Lewis Shiner: Rock and Roll Writer
I first discovered Lewis Shiner when I was at my local library looking through the science fiction stacks for some escapist reading to take me away from my own writer’s fatigue. As I was going through the books I saw the title Glimpses that was an intriguing enough title that I pulled the book out. It had a gold cover and a swirl of faces one of which looked like Jim Morrison, another Jimi Hendrix. The unreconstructed hippie in me grabbed the book and I read the blurbs, which are easy enough to score, I went to the synopsis, Ray Shackelford an alcoholic stereo repairman whose marriage is crumbling finds himself in the past to help rock stars Brian Wilson, Jimi Hendrix, and Jim Morrison finish their uncompleted albums that would have changed the world or something like that. SOLD! Time travel with rock legends Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix! I checked it out, literally.
I read Glimpses and found it to be a page turner and as Ray Shackleford is drawn into Brian Wilson’s family I was drawn into the book. Jim Morrison plays Virgil to Shackleford as he guides him through the rock and roll circles as Ray tries to heal the issues in his life. There was a lot of well researched rock and roll facts and trivia with a plot to tie it all together. For two or three years after first reading Glimpses I reread it and each time found something new in the writing, something that very rarely happens to me.
The next Shiner title I ran across was a few years later, Say Goodbye: The Laurie Moss Story. It is a rock and roll Sunset Boulevard or Citizen Kane in that the story starts at the end and works its way back through events that brought us to that climatic moment. It was another compelling read for it was obvious Shiner knew the rock and roll lifestyle and knew how to tell a story, and just like before on subsequent readings more layers were revealed.
With the coming of the new century, so did my getting a computer. I tested out search engines to see what information I could about Shiner, it had been a while since the publication of his last book. I found older titles of his Frontera, Deserted Cities of the Heart, and Slam. I learned that Shiner was known as one of the early cyber-punk writers. I also learned that he had written for The Twilight Zone Magazine in the 70’s which really freaked me out because I had read that magazine cover to cover as a teenager until the magazine went under. I must have read his stories before, but never placed his name! On the internet it was easier to keep up with his new publications such as Black and White, Collected Stories, and most recently Heroes and Villains, all of which had an allure for me and I wasn’t disappointed by his writing.
A couple of days ago Shiner announced that Subterranean Press is going to publish his new novel Outside the Gates of Eden which he describes as his magnum opus. Not much else is known except that it will be a rock and roll novel set in the 60’s, that much was gleaned from a blurb by George R.R. Martin.
“OUTSIDE THE GATES OF EDEN is a powerful piece of work. Shiner writes about music, and the making of music, better than anyone I know. He gets across the tremendous excitement of the early days of rock and roll, the peace movement, Woodstock and the Summer of Love — but also the heartbreak of failure, betrayal, and loss. The prose is terrific, and the sense of time and place is first rate. A brilliant requiem for our generation and all our dreams.”
— George R. R. Martin, author of A GAME OF THRONES
Subterranean Press and Shiner are still working out the details of the release so for the moment a release date is unknown. You can check Shiner’s Facebook page or website for details as they become available.
I’ve written a couple other articles on not widely known authors Weldon Kees and Walter Tevis.