Last year I stumbled upon Thomas Wharton's Salamander through one of those neat book title generators (sorry, can't remember which one) and was intrigued by the synopsis:
Nicholas Flood, an unassuming eighteenth-century London printer, specializes in novelty books -- books that nestle into one another, books comprised of one spare sentence, books that emit the sounds of crashing waves. When his work captures the attention of an eccentric Slovakian count, Flood is summoned to a faraway castle -- a moving labyrinth that embodies the count's obsession with puzzles -- where he is commissioned to create the infinite book, the ultimate never-ending story. Probing the nature of books, the human thirst for knowledge, and the pursuit of immortality, Salamander careens through myth and metaphor as Flood travels the globe in search of materials for the elusive book without end.
Of course, I'm intrigued by any book that is about books or takes place in a book store or the story surrounds a mystery created by a book. I finally started reading it a couple days ago and it looks like I made a good choice. His writing is unique, along the lines of Dean Koontz in that he knows how to paint a word picture from the very first sentence.
"A burning scrap of paper drifts down out of the rain. A magic carpet on fire. It falls with a hiss to the wet stones of the street. "
His other books - both fiction and non fiction look equally interesting: Ice Fields, and The Logogryph - a Bibliography of Imaginary Books.
He is currently working on a young adult fantasy series called The Perilous Realm. The first book is available in Canada, The UK, and online - The Shadow of Malabron. I think he is still working on The Fathomless Fire.
Go here for more information on Thomas Wharton.
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I finished my 100 Great Books List this week, exactly one year after finishing The Well-Educated Mind List. Now I am on to the Invitation to the Classics List. I also signed up for NANOWRIMO after not doing it for quite a few years. It will get me thinking about this historical fiction novel I have wanted to write about my ancestors for 22 years!
ReplyDeleteI like books about writers and books, too, and this one sounds intruiging. Thanks.
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