The Folger Variation

by Chris Kelso

The Folger Variation follows three interconnected lives throughout different strands of time. Featuring William Burroughs and Hubert Selby Jr!

120 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2013

About the author

Chris Kelso is an award-winning genre writer, editor, illustrator, and musician from Scotland. His work has been published widely across the UK, US and Canada.

Reviews

[Janie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a thoroughly satisfying journey through the mind of Chris Kelso, an author who defies genre and expectations. In these three stories, we are presented with the lowest of urban landscapes, which ooze with color, dimension and alien presences. Russian roulette, time travel, interspecies sex and the beat generation join hands in polychromatic sequences of surreality that are nevertheless grounded in hearts bloodied by trauma. Grab your photonic crystal gun and aim for the stars.

[Rodney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kelso continues to excite in an original and compelling way. For those of you who didn’t get a chance to read “Last Exit to Interzone” the first time around through Dynatox Ministries, it is incorporated into this novella length book and sits nicely amongst the other content. The characters and environments here are rich, both beautiful and ugly but also enjoyable. Look into this author if you have yet to read any of his work.

[Duncan Bradshaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book starts off in relative normality, then quickly goes down some very odd paths. Kelso is known for his bizarro work, and the last story in particular, paints a very odd, yet vivid canvas. If you fancy a quick read (120 pages, I blasted through it in two lunch breaks) and to have a wander around a very creative mind, give this a crack.

[Rodney · Rating 5 out of 5]

A​ ​fantastic​ ​short​, ​void​ ​of​ ​a​ ​wasted​ ​word​ ​and​ ​effective​ ​in​ ​it’s​ ​jest​ ​of​ ​a​ ​few​ ​famous​ ​authors.​ ​The​ ​flow was​ ​effortless​ ​and​ ​the​ ​overall​ ​effect​ ​gratifying.​ ​An​ ​imaginative​ ​success​ ​in​ ​a​ ​small​ ​package. Copy 49 of 50.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

You get a story of a fallen jazz musician who's become a legend at Russian roulette. Another story about Arthur Folger who has altered himself by using a time machine to find a stream where his girlfriend doesn't die in an explosion. Finally a story about a time detective who tries to help William Burroughs by seeking out another famous author, Hubert Selby Jr.

These are great stories. They have movement, strong sense of character and bizarre atmosphere. The jazz musician's heightened subjectivity as a result of his deadly sport sets the tone for a world where time is warped and full of sadness and beauty. The consequences of Folger's quest for a girlfriend-survives time stream knocked me over. What the time detective does to help out Burroughs is hilarious in a terrible way and completely unpredictable.

But it's not just the ideas that made these stories so enjoyable for me. It's the power of the writing. The Folger Variation and Other Lies has a musical quality while retaining narrative clarity across and within each story. On a deeper level it looks at the doors we walk through to escape reality or what we think of as reality and how much our sense of time shapes that feeling. So it's deep but also plain fun.

[Donald Armfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

No word of a lie... I could not put this book down. It may be a fast read but if you're into Time Travelers then Kelso shows how a time machine works.

Recommended Reading!

[Thomas Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

An utterly enthralling and riveting read. So it's science-fiction, but not as you know it. It is the story of three different men, all at different periods of time in history. There is time travel, and there are aliens. But there is also social commentary and an atypical anti-hero time agent in the shape of a gruff, middle-aged, balding Glaswegian with no morals. Chris Kelso has a very unique, very special style. I read this book in one very quick sitting, feeling the story first draw me in before its delicate fingers became gripping claws that just refused to let me go. I was enchanted by the stories and entranced by Kelso's prose. Above all else, I was entertained. More than an author whose career should be followed, Kelso is an author to be treasured.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kip Novikov is a "retired" Time Detective who spends his time drinking, getting high, and having sex with aliens when his girlfriend won't give him any love. After receiving an alert, Kip decides to travel through time to help out his friend William S. Burroughs, at the expense of Hubert Selby Jr. An interesting and bizarre drug fueled tale follows, though it does seem to end a bit abruptly. Let's hope there's a sequel to this one.

[Love Kölle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this novelette by author Chris Kelso, found it thoroughly entertaining all the way through. The story was "tight" in the sense that there were no dull parts and no excess junk that should have been cut out, and one thing that really stood out for me was the way Kelso handled narrative and structure. He obviously knows the art of dramaturgy, without making the story come off as a typical three act piece a la Hollywood: instead, structure is used the way it is intended, holding stuff together, keeping reader interest up and making the narrative flow organically and seamlessly.

Also, I liked the premise alot, Burroughs being one of my favourite authors/influences. I'm not a huge fan of Shelby, but that stems from not having read him, rather than dislike for his works and/or style as such. I also write SF, and enjoyed Kelso's depiction of the dystopia that was "The Cages" (the claustrophobic hell-hole that is future Glasgow in this book - think the scenes from "12 Monkeys" set in the future, crossbred with the drug addled underbelly of Alba in "Trainspotting").

Moving on to the stuff that "wasn't bad, but could've been done better": I was at times a little bit confused about the mechanism of time travel in the world of this story, never really understood how it worked. Was it like several, parallell presents? If Burroughs timeline got changed in the past, wasn't Kip the Time Detective, in fact moving between parallell universes, rather than back and forth through time? Granted, time travel stories are always hard to pull off so that they come out logical and free of plot holes and question marks, probably because time travel, as a concept, in itself is inherently illogical in many ways. I rarely care wheter or not stories or fantastic ideas in fiction are plausible or not - I mean, if we can agree on the fact that dragons, rayguns, ghosts etc are awesome, do we really need to nitpick on the physics?
No, my issue here is rather the fact that Kelso left to many details out of his story. At least some exposition would have been nice.

At times I also felt that Kelso "told" me stuff that he could have "shown" me, instead. My stance on the "show don't tell" rule of thumb is that it's a false dichotomy, as everything written is something being "told", in one sense or the other - nevertheless, some sections could have been dramatized a little bit more. Also, I wish that the editor/publisher would have put in page numbers. I mean, why not?

In conclusion, Chris Kelso should be proud. "Last exit to Interzone" might not be flawless, but it is in most respects a well-written, imaginative story that made me smile on more than on occasion. Already a skilled writer, young Chris Kelso has yet to reach his full potential, meaning that we have more to look forward to - it is my firm belief that the sky is the limit with this guy!

[Gary Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great read! Amazing, fun, well written and very enjoyable. Give this book a try. Chris Kelso is a writer to be noticed!