Shriek: An Afterword Paperback – July 10, 2007

Amazing. Hallucinatory, surreal, frightening, yet also packed with complex characterization and genuine emotion. Readers who enjoyed visiting the fungus-shrouded city of Ambergris in _City of Saints and Madmen_ will be spellbound by this engaging story of love and loss and the impermanence of all human endeavor.Initially conceived as an afterword to the "The Hoegbotton Guide to the Early History of Ambergris" by Duncan Shriek (which is reprinted in _City of Saints and Madmen_) the story becomes a personal memoir told in a rambling, almost stream-of-consciousness manner by Janice Shriek, Duncan's older sister. With casual disregard for chronological order, she tells of their childhood, Duncan's education and the beginning of his career as a historian as well as her own tumultuous life as an art-gallery owner and notorious libertine - as well as her bouts of depression, the spectacle of her brother being gradually changed (in strange ways) by his obsession with the mysterious "gray caps" and his unreasoning love for rival historian Mary Sabond. She recounts the gruesome war between two merchant clans vying for control of the city, and its horrifying climax on the night of the annual Festival of the Freshwater Squid. The story is interrupted and commented upon throughout by Duncan himself in parenthetical asides (he having apparently found the manuscript sometime after Janice finished writing it) so the siblings end up telling the story together.The "gray caps" (a race of mushroom-people who originally inhabited Ambergris but were driven underground by the first human settlers) are a sinister presence in the background, discussed more than actually seen. They seem to be up to no good, planning something perhaps ... having read _Finch_ first, I already know what it is, but I don't think this foreknowledge really diminished my enjoyment of _Shriek_. Each book adds something to the Ambergris mythos, and they all refer to each other, so I don't think they must necessarily be read in any specific order.Even as disjointed as it is, this book is more coherent than _City of Saints and Madmen_ but less so than _Finch_. It has some action and a bit of suspense but it is definitely the least viscerally exciting of the three. But so much more emotional! I don't usually like books that dwell overmuch on "feelings" but this one had enough weirdness in it to keep me fascinated. I also jumped out of my seat at the mention of an event I recall from the strange case of X in _City of Saints and Madmen_ and which, based on evidence in that book AND this one, must be a recursive time-paradox. Just another of VanderMeer's devious tricks??Anyway, GREAT book; I highly recommend it for fans of dark fantasy and the "New Weird." I think HP Lovecraft would have been very, very impressed.

Quite different from the first book in the series. The biographical nature of the story telling tells a consistent-ish narrative rather than the scattered short stories of the first book. In the first book Ambergris was a immutable mysterious monster, any changes that affected the whole of the city were part of the cities history and so less real. The book spans a long time period and has persistent characters from whose perspective we experience the city is changeable and vulnerable.The short stories nature of the first book made me sympathize with the setting. This second book made me fear for the setting. The author knew where I'd hide my emotional investment and set a trap for it or maybe things just worked out that way.Get ready to feel some arrogance, anger, fear, loss and joyful nostalgia (BDD).

Once more we are in Ambergris. Siblings Janice and Duncan Shriek are the prime movers of this tale of above- and below- ground unreality. The book does not ever resolve fact from fiction - or whether either term has meaning in this constructed world. But, the book is about the cracks in reality.Readers of VanderMeer are well aware that he cannot use fifty words instead of three times that many to describe anything. There were many times when I suffered a whiplash from 'haven't I already read that paragraph?'. Sure enough, I had (almost) many times. But, that is the method of telling this story; linear has a slightly less than real meaning, too.The author is inventive, clever and witty. The story is a mixture of genres, so rather than trying to categorize it, I'll just file it under 'different'. This is not a good starting place for VanderMeer. I'd recommend starting with 'City of Saints & Madmen".

While 'Shriek: An Afterward' is fully capable of standing on it's own, it is technically a sequel to VanderMeer's fantastic 'City Of Saints And Madmen'. While 'City' was somewhat a documentary of the city of Ambergris (including a section dedicated to a book called 'The Hoegbottom Guide To Ambergris' by Duncan Shriek), 'Shriek' is a biography of historian and writer Duncan Shriek as told by his sister Janice Shriek.I first read this book as soon as it was first published, but for some reason failed to review it. Intending to finally review it, I picked it up and read it again. You know that a book is exceptional when you enjoy it just as much the second time around. I still recommend reading 'City Of Saints And Madmen' first, then dive full on into 'Shriek'.'Shriek: An Afterward' is a manuscript by Janice Shriek that documents the life and career of historian Duncan Shriek, her brother. Rather than a tale OF the city of Ambergris, Janice tells us what it's like to live in the city; to walk it's streets and be a part of the very pulse of it's inhabitants.Duncan and Janice's father, also a historian, died when they were quite young, affecting both children very deeply. Duncan grows up to become a historian and writer, just like his father, and Janice, like her mother, becomes interested in the arts. Their careers wax and wan repeatedly through this account of their lifetimes. Duncan's fixation with underground Ambergris and the mystical fungal beings called Gray Caps that inhabit those dark spaces. Even when confronted with the Gray Caps during the annual, and extremely violent, Festival Of The Freshwater Squid, inhabitants of Ambergris turn a blind eye to the strange creatures and wallow in denial of them. Duncan refuses to accept their denial, and spends a lifetime attempting to open the eyes of Ambergris.War breaks out in Ambergris, instigated by two powerful publishing companies: Hoegbottom & Sons in Ambergris and Frankwrithe & Lewden in nearby Morrow. At the climax of the war comes not only the Kalif from the northern isles with his soldiers to interfere, but also the Festival to heighten the violence that already shakes the very foundation of the city.Janice makes many references to an ancient tome written by a man named Samuel Tonsure, who not only wrote an account of the underground city but disappeared into it, never to return. (Tonsure's work is also used in 'City Of Saints And Madmen') Duncan explores the underground extensively, but does not come away untouched. He finds a cybernetic machine in the depth of the underground that sends him teetering on the edge of sanity, and develops a "fungal disease" whose purpose seems to be turning him into a fungus or mushroom. Janice's account includes Duncan showing up at her apartment, where she spends an evening scraping mushrooms from her brother's skin.This lifetime account of the Shriek's, written by Janice and liberally sprinkled with notes later added by Duncan himself, is a fascinating journey into a mysterious city that, should there be a way to travel there, I would certainly go. The novel is thick with detailed information of the lives of the Shriek's and the history of Ambergris. It's hard to believe that VanderMeer could fully flesh out not just the Shriek's but all their acquaintances, friends, foes, and lovers so well using the format of a manuscript - but it works, and is exceptionally well-written. While not fast-paced, 'Shriek' is nonetheless a book I couldn't put down; I simply became too involved with the players that I wanted to continue reading through the night, to not let go of their hopes and dreams, achievements and failures. In other words, I wanted to stay with them. The tale is very absorbing, and creepy at times. The descriptions of Duncan's fungal "disease" and of the infestation of fungi and spores throughout Ambergris often had me running to the sink to scrub my hands.I can't get enough of Jeff VanderMeer's writing; he's one of the most exceptional writers of our time and shouldn't be overlooked. Remember to pick up 'City Of Saints And Madmen' and 'Veniss Underground' by VanderMeer (two of my favorite books). I'm looking forward to reading VanderMeer's newest novel, Finch. Run, don't walk, to pick up this book. Ten Stars. Enjoy!

Shriek: an afterword, is another excellent book by Jeff Vandermeer. As a fan of SFF I can easily say it's like nothing I've read before. This is a rewarding novel and it is well worth delving into the city of Ambergris and the story of the Shrieks.

Nicht der übliche Einheitskram, erinnert ein wenig an Mieville. Interessante Erzählperspektive, die ich so noch nirgendwo gelesen habe. Fünf Sterne höchst verdient