Luminarium

It seems fitting that Alex Shakar would open his novel, Luminarium, with an invitation. Not your garden variety party invitation, mind you. Something a bit more oblique, less straightforward. But an invitation nonetheless. Picture yourself stepping into a small, cuboid room. In the center squats an......more

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.) So before anything else, let me caution my fellow New Weird fans that Chicagoan Alex Shakar's Luminarium is......more

Not sure why I only liked, but not loved Luminarium. The concept was certainly novel. Fusing obviously well-researched neurosciences information with magical realism, we are told the story of one Fred Brounian, doing his best to keep his twin brother George, currently in a coma, alive, while living......more

Doubt is pervasive. So we delude ourselves into certainty. Am I good at my job? Yes, you just got a raise and your performance evaluation was fine. But how does that person know? They've got experience in the field. If someone else had done it, how would I have done? Fine; there are standards to be u......more

I love a big book that just unfolds and unfolds and I can lose myself in it. Luminarium is one of those books that I kept looking up and saying 'God this is great." A mind-altering sparkle-shelled football helmet descends on an ex-dotcom golden boy whose twin brother (the true genius) lies in a NYC......more