Triffids Beard 2 - The Bearded Triffid

I've cordially disliked his books ever since. His latest novel is Idoru and it shows no improvement. It is all
surface and no substance; it dissolves in the mouth like fairground candyfloss. Who cares that a pop
star wants to marry a virtual reality singer (the Idoru of the title)? I don't.
Garry Kilworth is one of those irritatingly inconsistent writers. When he is good he is very very good. But
when he is bad...well, you know how it goes.
In A Midsummer's Nightmare he is very very good indeed. Sherwood forest is shrinking as urban
sprawl consumes it and Oberon, King of the fairies, decides that it is time to leave. Sid, a young
mechanic the fairies have charmed, suggests that they migrate to the New Forest. Oberon and Titania
agree (reluctantly) though some of the other fairies stage a bit of a rebellion which Oberon quickly puts
down (though it will have consequences later). Sid teaches Titania to drive, and on Midsummer's day
they set off in an old, smelly bus.
Their journey away from their usual haunts sends magical signals on the ley lines of the world and many
slumbering magical creatures reawaken as the fairies pass. The news bulletins are full of videos of giants
and dragons. But one of the awakened spirits is the fairy of the morning, Morgan Le Fay.
Meanwhile the fairies journey onwards, taking rest breaks as required. They enter a Morris dancing
contest and win (naturally). Titania takes a human child and leaves a changeling in return. Unfortunately
she was in a bit of a rush and the changeling she leaves is a goldfish. The bargain is not appreciated and
tales of a kidnapped child begin to replace videos of giants on the news broadcasts.
The New Forest offers sanctuary, but before they can enter it, Titania and the morning fairy will have to
settle their age old quarrel. The battle is an epic one.
The borders of the fields we know are often fruitful story sources. Far more so than the wilder stretches
of untamed country beyond those fields. This delightful tale from the borderlands is one of Kilworth's
very best novels.
I was at university with a man named Geoff. During the course of one whole year, Geoff proved that as
long as you slurp every single drop of liquid from your mug, you do not have to wash it before imbibing
something else. Coffee, tea, horlicks, orange juice, ribena, milk and the occasional beer were consumed
in sequence, month after month after month. By the end of the year the interior of the mug was ...
interesting. I think Geoff's relationship with biochemistry was rather like mine with physics.
Eugene Byrne and Kim Newman Back in the USSA Mark V. Zeising
Connie Willis To Say Nothing of the Dog Bantam
Terry Jones (Douglas Adams) Starship Titanic Harmony Books
John Allen Paulos Innumeracy Penguin
James P. Blaylock All the Bells on Earth Ace
Nancy Kress Beggars Ride Tor
Oaths and Miracles
William Gibson Idoru Penguin
Garry Kilworth A Midsummer's Nightmare Corgi