collection of short fiction from acclaimed master of horror and new york times bestselling author peter straub peter straub brilliantly defies and blurs literary genres. Our cheap used books come with free delivery in the uk.
Buy floating dragon by peter straub, in very good condition. His prose style is above average hence the two stars but his plots are ridiculous, full of sharkjumping plot holes, and his characters are caricatures or cliches or both. Bestselling author peter straubs koko is a gripping psychological thriller in which horror and paranoia are indistinguishable from reality. Within this crazed, hyperbolic, fatally excessive monstrosity, a horror novel which proved too much even for horrors undemanding and starstruck readership, there exists the teasing little ghost of a tale about the intersection of an industrial accident and an accursed village. Floating dragon one of the few books ive read more than once.
His prose reads more like that of henry james than the pulp fiction hacks too often associated with horror stories. Set during the spring and summer of 1980, the novel deals with events that befall the affluent suburb of hampstead, connecticut. Anything by straub is worth several thousand john sauls and a million v. We were so out of touch with american realities that to us cape cod, long island, and connecticuts fairfield county seemed within a hour or two drive of each other and more or less identical. Peter straub books list of books by author peter straub. An american icon renowned for his bestselling novels, peter straub displays his full and stunning range in this crowning collection. Peter straub s blue rose trilogy koko, mystery, and the throat is one of the landmark accomplishments of modern popular fiction. He worked with thomas tessier who was a poem writer and produced two poet books, ishamel and open air. Peter straub i s the author of seventeen novels, which have been translated into more than twenty languages.
See all books authored by peter straub, including the talisman, and black house, and more on. Below is a list of peter straubs books in order of when they were originally released. Floating dragon is a typical example of straubs talents and thematic concerns, a long novel filled with ghostly or perhaps not ghostly doings. After the success of ghost story and shadowland, peter straub wanted to try his strenght in tales that do not involve anything supernatural. Author peter straub was born in milwaukee, wisconsin in 1943. Straub is a master at having whole communities rocked by the forces of wickedness. Floating dragon peter straub read online free books. Floating dragon 2003 read online free book by peter. By the time i finally got around to reading floating dragon by peter straub, the. The combination of dark fantasy elements and outright horror were new to me and i. They were vietnam vetsa doctor, a lawyer, a working stiff, and a writer. Floating dragon does offer some tender pages toward the end, if you have the stomach to read that far.
Floating dragon is a horror novel by american writer peter straub, originally published by underwoodmiller in november 1982 and g. Floating dragon was, at the time, straub s last foray into supernatural horror mr. Im probably a fourbookaweek guy, and i like reading the same books over. Floating dragon, published in 1983, was to be his final horror novel for a long time till the 1999 return to the genre with mr x. A thriller mass market paperback august 5, 2003 by peter straub author. After ten years in dublin and london, my wife and i moved back to the united states with our our twoyearold son in the summer of 1979. Peter straub is a literate, intelligent man, who has raised the standards of the horror genre by his involvement with it. The novels chief liability is its stale characters. Floating dragon was, at the time, straubs last foray into supernatural horror mr. X marks his return to the field that made him famous.
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