The Dream of Perpetual Motion
A Novel

For fans of the literary fantastic, I can't recommend this book highly enough. Just beware: it is both VERY literary and VERY fantastical. By that, I mean the writing and structure of the story is subtle and complex, sometimes with a dreamy feeling and bits that the reader has to think about to full......more

It can’t be un-read. Dexter Palmer’s _The Dream of Perpetual Motion_ promised, on the back cover, to be “beautifully written, stunningly imagined, and wickedly funny… a heartfelt meditation on the place of love in a world dominated by technology,” not to mention “gorgeously surreal… exhilarating......more

This is really not my kind of book at all and yet I found myself weirdly drawn into it. There are so many things happening here, a steampunk alternate universe, a speculative riff on The Tempest, a series of monologues, a satire of art and capitalism. It shouldn't be as cohesive as it is, but once y......more

I’ve been putting off reviewing The Dream of Perpetual Motion for a few days. Honestly, it is because I don’t know if I can do Dexter Palmer’s work of art justice. But, since the really nice marketing people over at St. Martin’s Press sent me a copy of this book, I feel that I probably should give i......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.) As I've mentioned here before, one of my favorites of all the new subgenres to emerge in the arts in the e......more