Any of you guys given this a chance? I was pleasantly surprised, funniest thing I've read since Catch-22
>>7359290
>Robert Shearman (also credited as Rob Shearman; born 10 February 1970 near London, England) is an English television, radio, stage play and short story writer. He is known for his work for Doctor Who
yeah i dont think so
>>7359290
Dunno man, sounds like its gonna be whiny babies whining like babies.
>>7359503
The title. Anyone who calls themselves cynical and shy must be full of whine. Especially in love
>>7359290
Never heard of it. How is it funny?
>>7359290
can you say more?
>>7359592
It plays on the absurdist humour that I find often works in book form (considering the rarity of genuinely funny books). There is a large amount of black humour too which is much less my cup of tea but I know some people really take to it.
The short story format allows him to explore the elements of both forms in varying scenarios and, as often is with short story collections, convey a distinct emotional message at the end of each one.
>>7359550
It's a short story collection. The title is neither genuine nor representative of the works
>>7359503
Dismissing an author on the basis of their works is far from unreasonable and in any case has nothing to do with "ad hominem", fallacy man.
a must for any loyal Whovian! *holds up book*
>>7359688
That's also bad
>>7359683
Doesn't seem half bad, may actually read it.
It doesn't have any sci-fi elements does it? Or, are they all at least tongue in cheek?
>>7359697
On the basis of their works in another media, where you do not know the amount of creative control he had. Additionally, dismissing this book because of his other work was not the purpose of the thread; the purpose was to discuss it, because despite /lit/ reading very few non-canonical texts I was hopeful somebody might have
>>7359833
No sci-fi elements, though it dabbles in religion and the fantastic
>>7359800
Perhaps I didn't properly articulate myself, it is relevant in that many of the stories deal with love (one specifically with a love song), but being such an ambiguous they do not reiterate the same point unto death.
Additionally, the 'shy and cynical' aspect is very tongue in cheek - the first of the stories focuses on the devil. It is nowhere near as tumblr as you may expect
>>7359867
I dunno. The devil? Sounds pretty tumblr. And its all in lowercase and it comes off as tryhard imo
I think it's not for me
>>7359882
>the devil is tumblr
Fuck, has anybody told Dante, Milton and Marlowe? They'd disinherit their masterpieces immediately
All jokes aside, fair enough. Covers like that are very common from a design perspective these days though purely from aesthetics
>>7359290
oh hey nice to see Rob Shearman mentioned here. perhaps there is hope for this board after all. although perhaps not for some of the people commenting in this thread.
the book is good, op. Shearman is a great writer of twisted short stories. try "remember why you fear me" next.
>>7359910
Exactly. Writing about the devil in 2015 has a good chance at being terrible, rather than doing it say like master and margarita, where its used to do things like comment on party atheism and superstition. Or those guys you mentioned, who lived in a time where the discourse was dominated by theology.
Smacks of fedora/self-indulgent-teen-poet, kinsman
>>7360124
Religion, its interpretations and how we use deities is an endless topic. As it constantly evolves, the more there is to say upon it whether it is embrace, rejection, skepticism or manipulation.
Religion is almost intrinsic to human nature and I believe warrants discussion even in contemporary novels.
Shearman, through use of Lucifer, paints that picture of a systemic decline into obsession and addiction to the trivial when in search of escapism, irresistible to even a deity.
>>7360124
well aren't you the special snowflake who thinks everything is shit
>>7360124
welcome to bitter mediocrity, would you like some stagnant opinions and dwindling talent/youth to go with that?
>>7359290
I didn't find any links for the digital form. Anyone can help me with a copy?
>>7360292
Doesn't seem to exist as an ebook
>>7359882
>I dunno. The devil? Sounds pretty tumblr.
You sound pretty edgy 14.
