[UA] Mundanity

[Stuart Anderson]

John C wrote:

> >Also, for an extremely weird and twisted take upon the story of Roanoke,
> check out a story called "Croatan" in Harlan Ellison's _Strange Wine_.  I'm
> not 100% certain of the title of that particular story, but every single
> story in the book is worth reading.  "From A to Z In the Chocolate Alphabet"
> is my favorite -- it's a collection of short snippets and story ideas.

    After grade school, Ellison's story was the first thing I'd gotton ahold of.
It's great.
"Croatoan" is the exact name of the short story. Since there's so many comix
fans on the list, "The Chocolate Alphabet" is also a comic, illustrated by Larry
Todd. And if want a spin on a very, weird, very chilling kind of avatar, read
"Jeffty is Five." I don't remember which collection it's in. I'd encourage you
to read them all to find it. Or if you have plenty of time and a functioning
turntable, there's an album available of Ellison reading the story that'll tear
your guts out.
    After some youthful hero worship, and the resulting disillusionment the
first couple times I met him, I have evaluated and reevaluated this guy's body
of work, and find it to be outstanding. Some's a little dated; some's just crap.
But the dude can write. And he's got the right kind of head for UA. I've used
ideas from "Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes" and "Shatterday" in my last couple UA
games.
--Stu


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