Author peter straub was born in milwaukee, wisconsin in 1943. When i first read him back in the 80s, i thought his books were cool. Ranging from the caribbean to vietnam to the american midwest and spanning decades of tumultuous history, these books a. Last january, bob pastorella and i started a retrospective of peter straubs most important work that would sprawl over the entire year. Floating dragon by peter straub in chm, fb3, rtf download ebook. Floating dragon is to it as ghost story is to salems lot. X marks his return to the field that made him famous. All books, links to which are on the site, located on the public sites not affiliated with us to which our website does not have any relation. His prose style is above average hence the two stars but his plots are ridiculous, full of sharkjumping plot holes, and his characters are caricatures or cliches or both. But id say that if he did not, floating dragon might well have represented a different sort of thing for him. Peter straub is probably my favourite author, but its a strange relationship. As an ancient, paranormal thing awakens to again wreak havoc on an accursed town, an equally horrid nerve gas escapes and infects the population of said town. Normally peter straub has a distinct style from stephen king, but in the case of floating dragon, i feel peter straub outdoes stehpen king in a stephen king like novel. I hadnt previously read straub and was earnestly excited at digging into the legacy of such an iconic author.
A thriller mass market paperback august 5, 2003 by peter straub author. An american icon renowned for his bestselling novels, peter straub displays his full and stunning range in this crowning collection. See all books authored by peter straub, including the talisman, and black house, and more on. He worked with thomas tessier who was a poem writer and produced two poet books, ishamel and open air. In 1979 peter straub wrote ghost story, arguably the greatest modern horror novel. The majority of the style seemed to be a cold, almost screenplay like succession of snapshots, often cutting between one scene or another, dropping allusions or promising revelations but never quite settling down. X, in the night room, and two collaborations with stephen king, the talisman and black house. That and the similarities ive mentioned makes them fun books to compare, sidebyside. The author has described this book as an exuberant valentine to the horror genre and to fans who had devoured his supernaturalthemed novels up to that point, but also acknowledges. Floating dragon by peter straub 1983, hardcover for sale. They were vietnam vetsa doctor, a lawyer, a working stiff, and a writer. Peter straubs blue rose trilogy koko, mystery, and the throat is one of the landmark accomplishments of modern popular fiction. His horror fiction has received numerous literary honors such as the bram stoker award, world fantasy award, and international horror guild award. Jul 04, 2011 this is a great novel by peter straub though my favorites are ghost story, shadowland and koko.
A lot of other commenters have discussed the plot pretty accurately, if anyone in this thread reads it, just remember the seeming chaos of the events is. Floating dragon floating dragon peter straub the berkley publishing group published by the penguin group penguin group usa inc. Peter straubs an unquestionably accomplished writer, and, at times, even a prose stylist. The novels chief liability is its stale characters. Our cheap used books come with free delivery in the uk. Floating dragon one of the few books ive read more than once. Floating dragon, published in 1983, was to be his final horror novel for a long time till the 1999 return to the genre with mr x. Some books grab you from the first word, many writers start with something compelling or shocking just for that purpose. Peter straub is the new york timesbestselling author of more than a dozen novels. I good story that takes you to the heart of a small town gone crazy. The hideous unstoppable creation of mans power gone mad. Victor temkin, the lively soul then president of berkley books, recommended westport, connecticut for the excellence of its school system and its proximity to new. A classic tale of supernatural horror from the acclaimed author of koko, the talisman and mr x.
It might theoretically be a coincidence, but on page 30 of floating dragon. Floating dragon by peter straub, revisited this is. Floating dragon was, at the time, straub s last foray into supernatural horror mr. Our cheap used books come with free delivery in the us. Peter straub i s the author of seventeen novels, which have been translated into more than twenty languages. Peter straub books list of books by author peter straub. We were so out of touch with american realities that to us cape cod, long island, and connecticuts fairfield county seemed within a hour or two drive of each other and more or less identical. A government experiment goes awry and a deadly gas is released over the affluent suburb of hampstead, connecticut. Jul 10, 2015 where to start with the works of peter straub. Below is a list of peter straubs books in order of when they were originally released. Peter straub a classic tale of supernatural horror from the acclaimed author of koko, the talisman and mr x.
After the success of ghost story and shadowland, peter straub wanted to try his strenght in tales that do not involve anything supernatural. Buy a cheap copy of floating dragon book by peter straub. Im probably a fourbookaweek guy, and i like reading the same books over. Floating dragon 2003 read online free book by peter straub. By the time i finally got around to reading floating dragon by peter straub, the. Floating dragon was the first straub novel that i read. Bestselling author peter straubs koko is a gripping psychological thriller in which horror and paranoia are indistinguishable from reality. After ten years in dublin and london, my wife and i moved back to the united states with our our twoyearold son in the summer of 1979. He has written two volumes of poetry and two collections of short fiction. He taught english at his former high school for three years and worked for a time on his doctorate in ireland. Floating dragon is a typical example of straubs talents and thematic concerns, a long novel filled with ghostly or perhaps not ghostly doings.
Within this crazed, hyperbolic, fatally excessive monstrosity, a horror novel which proved too much even for horrors undemanding and starstruck readership, there exists the teasing little ghost of a tale about the intersection of an industrial accident and an accursed village. Floating dragon is a whole other feel from ghost story more violence, gore, and mayhem. Floating dragon is a horror novel by american writer peter straub, originally published by underwoodmiller in november 1982 and g. The salesman wanted him to become an athlete, the nurse thought he would do well as either a doctor or a lutheran minister, but all he wanted to do was to learn to read. Floating dragon 2003 read online free book by peter.
Observer the terrors afflicting the sleepy town of hampstead, connecticut, were beyond. Floating dragon by peter straub 2003, paperback for sale. Floating dragon does offer some tender pages toward the end, if you have the stomach to read that far. How can they release a title with the same name that is nothing like the book. He began writing in 1969 and published two books of poetry in 1972. This is a great novel by peter straub though my favorites are ghost story, shadowland and koko. After three years, peter straub discreetly went to dublin, ireland in 1969 to pursue a phd so that he could take writing as an important profession. I must say that i was horrified but not at all surprised to learn that peter had virtually committed artistic suicide halfway through the book he purchased a word processor. He earned degrees in english from the university of wisconsin and columbia university. Anything by straub is worth several thousand john sauls and a million v.
Set during the spring and summer of 1980, the novel deals with events that befall the affluent suburb of hampstead, connecticut. Straubs next novel was the talisman, his first collaboration with king. Floating dragon is an incredible book, one of my favorites. Electronic versions of the books were found automatically and may be incorrect wrong. Some of his books are annual mustreads for me, while there are others ive never finished. Praise for peter straub and floating dragon here is a novel guaranteed to double the national nightmare quotient, so watch out. Peter straub has the same themes and characters he repeats from book to book. Peter straub was born in milwaukee, wisconsin on 2 march, 1943, the first of three sons of a salesman and a nurse. Like many another genre novelist who hasnt been able to come up with a fresh twist, occulthorrorman straub has instead thrown a little bit of everything into this massive mess of a book. Floating dragon racks you with suspense straub is a master at having whole communities rocked by the forces of. Peter straub made his debut as a published author in 1972 with the poetry collection ishmael.
Meanwhile, the decendants of the towns original founders return tohampstead for the firts time in over 100 years, igniting a firestorm of events that are the continuation of an ongoing curse. In the night room and lost boy, lost girl were winners of the bram stoker award, as was his collection 5 stories. Floating dragon peter straub read online free books. And it made me think that peter straub was probably just like stephen king. After reading king for years and only king floating dragon was a revelatory experience. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read floating dragon. Buy floating dragon by peter straub, in very good condition. Im so disappointed and feel completely scammed 11 people found this helpful. Floating dragon by peter straub the truth inside the lie. If you want to get at the heart of that peter straub thing, his novel floating dragon is a one way ticket. Thenceforth, he processed words instead of writing them.
The difference being that kings novel followed straubs in this case, the commonality being that he did it better than straub as before. Its obviously a long novel the reader knows that going in but i also found it to be overstuffed. Peter straub is a literate, intelligent man, who has raised the standards of the horror genre by his involvement with it. Straub admits he was experimenting with style in floating dragon, and unfortunately for me, as the book began the experiment did not pay off. The combination of dark fantasy elements and outright horror were new to me and i. The quiet suburban town of hampstead is threatened by two horrors. When i read it the first time i was very young and i just didnt absorb some of the nuances but having read it now i got so much more out of the story. A monumental collection of short fiction from acclaimed master of horror and new york times bestselling author peter straub peter straub brilliantly defies and blurs literary genres. Straub is a master at having whole communities rocked by the forces of wickedness. His prose reads more like that of henry james than the pulp fiction hacks too often associated with horror stories.
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