A WALKING TOUR OF THE SHAMBLES by Gene Wolfe & Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Randy Broecker. Woodstock, IL; American Fantasy; 2002. Publisher description: Just a little distance from Fairie, in Dark Chicago...is "The Shambles." Chicagoans don't ever mention it. You won't find it in Fodors. The Mayor will never award it "Best Neighborhood". But if you must go there— (We strongly recommend that you don't). But if you have no choice. . . Then you must carry, A WALKING TOUR OF THE SHAMBLES: Neil Gaiman's and Gene Wolfe's indispensible guide to the most mysterious and horrific neighborhood in Chicago. It may save your life. A WALKING TOUR OF THE SHAMBLES is an odd little book, in the best sense. In the tradition of Charles Addams or Edward Gorey, it's a light romp by two of fantasy's favorite authors. Neil Gaiman and Gene Wolfe take us on a house-by-house tour through a mythical neighborhood in Chicago, The Shambles. The Shambles is not quite the normal neighborhood. Its landmarks include a tree stump still smoldering from the great Chicago Fire in a deep underground cavern; H.H. Holmes' "real" house including the bars on the windows of his children's rooms, the maddening House of Clocks, and the Saunders Park Petting Zoo, where if you are bringing children, it's best not to bring your own. The Shambles is a place of hidden torments and wonders, and our authors are the perfect Tour Guides. Who better than Gene Wolfe, the author of Shadow of The Torturer and Neil Gaiman, the author of Neverwhere, to bring this hidden place to life? Three of America's finest artists of the macabre, join in to add to the mix. Gahan Wilson, America's reigning King of Terrors, is providing the cover illustration of our two authors strolling through the Shambles. Randy Broecker, artist for dozens of horror collections world-wide is illustrating the interior of the book, in his unique fashion, evoking the art of Wallace Smith and Harry Clarke. And Earl Geier, of Crypt of Cthulhu fame, provides three double-page spreads filled with his dark and disturbing vision of the folks living in the neighborhood. This little publication is Number 16 in a line of travel guides: "Little Walks For Sightseers." Fine. THIS COPY SIGNED BY BOTH AUTHORS & ILLUSTRATOR. OUT OF PRINT. |