PS Publishing has collected four of Matthew Hughes’s short novels into a nice paperback edition called Forays of a Fat Man. The fat man in question is Luff Imbry, a master thief, forger, and confidence man who resides in a faux-Dying Earth future similar to Jack Vance’s Old Earth. Each of the adventures in this book take Luff Imbry to exotic locales and sinister dangers. I own the original editions of these stories, but they are now out-of-print and very expensive. This paperback edition deserves to be enjoyed by fans of Hughes and Vance. Quartet and Triptych involves a living maze with deadly protectors. The Yellow Cabochan presents Luff Imbry with an opportunity to secure a fortune (you can read my review here.) Check out my reviews of Of Whimsies and Noubles here, and Epiphanies here. Entertaining and fun! GRADE: B+ (for all four stories)
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction — vii
Quartet and Triptych — 3
The Yellow Cabochan — 79
Of Whimsies and Noubles — 151
Epiphanies — 221
I’m a big fan of Hughes and have read all of his Vance type stories and novels. He now has out a historical novel called What the Wind Brings which looks interesting.
Steve, the latest issue of LOCUS has a very positive review of WHAT THE WIND BRINGS. I have it on order.
I like short novels and I liked the one or two collections of Hughes that I read, so this is a definite possibility.
Jeff, you would enjoy FORAYS OF A FAT MAN. I think an e-book version is available.
What’s with the weird page you get when you click on either of your two links, asking for a username and password. WHAT username and password? This is just weird.
Michael, I have no idea what is going on with the WORDPRESS links. The work fine on my end. I’ll work on fixing the problem. UPDATE: I think I’ve fixed the problem with the links.
Looks like fun!
Patti, FORAYS OF A FAT MAN is fun! I’m always interested in the cleverness of master thieves. But, of course, something goes wrong for them…
For anyone who’s interested, the openings of What the Wind Brings and A God in Chains are available for a free read on the Curious Fictions site, along with a number of my shorter pieces.
https://curiousfictions.com/authors/271-matthew-hughes
Matthew, thanks for that information! I loved the review of WHAT THE WIND BRINGS in LOCUS! And, I can’t wait to read it!
Thanks, George. Let me know — or the world — what you think of it.
Matthew, I’ve read just about every book you’ve written and loved them all, especially your faux-Jack Vance stories. I have high hopes for WHAT THE WIND BRINGS!
George:
I’m perhaps not the most objective judge, but I think it’s the best writing I’ve ever done. My magnum opus, as I’ve been wont to say.
Cheers,
Matt
Matthew, while I’m looking forward to reading WHAT THE WIND BRINGS! I’m really looking forward to your continuation of Jack Vance’s THE DEMON PRINCES series!
George: I’ve sent it to John Vance. We may have an announcement soon.
Cheers,
Matt