Illuminations: Stories

"In his first-ever short story collection, which spans forty years of work, Alan Moore presents a series of wildly different and equally unforgettable characters who discover--and in some cases even make and unmake--the various uncharted parts of existence. In "Hypothetical Lizard," two concubines in a brothel of fantastical specialists fall in love with tragic ramifications. In "Not Even Legend," a paranormal study group is infiltrated by one of the other-worldly beings they seek to investigate. In "Illuminations," a nostalgic older man decides to visit a seaside resort from his youth and finds the past all too close at hand. And in the monumental novella "What We Can Know About Thunderman," which charts the surreal and Kafkaesque history of the comics industry's major players over the last seventy-five years, Moore reveals the dark, beating heart of the superhero business. From ghosts and otherworldly creatures to theoretical Boltzmann brains fashioning the universe at the big bang, Illuminations is exactly that--a series of bright, startling tales from a contemporary legend that reveal the full power of imagination and magic"--Dust jacket flap.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member railarson

There are some fantastic short stories in this collection, the kind that makes one pause and ask, “What goes on in Alan Moore’s head?” Of course, there a couple that feature his propensity to be a bit of an inkhorn, but we knew that. Worth it for the comics industry pisstake, What We Can Know

About Thunderman. Required reading.

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LibraryThing member macha

this has some good short stories and some other undefinable stuff for which even the structure can't be described (the long story one about the first femtosecond of the creation of the world, for instance). some of which cry out for an artist to translate into comic one-offs, but sadly Alan is done

with that now. as he proves with the long and gorily-detailed novella about the comics trade and its perps and prospects, which leaves all the suspects lined up in the basement, eviscerated neatly and left in a row trussed up for final judgment, and really as well identified as they need to be. luckily, it's unlikely the victims will give the whole thing oxygen by suing, and there's little other leverage to be had over someone who just walked away. let Alan be Alan, he's happier that way. everyone should read it, of course. one of the most brilliant writers of our generation, after all, and an original mind that's always worth the fare.

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LibraryThing member ragwaine

Hypothetical Lizard (5 stars) - I've read this one a couple times in the past and totally love it.

Not Even Legend (4 stars) - Searching for the legends that no one has ever heard of and living backwards.

Location, Location, Location (4 stars) - Loaves, fishes, and sex with Jesus. Plus really cool

visuals.

Cold Reading (3.5 stars) - Talking to the dead isn't always a good idea. Kind of predictable but still fun.

The Improbably Complex High-Energy State

Illuminations

What We Can Know About Thunderman

American Light: An Appreciation

And, at the Last, Just to Be Done with Silence

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