⇒ Download Gratis The Last Coin James P Blaylock 9780441470754 Books

The Last Coin James P Blaylock 9780441470754 Books

Download As PDF : The Last Coin James P Blaylock 9780441470754 Books

The Last Coin James P Blaylock 9780441470754 Books

The evil Jules Pennyman is out to collect 30 ancient silver coins, each one a magical talisman, paid to Judas to betray his Master two millenia ago. The last coin lies somewhere in Southern California, and Andrew Bergen, a foolish, but likeable loser is its unwitting caretaker.
In this unlikely setting, Blaylock unfolds a realist-fantasy of subtle humor and adventures that don't quite cross over the border into farce. Populated with such delightful obscurities of American culture as Wheetabix (used to be Ruskets, no sugar added, got mushy real fast) cereal and a Nash Metropolitan, the novel delights as much with trivial backdrops as with plot and character.
The plot unfolds as a competition between the court jester (Bergen) and the evil magus (Pennyman). Thinking himself a great schemer, Bergen's innocence keeps getting him into misadventures that slowly advance and unfold the plot. Pennyman, meanwhile, acts directly, and with Knowledge. Although he sees through Bergen, cannot fathom his behavior, and therein lies the possibility of saving the world.
Quirky. Adventurous. More fun than a barrel full of hobbits. A must read unless your fantasy just =HAS= to be populated with dragons, orcs, and the like. ...


Tags : The Last Coin [James P. Blaylock] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. An evil man strives for immortality by collecting the thirty pieces of silver that once belonged to Judas but somehow ended up in California,James P. Blaylock,The Last Coin,Ace,0441470750,Fantasy - General,Science fiction.,AMERICAN SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY,Fantasy,Fiction,Fiction Fantasy Contemporary,Fiction Fantasy General,Fiction General,General Adult,MASS MARKET,Modern fiction,Science fiction

The Last Coin James P Blaylock 9780441470754 Books Reviews

This has to be some of the most fun I've had reading a fantasy novel in a long time. Like his peer Tim Powers, Blaylock is more concerned with taking bizarre events and contrasting them with his equally bizarre yet oddly lovable cast, with everything taking place against a backdrop of complete normality. He lacks some of the lyrical prowess of Powers (who is highly recommended for anyone who likes Blaylock) but easily makes up for it with memorable characters, Andrew had to be one of the more strikingly defined people to come out of fiction in the last ten years and he'll make you laugh at him and root for me all at the same time, perhaps because we can all identify with him just a little. And Pennyman is a totally ruthless villain, completely charming but with a black heart indeed. The book centers mostly around the bumbling dance between Pennyman and Andrew, who isn't quite sure until nearly the end just what he's going up against or what the stakes really are, but the supporting cast is equally brilliant and all loopy in a fun way. This is a great introduction to the nutty world of Blaylock and almost certain enjoyment for anyone tired of the fantasy worlds of elves and multi-volume world shattering quests.
I'm sorry but I'm not able to give this a very favorable review. The story had some interesting aspects and was sort of exciting at the end but there seemed to me to be a number of areas in which the storyline just didn't make sense, as well as some peculiarities of language that made the writing difficult to relate to.

When I began the book, I assumed from the style of the language that it must have been written in the early 20th century, or at least was by a British author. One example that comes to mind is saying that something doesn't "signify" - meaning that it doesn't mean anything. All in all the writing is too formal and stuffy to fit in with modern literature, to my taste.

A more fatal flaw is Blaylock's dialogue. The story was written in the late 80's - not that long ago - and the main characters are a bunch of Orange County, California, folks living near the beach. The vocabulary that Blaylock uses for them, though, is completely mismatched, making them sound like characters out of Wodehouse.

Examples

Wife to husband "Why are you in the tree, dear?" These are youngish people, maybe in their late 30's or early 40's. Have you ever heard a young SoCal woman call her husband (assuming they're actually married) "dear?" This dialogue is written like 1940's or 50's.

His answer "There's been some sort of funny business." SoCal dude??? Nope. Ward Cleaver. Compare this stilted language with "Something's messed up here" or "There's some weird shit going on."

Same guy a little later "I rather thought we might slip something into the Herald [a newspaper]..." Can you see two surfer dudes saying "I rather thought the surf was a bit dodgy today, eh what?"

All in all it's very difficult to relate to the characters because of their anachronistic speech and one can only wonder what the hell Blaylock was thinking. Maybe he hasn't been out among real Southern Californians for 50 years.

There were some fundamental problems with the story itself. Judas Iscariot and his helpers are trying to keep anyone from amassing the 30 silver coins. Why not just find them and destroy them? Melt them down. Pop them into a volcano. Instead they "hide" them, toss them into the ocean hoping no one will find them and yet knowing that the coins have a way of getting found. And then they have to spend 2000 years tracking them down and rescattering them, even though the last rescattering did no good. This is the foundation of the story but the whole drama could have been avoided if they had just melted them down.

Similarly, Pennyman can find new coins because the ones he has are drawn to the remaining coins. But given this, why couldn't he find the spoon coin that was right there in the same house with him?

For me there were just too many holes in the plot and elements that didn't make sense. And the "humor?" Well, there were a few places that were a bit humorous but the feeling is that of someone with no sense of humor trying to tell some humorous anecdotes - all the while sounding like someone's Victorian butler.
This is a funny, thoughtful, poetic and deeply engaging book. If you don't get it the first read, like me, read it again, and you will realize what the author is trying to evoke and how well he succeeds. I have read this book at least a couple of hundred times. Like Betteredge had his Robinson Crusoe, I have The Last Coin.
This book is not a page turner, quite the opposite, but you can't stop reading because there are cool twists of phrase throughout and if you put it down you'll miss one. If you like streadmofconsciousness you will love this book. You just need to relax and sit back.
This is one of my favorite books of all time. I think of it as a pair of fuzzy slippers. I put it on, and I escape into a funny and dangerous world.
The evil Jules Pennyman is out to collect 30 ancient silver coins, each one a magical talisman, paid to Judas to betray his Master two millenia ago. The last coin lies somewhere in Southern California, and Andrew Bergen, a foolish, but likeable loser is its unwitting caretaker.
In this unlikely setting, Blaylock unfolds a realist-fantasy of subtle humor and adventures that don't quite cross over the border into farce. Populated with such delightful obscurities of American culture as Wheetabix (used to be Ruskets, no sugar added, got mushy real fast) cereal and a Nash Metropolitan, the novel delights as much with trivial backdrops as with plot and character.
The plot unfolds as a competition between the court jester (Bergen) and the evil magus (Pennyman). Thinking himself a great schemer, Bergen's innocence keeps getting him into misadventures that slowly advance and unfold the plot. Pennyman, meanwhile, acts directly, and with Knowledge. Although he sees through Bergen, cannot fathom his behavior, and therein lies the possibility of saving the world.
Quirky. Adventurous. More fun than a barrel full of hobbits. A must read unless your fantasy just =HAS= to be populated with dragons, orcs, and the like. ...