Monday, December 24, 2007

Psycho Shop by Alfred Bester and Roger Zelazny

First sentence:

"I was looking around desperately when my boss, Jerry Egan, poked his head into my office and in his soft Virginia voice asked, 'May I come in, Alf?'"


Description:

"The Black Place of the Soul-Changer was doing business in Rome six centuries before Christ. It will probably be there on the last day of the cosmos. You might call it a pawnshop, but its sign has three gold infinity symbols instead of the usual balls, and its Latin motto, Res Ullus, translates as "anything." This is the Psychoshop, where you can dump any unwanted aspect of your spirit as long as you exchange it for something else — arcane knowledge, a change of luck, or a sixth sense. Just remember: All sales are final.

In this genuinely mind-boggling novel, two of the most unfettered talents in speculative fiction envision a commercial establishment that attracts customers from Edgar Allan Poe to a sorcerer intent on fabricating the Beast of Revelations. Brimming with wit and imaginative bravado, scandalously sexy, and fabulously strange, Psychoshop is the first-ever collaboration between two winners of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Grandmaster Award."

My thoughts:

Quirky and a bit funny at times, this book reminded me of Twilight Zone episodes "Wong's Lost and Found Emporium" and "The Mind of Simon Foster." I liked the interactions between Glory, Alf, Adam and the patrons - especially the one whose vocal inflections inspired Beethoven to compose his fifth symphony.

Date read: 12/23/2007
Book #: 111
Rating: 3* = good
Genre: SF

ISBN-10: 0679767827
ISBN-13: 9780679767824
Publisher: Vintage Books
Year: 1998
# of Pages: 207
Binding: Trade Paperback
LibraryThing Page

No comments: