I had the great opportunity to pick the brain of Portland-based writer Charles Austin Muir, author of the short story collections Bodybuilding Spider Rangers and This is a Horror Book. Click here for my review of This is a Horror Book ZÉ BURNS: When did you start writing? CHARLES MUIR: I started writing when I … Continue reading Author Interview: Charles Austin Muir
Author: Zé Burns
Book Review: THIS IS A HORROR BOOK
Rating: 8/10 Reading Charles Austin Muir’s collection is like watching ten movies at the same time yet understanding every word spoken. His writing abounds in film references. These are his secret, his genius, though a little shocking at first. Once you acclimate, they can be more vivid than any metaphor. He possesses a unique voice. … Continue reading Book Review: THIS IS A HORROR BOOK
Book Review: FORTUNE BOX
Tower Ltd. Surprise Packages is sending out parcels with very peculiar contents. Each story in this collection by British bizarro author Madeleine Swann is the tale of a different package. Despite different protagonists in each, it reads like a novel. Each package contains a lesson for the recipient, parables almost, on many of humankind’s weaknesses. … Continue reading Book Review: FORTUNE BOX
Books As A Drug
Or why I bought 81 Dragonlance novels In his lifetime, Sir Philip Thomas (1792-1872) acquired over 160,000 books and manuscripts, draining his substantial inheritance in the process and reducing his family to poverty. Philip had what is now known as bibliomania (literally “book madness”), the extreme preoccupation with collecting books and a symptom of obsessive-compulsive … Continue reading Books As A Drug
A Snapshot of SNAP
A Look at My Latest Novel My least favorite question in the world: “What is your novel about?” I realize people are being friendly and interested and I should feel flattered, but it irks me to no end. Compacting 70,000 words into a few sentences is helpful when courting a publisher, but my succinct, rehearsed … Continue reading A Snapshot of SNAP
My 5 Favorite (Bizarre) Books 2018
I’ve read a lot of good fiction this year. In the process, I set a new record for books finished, at 76 so far (mostly because I read more novellas this year rather than any diligence on my part). The books below were my favorites. They all happen to lie on the spectrum of bizarreness. … Continue reading My 5 Favorite (Bizarre) Books 2018
Book Review: HE DIGS A HOLE
Danger Slater’s He Digs a Hole makes you say: “Wow!” “What?” and “Haha!” all at once, producing a weird “Whawoha?!” noise when reading. This slim volume (only 135 pages) captured my attention on page 1 and held on firmly to the last word, becoming one of my favorite books this year. It is the story … Continue reading Book Review: HE DIGS A HOLE
Living in a Dream
Or, Why I Love the Bizarre "I believe in the future resolution of ... dream and reality, which are seemingly so contradictory, into a kind of absolute reality, a surreality, if one may so speak." -André Breton, Manifestos of Surrealism As I was planning this blog, someone on Twitter asked me why I found bizarre … Continue reading Living in a Dream
Who is Zé Burns?
To write a blog you have to have something to say or at least think you do. I probably belong to the latter category; nonetheless, here I am. I think the best way to start off is to let you know who I am and what I plan to do here. On this corner of … Continue reading Who is Zé Burns?
Zé Burns | Blog 