Ciphers: A Post-Shannon Rock 'N' Roll Mystery

by Paul Di Filippo

Fiction. "Am I live or am I Memorex?" -- so begins Di Filippo's latest novel, "A Post-Shannon Rock'N'Roll Mystery Composed Partially By Sampling, Splicing, Channeling and Reverse Transcription". This dense tome contains large numbers of thought-provoking quotes("Klues") as well as "Doctor Wu's Portable Decryption of Cyphers".

Genres: Fiction

533 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Paul Di Filippo is the author of hundreds of short stories, some of which have been collected in these widely-praised collections: The Steampunk Trilogy, Ribofunk, Fractal Paisleys, Lost Pages, Little Doors, Strange Trades, Babylon Sisters, and his multiple-award-nominated novella, A Year in the Linear City. Another earlier collection, Destroy All Brains, was published by Pirate Writings, but is quite rare because of the extremely short print run (if you see one, buy it!).

The popularity of Di Filippo’s short stories sometimes distracts from the impact of his mindbending, utterly unclassifiable novels: Ciphers, Joe’s Liver, Fuzzy Dice, A Mouthful of Tongues, and Spondulix. Paul’s offbeat sensibility, soulful characterizations, exquisite-yet-compact prose, and laugh-out-loud dialogue give his work a charmingly unique voice that is both compelling and addictive. He has been a finalist for the Hugo, Nebula, BSFA, Philip K. Dick, Wired Magazine, and World Fantasy awards.

Despite his dilatory ways, Paul affirms that the sequel to A Year in the Linear City, to be titled A Princess of the Linear Jungle, will get written in 2008. He has two books forthcoming from PS Publications: the collection entitled Harsh Oases and the novel titled Roadside Bodhisattva. His 2008 novel Cosmocopia is graced by Jim Woodring illustrations.

Paul lives in Providence, Rhode Island.

Reviews

[Jack Tripper · Rating 4 out of 5]

This, Paul Di Filippo’s first novel*, was quite the intimidating read: 533 densely-packed pages filled with convoluted conspiracies within conspiracies that would bewilder even the most hardcore Pynchon or Robert Anton Wilson fan. What’s more, much of it is told in a sort of ultra-hip lingo, with references to hundreds of rock artists and song lyrics from the 60s-90s embedded within (and Di Filippo seems to know his stuff, shouting out some pretty obscure bands).

Once I got into the groove of it, this strange, rambling and wildly discursive tale of a record store clerk sucked into a rabbit hole mystery involving vanished friends, ancient cults, information theory, possible time travel, raunchy sex, drugs, and rock and roll was a good time. Though, as another reviewer here mentioned, it was hard to read more than a handful of pages at a time due to information overload, which is ironic considering it’s one of the themes of the novel.

I might have more to say once my brain is less fried (this book makes you not think too good), but for now I’ll just mention that fans of the epic postmodern conspiracy thrillers of Pynchon and Wilson, as well as music nerds, should give this one a go. You might even comprehend what’s happening, unlike me.

Oh and there are lots of photos of boobs as well, not to mention a spicy pic on the back cover featuring a shirtless, hairy Di Filippo if you need any further enticement.

*Di Filippo had a few books published prior to this, but they were all collections.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read in 2003; my review from then: Almost impenetrably weird style, with lots of rock and roll lyrics as part of the text, graphic sex (including stuff that most people would probably find offensive), and an all-encompassing conspiracy even broader than that of the most fanatic conspiracy theorists [I wonder if that's still true]. I absolutely loved it, though was unable to read too much at a sitting.

Let's see: snakes (including sex with), millennia-old cults, genetic-biological manipulation, a frustrated almost-Bodhisattva, and the story of a pair of modern city-dwellers (Boston) looking for their lost lovers, one of whom is Ruby Tuesday, illegitamate daughter of Mick (predating the song). Oh, and drug distribution in the Summer of Love in a failed attempt to evolve the species, the US government overthrow of the Arbenz democracy in Guatemala in 1954, and some wickedly perfect commentary on the art of writing.