Wizards of the Coast is known for their Gaming products, as well as their fantasy novels. They are embarking on a new line of books to branch out into other genre, such as horror and crime. The Wizards of the Coast Discovery series has, as one of their first books, an astonishing piece of fiction.
The Man on the Ceiling, by Melanie and Steve Rasnic Tem, first existed as a chapbook from American Fantasy Publishing in the year 2000. It was heralded with much acclaim, by people like Harlan Ellison and Neil Gaiman. I bought a copy and was blown away by it. And I wasn't the only one. No one that I spoke to that had read The Man on the Ceiling came away unaffected.
Now, seven years later, The Tems have expanded The Man on the Ceiling into a full-length book.
The Man on the Ceiling is a unique piece of writing. Part fiction, part confessional, part metaphor. It deals with two real like characters named Melanie and Steve Tem. The reader is informed at the beginning that everything they are about to read is true.
In lesser hands, The Man on the Ceiling could be accused of being self-indulgent. From the imaginations of these two writers, it is a revelation. The central concern of The Man on the Ceiling is family. Family, home and imagination. Life, death, fear, love. They refer to it as a 'biography of our imagination". But what is it really about?
If you are the kind of reader that demands a linear plot, clear cut protagonists and antagonists, and a conventional beginning, middle and end, The Man in the Ceiling is probably not for you. But if you like to take chances with the books you read, if you enjoy a challenge and if you are unafraid ti confront real fear and devastating emotion, I recommend it to you.
The Man on the Ceiling at first glance seems like a disjointed assembly of random thoughts, notes and observations. Some are sad, some are funny. Some seem to be nonsensical while others are pointed. At least one was so disturbing that I had to put the book down and walk away for a day or so.
The Tems evidently have adopted several troubled children and those acquisitions are the real focus of the book. I almost called it a novel, but I'm not exactly sure that's accurate. We are told that everything we read in The Man on the Ceiling is true, but truth and facts are not often the same thing. Not in this book and not in our own lives.
A family's life is examined in The Man on the Ceiling. Fear is the one constant in most of our lives and any parent can attest to the fears they feel for their children every day. This fear takes shape in a man on the ceiling. I think we all may have our own man on the ceiling. A horror that sneaks up on us as we are about to slip away into sleep sometimes. It knows our souls and it knows what we are afraid of.
The Man on the Ceiling is difficult story to describe. Like a surrealist painting. Like an atonal song. Like a children's story on hallucinogens. Think David Lynch directing a movie from a T.M. Wright story.
Melanie and Steve Rasnic Tem have given us a remarkable work. It is honest...painfully, almost embarrassingly so. It is frightening. It is full of despair. It is also full of wonder and laughs and love. The Man on the Ceiling transcends genre. This is no horror novel, but then again maybe it is. It's like a drop of mercury that you can't put your finger on, no matter how you try. But it is an amazing journey that I am glad that I took. And with such a trip, once is not enough. The Man on the Ceiling demands to be re-read. I know I'll have to do it, because I'm positive that I didn't catch everything this first time. The narratives seem like random notes, but I'm positive that the writers spend much time with every sentence. Nothing is wasted and nothing is there without a reason.
The Man on the Ceiling is due out in March of 2008. You hear this a lot, but is one book that you need to buy. You may not get the exact things I did from it, but you will be affected. It will find a weak spot in even the most cynical suit of protective armor and stab the heart. Don't miss this book and for around ten bucks if you go with Amazon, it is an amazing deal.
The Man on the Ceiling, by Melanie and Steve Rasnic Tem, first existed as a chapbook from American Fantasy Publishing in the year 2000. It was heralded with much acclaim, by people like Harlan Ellison and Neil Gaiman. I bought a copy and was blown away by it. And I wasn't the only one. No one that I spoke to that had read The Man on the Ceiling came away unaffected.
Now, seven years later, The Tems have expanded The Man on the Ceiling into a full-length book.
The Man on the Ceiling is a unique piece of writing. Part fiction, part confessional, part metaphor. It deals with two real like characters named Melanie and Steve Tem. The reader is informed at the beginning that everything they are about to read is true.
In lesser hands, The Man on the Ceiling could be accused of being self-indulgent. From the imaginations of these two writers, it is a revelation. The central concern of The Man on the Ceiling is family. Family, home and imagination. Life, death, fear, love. They refer to it as a 'biography of our imagination". But what is it really about?
If you are the kind of reader that demands a linear plot, clear cut protagonists and antagonists, and a conventional beginning, middle and end, The Man in the Ceiling is probably not for you. But if you like to take chances with the books you read, if you enjoy a challenge and if you are unafraid ti confront real fear and devastating emotion, I recommend it to you.
The Man on the Ceiling at first glance seems like a disjointed assembly of random thoughts, notes and observations. Some are sad, some are funny. Some seem to be nonsensical while others are pointed. At least one was so disturbing that I had to put the book down and walk away for a day or so.
The Tems evidently have adopted several troubled children and those acquisitions are the real focus of the book. I almost called it a novel, but I'm not exactly sure that's accurate. We are told that everything we read in The Man on the Ceiling is true, but truth and facts are not often the same thing. Not in this book and not in our own lives.
A family's life is examined in The Man on the Ceiling. Fear is the one constant in most of our lives and any parent can attest to the fears they feel for their children every day. This fear takes shape in a man on the ceiling. I think we all may have our own man on the ceiling. A horror that sneaks up on us as we are about to slip away into sleep sometimes. It knows our souls and it knows what we are afraid of.
The Man on the Ceiling is difficult story to describe. Like a surrealist painting. Like an atonal song. Like a children's story on hallucinogens. Think David Lynch directing a movie from a T.M. Wright story.
Melanie and Steve Rasnic Tem have given us a remarkable work. It is honest...painfully, almost embarrassingly so. It is frightening. It is full of despair. It is also full of wonder and laughs and love. The Man on the Ceiling transcends genre. This is no horror novel, but then again maybe it is. It's like a drop of mercury that you can't put your finger on, no matter how you try. But it is an amazing journey that I am glad that I took. And with such a trip, once is not enough. The Man on the Ceiling demands to be re-read. I know I'll have to do it, because I'm positive that I didn't catch everything this first time. The narratives seem like random notes, but I'm positive that the writers spend much time with every sentence. Nothing is wasted and nothing is there without a reason.
The Man on the Ceiling is due out in March of 2008. You hear this a lot, but is one book that you need to buy. You may not get the exact things I did from it, but you will be affected. It will find a weak spot in even the most cynical suit of protective armor and stab the heart. Don't miss this book and for around ten bucks if you go with Amazon, it is an amazing deal.
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