Comments on: Next I’m Going to Ask for a Pony

By: Dan Blum

Dan Blum — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 22:02:43 +0000

Huh. Looking back on what I think is the sole source of information on the book (this interview), I guess Hughart does not actually say it's a Master Li book, although the implication is there. Of course, if it doesn't exist, that's it regardless. Thanks for checking.

By: William Schafer

William Schafer — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 14:37:19 +0000

I’ve chatted with Barry, and DANCING GIRL was not a Master Li novel, and there is no longer a copy in existence.

Best,

Bill
http://www.subterraneanpress.com

By: StevenLP

StevenLP — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 17:16:50 +0000

I’ll be buying the Subterranean omnibus: I have the UK hardbacks, but they’re pretty cheap productions – the paper’s turning brown!

Hopefully they’ll also inspire someone to reissue Ernest Bramah’s Kai Lung books in nice, long lasting hardback editions – they are a very big influence on Hughart e.g. (after a quick visit to Wikipedia for some quotes):

“Kai Lung rose guardedly to his feet, with many gestures of polite assurance and having bowed several times to indicate his pacific nature, he stood in an attitude of deferential admiration. At this display the elder and less attractive of the maidens fled, uttering loud and continuous cries of apprehension in order to conceal the direction of her flight.”

“After secretly observing the unstudied grace of her movements, the most celebrated picture-maker of the province burned the implements of his craft, and began life anew as a trainer of performing elephants.”

“It is a mark of insincerity of purpose to spend one’s time in looking for the sacred Emperor in low-class teashops.”

“It has been said there are few situations in life that cannot be honourably settled, and without loss of time, either by suicide, a bag of gold or by thrusting a despised antagonist over the edge of a precipice on a dark night.”

Hughart is the better storyteller: you’re carried along by the plot – with Bramah it’s like going from cage to cage in a zoo, what’s in each cage is usually very interesting, but you feel you can break off at any time and do something else without wondering what was in the next cage (and sometimes the going between the cages gets a bit heavy). Quote for quote Bramah is the funnier of the two, but Hughart the better read.

By: Robert Hutchinson

Robert Hutchinson — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 03:41:42 +0000

I bought and read a rather dilapidated used paperback of Bridge of Birds a couple of years ago. So, holy heck yes, I just put down money for this preorder. I felt some real concern that this preorder might “fill up” rather quickly–although I suppose that would probably justify expanding the print run.

But anyway, new Hughart omnibus, wooooo.

By: John Scalzi

John Scalzi — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 01:59:38 +0000

AnotherDave:

They’re hosted here because I pay for 3TB of bandwidth a month, and because Subterranean asked me to.

By: AnotherDave

AnotherDave — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 01:26:20 +0000

Oh, and here’s the free Stross:

http://subterraneanpress.com/index.php/magazine/winter-2008/audio-trunk-and-disorderly-by-charles-stross/

By: AnotherDave

AnotherDave — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 01:25:43 +0000

I just surfed over to Subterranean Press, publisher of the new Hughart volume, to get the free MP3 files of Charlie Stross’s “Trunk and Disorderly” only to notice the MP3 files are hosted on scalzi.com. What’s up with that?

By: Dane

Dane — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 22:22:45 +0000

I read Story of the Stone… I never read anything else by this author. I didn’t even know who you were talking about until you mentioned Master Li and Number Ten Ox. Awesome story…a sordid trip to hell and what-not but a great story masterfully told.

By: Kelly McCullough

Kelly McCullough — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:49:47 +0000

Thanks for this. I have multiple copies of the originals (I grab it used whenever I see it to give away to friends) and the omnibus edition. Hughart is one my favorite writers. I will now dutifully get in line for the new version, and hope that the renewed interest gives Hughart some cause to consider starting the series up again.

By: Gary Thompson

Gary Thompson — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:17:15 +0000

Dancing Girl is the fourth book in the series, allegedly completed for years. The story goes that after the way his publishers treated him with Eight Skilled Gentlemen (publishing the hardcover and trade simultaneously), Mr. Hughart gave up on the business entirely. But in order to keep making a few bucks (at the publishing business’ expense!), he came up with the following scheme, worthy of Master Li himself:

1) Write a sequel (Dancing Girl)
2) Find a publisher soon to go through a buyout
3) Sell the rights
4) Wait for the fallout from the buyout (new editors, new management, new everything)
5) New editor goes through and cancels the contracts on all the midlisters from the old imprint, reverting rights back to Mr. Hughart
6) Goto 2

He has claimed to have done this several times. Though, I must say, it’s Barry Hughart we’re talking about here. His writing certainly implies a…casual relationship with the truth.