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The Jizmatic Trilogy +

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"The Jizmatic Trilogy +" (plus) is an annotated edition of "The Jizmatic Trilogy," a collection of three short stories: "Under the Moons of Jizma," "The Gods of Jizma," and "Secret Master of Jizma." These are adventure tales in the style of a century past (circa 1912) but with strange currents of later eras. Each of the three is about eight thousand words: the total length is that of a short novella.
The annotations are footnotes. There is also a chart at the end and a bibliography.

"Under the Moons of Jizma" first appeared in the magazine Interzone 110 in 1996, beginning the strange mash-up tale of Edgar Rice Burroughs and William S. Burroughs upon a Martian landscape. Only now can the rest of the tale be told!

"Under the Moons of Jizma" is legally available for free on the internet, and it is included in this collection along with the two sequels ("The Gods of Jizma" and "Secret Master of Jizma") published here for the first time. Curious readers are encouraged to find and read the free version, then come back for more.

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction says of Michael Andre-Driussi's fiction: "his Parodies of what might be called pulp Scientific Romance idioms are exact and arousing." That should prove true for this outing as well, except that this is less parody and more homage.

"The Jizmatic Trilogy" is in the same, er, tradition as Philip Jose Farmer's "The Jungle Rot Kid on the Nod" (1970), which asked, "What if William S. Burroughs wrote Tarzan?" This experiment probes "What if Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote Naked Lunch, set on Mars?"

110 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 30, 2018

16 people are currently reading
2273 people want to read

About the author

Michael Andre-Driussi

42 books103 followers

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5 stars
14 (26%)
4 stars
14 (26%)
3 stars
11 (21%)
2 stars
7 (13%)
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6 (11%)
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
6,211 reviews80 followers
October 18, 2018
I won this book in a goodreads drawing.

A pastiche or possibly a parody of Edgar Rice Burroughs and Otis Adelbert Kline's work about other planets. A friend of Teddy Roosevelt's goes into the jungle, looking for an ingredient to put in a soda. He finds his way to Mars, and meets a queen, men of many colors, and a lot of trouble.

Doesn't always make sense.
Profile Image for  Cookie M..
1,440 reviews161 followers
April 25, 2019
Yes, that word in the title means just what your middle schooler brain thinks it does.

This is a trio of short stories tied together by the author's love for the writing of Edgar Rice Burroughs, and an inability to leave well enough alone.
Anytime you have to resort to 145 footnotes to read three short stories you are wasting your time.
I stopped after the first chapter. I think I will re-read the Lensmen series instead.

I received this book free from Goodreads in exchange for an honest review. I am being honest and not reviewing it.
Profile Image for Kara.
305 reviews14 followers
May 24, 2023
I received this book in a giveaway from goodreads.
My actual star score is 3.25.
If you have read Edgar Rice Burroughs, you may find this book semi familiar or perhaps the Disney movie John Carter. But if you loved them, you might find this book kind of a ripoff story.
Since I haven't read any of the stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs, I'm not sure how much of the storyline will fit into what he wrote.
The story starts out with a relative of William Lee finding pages that are handwritten, so he attempts to put them into chronological order and then publishes them as the storied life of William Lee.
I found the first part of it quite good, and it held my attention. But then it jumps back and forth, and it didn't make sense to me when it does this. Places change, and people change. William is coming back to Earth from Mars, then attempts to get back. After he does, it just gets weird, especially when he knows that the woman he's in love with is Cleopatra, and he has to get back to Mars by finding where her body was buried in Egypt.
Are they the same people when he gets back? What's with all the very strange drug addiction and alcohol use places to really do with the story? Then, the last few chapters, at that point, I was lost.
That was where I started to question the entire story and was why my star score dropped low.
Profile Image for Hikes in Rain.
132 reviews5 followers
July 2, 2019
I received this book free from Goodreads in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a series of three shortish stories, exploring what might have happened if William S. Burroughs wrote Edgar Rice Burroughs' Martian series. I've read all the ERB Martian series books, and am families with them. I'm much less familiar with WSB's works, which I think hampered my appreciation, understanding and enjoyment of these stories. Fortunately, the "annotated" reference means that there are a LOT of footnotes, 145 of them I think, to tie the two bodies of work together.

The stories are written in the same version of English books written back in the 1930's used. It always take a bit of reading to adjust my thought patterns to that. Usually, after a couple of pages, I read it as though it were in today's version. It may have been the footnote referencing, or the unfamiliarity of half the body of work utilized, but I never quite made that adjustment with these stories. I did enjoy them, but not as much as I felt I ought to have.

I understand the first story is free to download, and in my opinion is the better of the three. I would suggest reading that one first, for free, to see if you like it. Then, if you did and want to explore it further, get this book.
Profile Image for Candra Hodge.
820 reviews6 followers
January 17, 2024
confusing

The concept of this book sounded very good so I entered the giveaway to win it. I was intrigued as I started reading because it seemed like the story started in the middle and I was hoping everything would be explained in the end. I was disappointed that not only was everything not explained, as the book went on, it became harder to understand what was the point of the story in the book. At the end of the book, I am still uncertain.
I won this book through a goodreads.com giveaway.
905 reviews9 followers
November 30, 2018
I won this ebook in a Goodreads Giveaway. It reads like a '30's pulp magazine serial. It follows a man who tarvels fantastically between Mars and earth and his adventures on Mars. The real attraction for my copy was the annotated references to ideas from other authors, most notably Edgar Rice Burroughs. Give it a read if you are interested in early Sf and jthrillers.
341 reviews
May 3, 2020
A Wonderful book. Well written with good characters and a good plot.
Profile Image for Roxy.
113 reviews8 followers
June 26, 2023
Interesting, unique read. A great adventure.
67 reviews2 followers
February 24, 2019
It's ok

I won this book in a GoodReads giveaway.

While I like Edgar Rice Burroughs, I'm not a fan of William S. So the writing leaves me a bit flat at times. Definitely not a fan of the cut up techniques, though in general the story has legs...
Profile Image for Barred Owl Books.
399 reviews8 followers
October 22, 2018
"The Jizmatic Trilogy" is a collection of three short stories: "Under the Moons of Jizma," "The Gods of Jizma," and "Secret Master of Jizma." These are adventure tales in the style of a century past (circa 1912) but with strange currents of later eras. Each of the three is about eight thousand words: the total length is that of a short novella.

"Under the Moons of Jizma" first appeared in the magazine Interzone 110 in 1996, beginning the strange mash-up tale of Edgar Rice Burroughs and William S. Burroughs upon a Martian landscape. Only now can the rest of the tale be told!

"Under the Moons of Jizma" is legally available for free on the internet, and it is included in this collection along with the two sequels ("The Gods of Jizma" and "Secret Master of Jizma") published here for the first time. Curious readers are encouraged to find and read the free version, then come back for more.

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction says of Michael Andre-Driussi's fiction: "his Parodies of what might be called pulp Scientific Romance idioms are exact and arousing." That should prove true for this outing as well, except that this is less parody and more homage.

"The Jizmatic Trilogy" is in the same, er, tradition as Philip Jose Farmer's "The Jungle Rot Kid on the Nod" (1970), which asked, "What if William S. Burroughs wrote Tarzan?" This experiment probes "What if Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote Naked Lunch, set on Mars?"
Profile Image for Brittany Hayes.
86 reviews5 followers
October 26, 2018
I won this in a Goodreads giveaway drawing.

In a word, the story is disjointed. It reads like the confusing and incomplete planning stages of a story-to-be rather than a completed story. It was a fun little read, but I'm glad I didn't pay for it.
393 reviews5 followers
September 3, 2023
Reading this book, I couldn't stop thinking about John Carter of Mars and his adventures. And I personally preferred John Carter. William Lee was alright, but I did not get the same feelings of being in an adventure that I had with John Carter.
61 reviews1 follower
April 25, 2019
Interesting

Not what I was expecting at all. Hard to keep track of. Skipped around to much for me. If your into fiction this is the book for you.
Profile Image for Caroline Driscoll.
9 reviews3 followers
December 3, 2022
Was difficult to follow. Felt like there were pieces missing. What I could understand, I enjoyed. Will try again at some point.
531 reviews88 followers
Want to read
April 8, 2019
I am having trouble with the Kindle app on my iPad. It does not download when it says it does. I will review if and when I can get this fixed.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews

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