After a college professor steered me to them years ago, I've been in love with small presses and some of the doesn't-exactly-fit-the-mold literature you can find there. This has been amplified lately since many of the small press sites offer books for download. I travel a lot and being able to have a novel or two on my laptop really helps pass the time without adding to my carry load.
Recently a friend recommended a little gem of a site called Wild Shore Press (www.wildshorepress.com). I downloaded two of their offerings, which I highly recommend:
The Ganymeade Protocol by Don Elwell.
This is a near-future pirate novel, for want of a better term. Fleeing an America devolved by greed and religious fanaticism (not too far off the mark from where I'm sitting ) and denied access to other countries, a passle of refugees winds up creating an endlessly circling fleet of small vessels, which in turn becomes its own nation. The book bounces back and forth between the present fleet of ships, dealing with the effects of climate change and politics, and the imaginary history of "the Fleet", reaching back into the 18th century with some surprisingly accurate historical research. All of the characters are eccentrics: gay couples, writers, witches, artists, and the author--whom I've since discovered is a playwright of some standing and apparently equal eccentricity--has a real gift for dialogue. The whole world created is really compelling and engrossing.
The Girl Who Tried to Catch The Man by R J Thomas
This one was fun, and very funny. The novel takes place entirely at the Burning Man Festival in Nevada, which, if you don't know of it, is huge and pretty wild. Arranged in short vignettes, the novel traces the personal transformation of a suicidal author as his personal preoccupations get blown away by the general weirdness of the Burning Man and its attendees.
I found both these short novels really enjoyable and find myself going back again and again to reread sections. Both are available as paperback or as download and I highly recommend them. Would love to hear what others think of them.
Wild Shore Press is an interesting little site, with a short list of wildly varied offerings, including serial downloads, play anthologies, and some wierd cultural artifacts. Check it out.
Anyone else have small press sites they can recommend?
