xschweingehabtx's review against another edition
3.25
The brain story is SOOOOO GOOD!! But not a fan of any others.
wickersham_1's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
1.0
jammasterjamie's review against another edition
4.0
A bit of a mixed bag, but a mostly solid collection of stories, I can say that even the installments that didn't really ring with me were still addictively written and I didn't find my interest waning throughout this book.
HYPOTHETICAL LIZARD - Five stars - I'd read this one before a couple times in graphic novel form, but the prose version is much more riveting and expands on what was already one of my favourite stories. We deal with the nature of duality in this one, as well as how our illusions affect our realities.
NOT EVEN LEGEND - Four stars - I had a good time with this one, especially once I figured out the twist in the storytelling. I always enjoy when Moore plays with the concept of linear storytelling, and he pulls it off wonderfully with this one.
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION - Three stars - I didn't love this one. It felt a little obvious to me, and while the sex scene was kind of fun in a blasphemous way, it actually took away from the story for me because it felt a little hammed in there. Still very readable, but I just didn't connect with it. Some good laughs for sure, but it's not one I'll be rushing to revisit.
COLD READING - Two Stars - Again, fun story, but nothing special and the twist was again super-obvious from the get-go. Good October mood story, but nothing to tell your friends about and the Illuminations collections would have been just as good without its inclusion.
THE IMPROBABLY COMPLEX HIGH ENERGY STATE - Five stars and thensome! - I think I have a new favourite short story. I love, love, loved this one. This is Moore at his most fun and creative, taking an emerging universe and spilling his special kind of magic all over it. My only problem with this story is that I've been working on a similar story of my own including using a lot of the same verbiage and imagery, so I've had to put mine down for a while so that the influence of this story doesn't take over. Moore, of course, takes his somewhere completely different and far more inventive than I was going to with mine, but it's close enough that I need some space now because The Improbably Complex High Energy State is a masterpiece as far as I'm concerned. Welcome to the creation of life in the universe as imagined by Alan Moore - I don't think you'll be disappointed.
ILLUMINATIONS - Five Stars - Alan Moore does nostalgia and its impact on our future selves really well. I don't want to say anything else about this one because it's just a really nicely told story about how the past affects the present, and how the present impacts how we see the past. Really nicely done.
WHAT WE CAN KNOW ABOUT THUNDERMAN - Five stars - First of all, this is not a short story. This is a novel, and it's a great one! What a ride! Moore basically deconstructs the history of the comic book industry and the pseudonominous major players in that game, shines a bright and unforgiving light, as well as makes a strong commentary about America and the not always positive influence of costumed characters.
AMERICAN LIGHT: AN APPRECIATION - Four stars - I'm a sucker for the Beat generation, having gone through an obsessive phase about them way back in high school, so this was a nice revisit to those times, and Alan really gets to flex his poetic muscles here in a powerful way. He brings to light a lot of the things that eventually turned me off of the Beats, and the structure of this one is just really fun.
AND AT THE LAST, JUST TO BE DONE WITH SILENCE - Four stars - The character voices in this one are both so strongly defined that even without a descriptive narrative to support the action, everything is clearly illuminated and easy to follow and sink into. I have to look up some of the names dropped to get the proper historical context, but even without having that this was a great story to read and could easily fit in with one of the stories in Voice of the Fire, or it at least felt like a nice revisiting with the mood of that collection.
HYPOTHETICAL LIZARD - Five stars - I'd read this one before a couple times in graphic novel form, but the prose version is much more riveting and expands on what was already one of my favourite stories. We deal with the nature of duality in this one, as well as how our illusions affect our realities.
NOT EVEN LEGEND - Four stars - I had a good time with this one, especially once I figured out the twist in the storytelling. I always enjoy when Moore plays with the concept of linear storytelling, and he pulls it off wonderfully with this one.
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION - Three stars - I didn't love this one. It felt a little obvious to me, and while the sex scene was kind of fun in a blasphemous way, it actually took away from the story for me because it felt a little hammed in there. Still very readable, but I just didn't connect with it. Some good laughs for sure, but it's not one I'll be rushing to revisit.
COLD READING - Two Stars - Again, fun story, but nothing special and the twist was again super-obvious from the get-go. Good October mood story, but nothing to tell your friends about and the Illuminations collections would have been just as good without its inclusion.
THE IMPROBABLY COMPLEX HIGH ENERGY STATE - Five stars and thensome! - I think I have a new favourite short story. I love, love, loved this one. This is Moore at his most fun and creative, taking an emerging universe and spilling his special kind of magic all over it. My only problem with this story is that I've been working on a similar story of my own including using a lot of the same verbiage and imagery, so I've had to put mine down for a while so that the influence of this story doesn't take over. Moore, of course, takes his somewhere completely different and far more inventive than I was going to with mine, but it's close enough that I need some space now because The Improbably Complex High Energy State is a masterpiece as far as I'm concerned. Welcome to the creation of life in the universe as imagined by Alan Moore - I don't think you'll be disappointed.
ILLUMINATIONS - Five Stars - Alan Moore does nostalgia and its impact on our future selves really well. I don't want to say anything else about this one because it's just a really nicely told story about how the past affects the present, and how the present impacts how we see the past. Really nicely done.
WHAT WE CAN KNOW ABOUT THUNDERMAN - Five stars - First of all, this is not a short story. This is a novel, and it's a great one! What a ride! Moore basically deconstructs the history of the comic book industry and the pseudonominous major players in that game, shines a bright and unforgiving light, as well as makes a strong commentary about America and the not always positive influence of costumed characters.
AMERICAN LIGHT: AN APPRECIATION - Four stars - I'm a sucker for the Beat generation, having gone through an obsessive phase about them way back in high school, so this was a nice revisit to those times, and Alan really gets to flex his poetic muscles here in a powerful way. He brings to light a lot of the things that eventually turned me off of the Beats, and the structure of this one is just really fun.
AND AT THE LAST, JUST TO BE DONE WITH SILENCE - Four stars - The character voices in this one are both so strongly defined that even without a descriptive narrative to support the action, everything is clearly illuminated and easy to follow and sink into. I have to look up some of the names dropped to get the proper historical context, but even without having that this was a great story to read and could easily fit in with one of the stories in Voice of the Fire, or it at least felt like a nice revisiting with the mood of that collection.
eantczak's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
rajaxar1's review against another edition
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
jaydeereading's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
wayward's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
psey's review against another edition
Read the first story- Hypothetical Lizard. It’s well written but extremely dark, and I’m not sure how to feel about it’s treatment of the main trans character. Might come back later, because the writing style is engaging.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Child abuse, Rape, and Domestic abuse
haidan's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
alexfromatlanta's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5