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Visions of the Mutant Rain Forest
The Mutant Rain Forest is nature's revenge upon man's despoliation.
Robert Frazier and Bruce Boston, SFPA’s first two Grandmaster Poets, created and began exploring the Mutant Rain Forest in the late 1980s with both collaborative and solo works.
Since that time, stories and/or poems set in the Mutant Rain Forest have appeared in Omni, Asimov’s SF Magazine, Amazing Stories, Weird Tales, Daily Science Fiction, Strange Horizons, Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror (St. Martin’s), Year’s Best Horror (DAW), The Rhysling Anthology, and many other publications.
In the mutant rain forest it’s adapt or be redacted.
Their collaborative poem “Return to the Mutant Rain Forest” received first place in the 2006 Locus Poll for All-Time Favorite Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror Poem. Visions of the Mutant Rain Forest collects the best stories and poems from this world: two novelettes, four short stories, two flash fictions (nearly 40,000 words of fiction), and 38 poems, including two stories and five poems appearing here for the first time.
Maggot to fly. Tadpole to poison frog. Man to abomination.
Includes the following short stories:
• Cruising Through Blueland
• Holos at an Exhibition of the Mutant Rain Forest
• The Tale Within
• A Trader on the Border of the Mutant Rain Forest
• Going Green in the Mutant Rain Forest
• Descent into Eden
• Aerial Reconnaissance of a Conflagration…
• Surrounded by the Mutant Rain Forest
• And a lot of poems!
Proudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing – Tales from the Darkest Depths
________________________________________
Interview with the authors:
Q: What makes this collection so special?
Bruce Boston: “Visions of the Mutant Rain Forest was written by the first two Grandmasters of the Science Fiction Poetry Association. It was more than twenty-years in the making.”
Q: How did you two come up with the idea for this science fiction epic?
Robert Frazier: “In the mid-eighties, Bruce asked me for a story for Berkeley Poets Cooperative. I sent him a cautionary tale of a mutated creature from the waters of the Amazon. He liked the milieu: mutation and the jungle. I had previously explored their collision in two poems for Asimov’s SF and Amazing Stories, but Bruce insisted there were rich poetic possibilities still to be mined. Soon we were trading stanzas to ‘Return to the Mutant Rain Forest,’ which proved to have considerable legs, and, more importantly, became the kick-start to a growing series.”
________________________________________
Visions of the Mutant Rain Forest eBook categories:
• Post apocalyptic science fiction horror
• Science Fiction Adventure
• Alien Contact Science Fiction
• Metaphysical Horror Suspense
• Poetry and short story collection
• Dark Fantasy Horror
• Alien Invasion Adventure
• Dystopian US Horror Fiction
• Science fiction poetry
• Metaphysical Science Fiction Horror
• Horror Short stories
Robert Frazier and Bruce Boston, SFPA’s first two Grandmaster Poets, created and began exploring the Mutant Rain Forest in the late 1980s with both collaborative and solo works.
Since that time, stories and/or poems set in the Mutant Rain Forest have appeared in Omni, Asimov’s SF Magazine, Amazing Stories, Weird Tales, Daily Science Fiction, Strange Horizons, Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror (St. Martin’s), Year’s Best Horror (DAW), The Rhysling Anthology, and many other publications.
In the mutant rain forest it’s adapt or be redacted.
Their collaborative poem “Return to the Mutant Rain Forest” received first place in the 2006 Locus Poll for All-Time Favorite Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror Poem. Visions of the Mutant Rain Forest collects the best stories and poems from this world: two novelettes, four short stories, two flash fictions (nearly 40,000 words of fiction), and 38 poems, including two stories and five poems appearing here for the first time.
Maggot to fly. Tadpole to poison frog. Man to abomination.
Includes the following short stories:
• Cruising Through Blueland
• Holos at an Exhibition of the Mutant Rain Forest
• The Tale Within
• A Trader on the Border of the Mutant Rain Forest
• Going Green in the Mutant Rain Forest
• Descent into Eden
• Aerial Reconnaissance of a Conflagration…
• Surrounded by the Mutant Rain Forest
• And a lot of poems!
Proudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing – Tales from the Darkest Depths
________________________________________
Interview with the authors:
Q: What makes this collection so special?
Bruce Boston: “Visions of the Mutant Rain Forest was written by the first two Grandmasters of the Science Fiction Poetry Association. It was more than twenty-years in the making.”
Q: How did you two come up with the idea for this science fiction epic?
Robert Frazier: “In the mid-eighties, Bruce asked me for a story for Berkeley Poets Cooperative. I sent him a cautionary tale of a mutated creature from the waters of the Amazon. He liked the milieu: mutation and the jungle. I had previously explored their collision in two poems for Asimov’s SF and Amazing Stories, but Bruce insisted there were rich poetic possibilities still to be mined. Soon we were trading stanzas to ‘Return to the Mutant Rain Forest,’ which proved to have considerable legs, and, more importantly, became the kick-start to a growing series.”
________________________________________
Visions of the Mutant Rain Forest eBook categories:
• Post apocalyptic science fiction horror
• Science Fiction Adventure
• Alien Contact Science Fiction
• Metaphysical Horror Suspense
• Poetry and short story collection
• Dark Fantasy Horror
• Alien Invasion Adventure
• Dystopian US Horror Fiction
• Science fiction poetry
• Metaphysical Science Fiction Horror
• Horror Short stories
199 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 9, 2017
4 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
Bruce Boston
347 books114 followersI've published more than sixty books and chapbooks, including the novels Stained Glass Rain and the best-of fiction collection Masque of Dreams. My work ranges from broad humor to literary surrealism, with many stops along the way for science fiction, fantasy, and horror. My novel The Guardener's Tale (Sam's Dot, 2007) was a Bram Stoker Award Finailist and a Prometheus Award Nominee. My stories and poems have appeared in hundreds of publications, including Asimov's SF Magazine, Amazing Stories, Weird Tales, Strange Horizons, Realms of Fantasy, Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, and The Nebula Awards Showcase, and received a number of awards, most notably, a Pushcart Prize, the Bram Stoker Award, the Asimov's Readers' Award, the Rhysling Award, and the Grand Master Award of the Science Fiction Poetry Association. For more information, please visit my website at http://www.bruceboston.com/
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 25, 2017
In an undefined future, the rain forest has taken on a grotesquely beautiful life. It and everything in it mutates wildly, incessantly. The only laws governing the changes appear to be chaos and rage. Some humans survive at the jungle’s ever hungry and expanding frontier; their existence is precarious. The people who live within the forest itself are no longer human. Perhaps they are more, perhaps less. The cities fight back with flame and chemical warfare. The forest attacks with spores and vines and strange beasts. In the end, everything succumbs.
In this thick and meaty work, the reader will find poems, flash fiction, and even a few longer stories. Many of these have appeared in other publications but there are also a number of new pieces. Boston and Frazier appear to have been writing of the mutant rain forest for quite a few years, and I’m glad to see this material collected together in one place by Crystal Lake Publishing. It certainly heightens and reinforces the impact of the individual pieces.
I’m very familiar with Bruce Boston’s work, less so with that of Robert Frazier. However, I thought the vision of these two writers meshed wonderfully throughout the collection. As I started reading, I was paying attention to which particular author did what. I soon stopped concerning myself with that as I got further immersed in the world. It didn’t matter any longer.
The greatest strengths here are word play, imagery, and resonance. Maybe word ‘play’ isn’t quite the right term, for the language is serious. Word “work” might be better. Others have remarked on the imagery as apocalyptic and hallucinatory. I concur. But there’s a bit more. The imagery is itself insidious—not in a negative sense but in the sense of entrapping and beguiling. It’s almost as if the spores of the mutant rain forest wash over you with every page you turn. You wonder if they might take root on your skin. What might be born from such a symbiosis? And there you have the resonance.
In this thick and meaty work, the reader will find poems, flash fiction, and even a few longer stories. Many of these have appeared in other publications but there are also a number of new pieces. Boston and Frazier appear to have been writing of the mutant rain forest for quite a few years, and I’m glad to see this material collected together in one place by Crystal Lake Publishing. It certainly heightens and reinforces the impact of the individual pieces.
I’m very familiar with Bruce Boston’s work, less so with that of Robert Frazier. However, I thought the vision of these two writers meshed wonderfully throughout the collection. As I started reading, I was paying attention to which particular author did what. I soon stopped concerning myself with that as I got further immersed in the world. It didn’t matter any longer.
The greatest strengths here are word play, imagery, and resonance. Maybe word ‘play’ isn’t quite the right term, for the language is serious. Word “work” might be better. Others have remarked on the imagery as apocalyptic and hallucinatory. I concur. But there’s a bit more. The imagery is itself insidious—not in a negative sense but in the sense of entrapping and beguiling. It’s almost as if the spores of the mutant rain forest wash over you with every page you turn. You wonder if they might take root on your skin. What might be born from such a symbiosis? And there you have the resonance.
February 7, 2017
An incredible book (I had a preview of it last year). Highly imaginative and unforgettable imagery --chilling, to think of how the effects of pollution in the aftermath of civilization's sprawl --Ma Nature exacts a frightening, inexorable revenge (or response --depending on how you want to look at it!)
December 31, 2017
I really enjoyed that pioneering way to tell about a surreal world, an apocalyptic vision magically materialized both in prose and poetry.
I explored with poets' voices (beautyfully merged) a tropical, mysterious world, changed by Nature, went back to its wild life and, at the same time, transformed in a gargantuan Mother of new kind of life, forming an unexpected mutant future.
Highly recommended.
I explored with poets' voices (beautyfully merged) a tropical, mysterious world, changed by Nature, went back to its wild life and, at the same time, transformed in a gargantuan Mother of new kind of life, forming an unexpected mutant future.
Highly recommended.
February 10, 2017
It's rare I find an idea in science fiction lit I haven't seen elsewhere. I'm not saying I've read everything, but I do read quite a bit.
This book was therefore a double surprise.
The concept of the mutant rain forest, with its plethora of new lifeforms, and putting together a book of prose and poetry around it, made for an intriguing, and at times disturbing, read.
Well-written, imaginative, and definitely worth a read.
This book was therefore a double surprise.
The concept of the mutant rain forest, with its plethora of new lifeforms, and putting together a book of prose and poetry around it, made for an intriguing, and at times disturbing, read.
Well-written, imaginative, and definitely worth a read.
February 15, 2017
Having been an avid reader of science fiction since I was a child, and having a soft spot for shared worlds, I have no idea how the Mutant Rain Forest eluded me. I am, however, very glad to have found it.
The mix of prose and poetry works well. Civilization gone corrupt and controlling and militarized, upended by strange mutating life forms that grow and spread and consume--given our current worries over the effects of climate change, this collection is practically a warning. The depictions of the changed flora and fauna are particularly good, at times Lovecraftian, but also reminding me a good deal of Clark Ashton Smith's dark fantasies. Vivid, disturbing, and all too real.
The mix of prose and poetry works well. Civilization gone corrupt and controlling and militarized, upended by strange mutating life forms that grow and spread and consume--given our current worries over the effects of climate change, this collection is practically a warning. The depictions of the changed flora and fauna are particularly good, at times Lovecraftian, but also reminding me a good deal of Clark Ashton Smith's dark fantasies. Vivid, disturbing, and all too real.
February 10, 2017
For many years I was an avid science-fiction reader, doing my best to keep abreast of the field and stay familiar with the cream of the crop. Yet, I never encountered the Mutant Rain Forest, and so escaped it’s alluring tendrils. Now, after wandering inside and becoming lost in VISIONS OF THE MUTANT RAIN FOREST, I find myself entwined in the enchantment.
Still, I have managed to untangle myself long enough to write this review and warmly welcome new travelers to the wonders of bedazzling descriptions and captivating characteristics that encompass a continent-wide swath of rain forest out of control and on the warpath. Apparently occurring in some unspecified future, the rain forests of South America have adjusted and adapted to civilization’s assaults on the environment, linked up and gone on a territorial campaign to engulf the entire continent.
Authors and SFPA Grandmaster Poets Robert Frazier and Bruce Boston created the Mutant Rain Forest together and have explored it since the late 1980s in poems and stories, both collaborative and solo works. Their collaborative poem “Return to the Mutant Rain Forest” was named the All-Time Favorite Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror Poem in a 2006 Locus magazine reader survey.
VISIONS OF THE MUTANT RAIN FOREST collects eight stories and thirty-nine poems and verse, and is interspersed with a smattering of black and white illustrations. Two of the stories are original to this collection, as well as five new poems.
Rather than a linked narrative, the book reads more like a tropical travelogue. Yet, the descriptive passages contain such vivid images that glossy photographs could never do justice to them. The rain forest is simply too vast in length, width and depth that not even a panoramic lens could accurately picture its’ grandeur.
From necrophida moths and Kongii sloths to blue deundes and shadow monkeys the rain forest is awash in mutated lifeforms. Dispersed within the green foliage continually growing and spreading everywhere live neon toucans, diablo fantasmas, and howler monkeys. The gargantua trees grow as tall as skyscrapers and Jaguar men live in tree villages in the uppermost reaches. Large sentient termites communicate through a hive intelligence and have the ability to come together and form man-like shapes. Having the flora and fauna delineated through poetic verse allows them to manifest within the reader’s memory bank.
You won’t soon forget the images.
Rather than provide a map or an outline of who, when, where, why and how this transformation happened, authors Frazier and Boston leave us to find the pieces of revelation strewn throughout the poems. Most revealing are the poems “Prelude”, “Three Evocations of the Mutant Rain Forest”, “The Rain That Falls in the Mutant Rain Forest”, and “The Reach of the Mutant Rain Forest”.
Most disturbing is “The Death of a Dome City” which could serve as an end piece in it’s telling of the last outpost choked off by the surrounding forest.
The short stories are all memorable and chilling. Among the best are “Holos At An Exhibition of the Mutant Rain Forest”(a holographer searching the forest for a cat-like humanoid), “Going Green in the Mutant Rain Forest” (being absorbed by a tree), “Cruising Through Blueland” (rebels battle a high tech army in a restricted zone of war games), and “The Tale Within” (a jungle guide is more than meets the eye). We were especially impressed by “Surrounded by the Mutant Rain Forest” (a tale of love and transformation).
There are enough elements of science fiction, fantasy and horror within VISIONS OF THE MUTANT RAIN FOREST to satisfy all readers of these genres.
DISCLOSURE: A free digital copy was provided by the publisher with the hope of an unbiased, honest review.
Still, I have managed to untangle myself long enough to write this review and warmly welcome new travelers to the wonders of bedazzling descriptions and captivating characteristics that encompass a continent-wide swath of rain forest out of control and on the warpath. Apparently occurring in some unspecified future, the rain forests of South America have adjusted and adapted to civilization’s assaults on the environment, linked up and gone on a territorial campaign to engulf the entire continent.
Authors and SFPA Grandmaster Poets Robert Frazier and Bruce Boston created the Mutant Rain Forest together and have explored it since the late 1980s in poems and stories, both collaborative and solo works. Their collaborative poem “Return to the Mutant Rain Forest” was named the All-Time Favorite Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror Poem in a 2006 Locus magazine reader survey.
VISIONS OF THE MUTANT RAIN FOREST collects eight stories and thirty-nine poems and verse, and is interspersed with a smattering of black and white illustrations. Two of the stories are original to this collection, as well as five new poems.
Rather than a linked narrative, the book reads more like a tropical travelogue. Yet, the descriptive passages contain such vivid images that glossy photographs could never do justice to them. The rain forest is simply too vast in length, width and depth that not even a panoramic lens could accurately picture its’ grandeur.
From necrophida moths and Kongii sloths to blue deundes and shadow monkeys the rain forest is awash in mutated lifeforms. Dispersed within the green foliage continually growing and spreading everywhere live neon toucans, diablo fantasmas, and howler monkeys. The gargantua trees grow as tall as skyscrapers and Jaguar men live in tree villages in the uppermost reaches. Large sentient termites communicate through a hive intelligence and have the ability to come together and form man-like shapes. Having the flora and fauna delineated through poetic verse allows them to manifest within the reader’s memory bank.
You won’t soon forget the images.
Rather than provide a map or an outline of who, when, where, why and how this transformation happened, authors Frazier and Boston leave us to find the pieces of revelation strewn throughout the poems. Most revealing are the poems “Prelude”, “Three Evocations of the Mutant Rain Forest”, “The Rain That Falls in the Mutant Rain Forest”, and “The Reach of the Mutant Rain Forest”.
Most disturbing is “The Death of a Dome City” which could serve as an end piece in it’s telling of the last outpost choked off by the surrounding forest.
The short stories are all memorable and chilling. Among the best are “Holos At An Exhibition of the Mutant Rain Forest”(a holographer searching the forest for a cat-like humanoid), “Going Green in the Mutant Rain Forest” (being absorbed by a tree), “Cruising Through Blueland” (rebels battle a high tech army in a restricted zone of war games), and “The Tale Within” (a jungle guide is more than meets the eye). We were especially impressed by “Surrounded by the Mutant Rain Forest” (a tale of love and transformation).
There are enough elements of science fiction, fantasy and horror within VISIONS OF THE MUTANT RAIN FOREST to satisfy all readers of these genres.
DISCLOSURE: A free digital copy was provided by the publisher with the hope of an unbiased, honest review.
February 8, 2017
The first story in this collection, "Cruising Through Blueland", is probably the strongest. Jeri Cristobel enlists the help of a drug dealer to find his brother who's been kidnapped by a paramilitary organization known as the Blueboys. The Blueboys have the technology to give themselves super speed and super strength, as well as control the weather and trick people with holograms. Their leader is a woman who can force any man to love her using pheromones. They're a formidable villain indeed, so I was disappointed when they didn't show up in any of the subsequent stories in this collection. It would have been great to have a story from the point of view of one of the Blueboys, but they inexplicably disappear after the first story.
The world building in this first story is strong. It really gives you the feeling there's more going on that we aren't shown happening just around the edges. In a flashback, we're told of how Jeri and his brothers got revenge on a rapist priest by using candiru, a fish that lodges itself in your urethra. This is a suitable punishment for a rapist, since the only way to get rid of them is castration.
Another strong story is "Holos at an Exhibition of the Mutant Rain Forest" in which holograph photographer Genna encounters mutated animals and other fearsome things during an expedition through the rain forest. Each section starts with a description of one of her photos that foreshadows what's about to happen. Like Jeri in the first story, she too encounters a woman she finds irresistibly attractive, but for a different reason.
We also get some more stories about photographers and biologists going on expeditions into the Mutant Rain Forest where they encounter mutant animals, plants, fungi, and even mutant bacteria. In this world, people, animals, plants, fungi, and even the forest itself can all merge with each other.
There's a couple stories which are so short, they might as well have been poems. Speaking of which, I wasn't too impressed with the poetry. The only poem in this collection I liked was the sonnet "A Cautionary Note to Travelers Through the Mutant Rain Forest" which reminded me a bit of Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky.
The necrophida moths grow huge as planes,
and feast on corpses hung in cauls of moss.
The kongii sloths will make the treetops toss
to shape unearthly music from the rains.
Overall, though, I didn't find the poetry very poetic. Most of it might as well have been prose: "The vast seasonal fall of rains/upon the Mutant Rain Forest/shapes a recurring climate cycle,/a self-contained vortex that deposits/moisture deep into its cloud banks."
I personally found this collection a bit hit or miss overall, but there were a few highlights.
The world building in this first story is strong. It really gives you the feeling there's more going on that we aren't shown happening just around the edges. In a flashback, we're told of how Jeri and his brothers got revenge on a rapist priest by using candiru, a fish that lodges itself in your urethra. This is a suitable punishment for a rapist, since the only way to get rid of them is castration.
Another strong story is "Holos at an Exhibition of the Mutant Rain Forest" in which holograph photographer Genna encounters mutated animals and other fearsome things during an expedition through the rain forest. Each section starts with a description of one of her photos that foreshadows what's about to happen. Like Jeri in the first story, she too encounters a woman she finds irresistibly attractive, but for a different reason.
We also get some more stories about photographers and biologists going on expeditions into the Mutant Rain Forest where they encounter mutant animals, plants, fungi, and even mutant bacteria. In this world, people, animals, plants, fungi, and even the forest itself can all merge with each other.
There's a couple stories which are so short, they might as well have been poems. Speaking of which, I wasn't too impressed with the poetry. The only poem in this collection I liked was the sonnet "A Cautionary Note to Travelers Through the Mutant Rain Forest" which reminded me a bit of Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky.
The necrophida moths grow huge as planes,
and feast on corpses hung in cauls of moss.
The kongii sloths will make the treetops toss
to shape unearthly music from the rains.
Overall, though, I didn't find the poetry very poetic. Most of it might as well have been prose: "The vast seasonal fall of rains/upon the Mutant Rain Forest/shapes a recurring climate cycle,/a self-contained vortex that deposits/moisture deep into its cloud banks."
I personally found this collection a bit hit or miss overall, but there were a few highlights.
March 15, 2017
A collection that spans nearly thirty years of collaboration, Visions of the Mutant Rain Forest brings to life the creation of Frazier and Boston through vivid prose and poetic description. We are lured into the verdant surroundings of their world like so many of their protagonists, seeking an answer to the question of how much pain can we inflict on our living, breathing planet before Mother Nature protects itself. Both authors prove themselves to be entertaining storytellers and it is a testament to their longstanding and fruitful collaboration that the individual style of one complements the other to produce a fully-formed and utterly compelling world seemingly of one mind.
To read the full review, head over to This Is Horror
To read the full review, head over to This Is Horror
February 9, 2017
I'm usually leary of what kind of science fiction I read but this book was amazing.Robert Frazier and Bruce Boston did a great job of showing us what could be if we don't pay attention to Mother Nature. The artwork is fantastic.
Great book. Grab a copy!
I requested this book from the publisher and this in no way affected my review.
Great book. Grab a copy!
I requested this book from the publisher and this in no way affected my review.
March 10, 2021
An imaginative walk and vision touring the Mutant Rain Forest. Most of these poems really opened my mind’s eye and dropped me somewhere in the forest. Where at other parts I felt lost in the forest calling for a savior. Boston and Frazier collaborate nicely in this collection.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews