I read this book when it was first published because of a Damon Knight Blurb on the cover: "I wonder if anyone else knows what a good writer Lucius Shepard is?" Being a Damon Knight fan I bought the book on his recommedation. Because of the book I read all of Shepard's books.

Green Eyes was one of those delightful books you find now and then that you read non-stop. It appears to be three novelettes of differing genres put together to make a novel, but woven together with such skill it becomes a whole. Because of the three separate parts to the novel I had no idea where Shepard was going with this story. If you are lucky enough to find a copy of this book I envy your first reading.

Never having heard of Lucius Shepard, I bought a used paperback copy of "Green Eyes" on the strength of its unusual back-cover plot synopsis and the fact that it could be had for 50 cents...a somewhat ordinary procedure of mine for reasons I'll not go into. In other words, I approached this novel with very little in the way of expectations and, perhaps for that very reason, was simply amazed at my good fortune. This story, itself one that does not easily fit into any genre niche, is without a doubt one of the two or three most poignant modern novels this reader has ever had the pleasure of encountering...made "Papa Kurt"(Vonnegut) sound tired and blase'. Embued with vivid, striking imagery...plot turns impossible to forsee, yet satisfyingly logical...complex in its multilayerings, but as smooth as a luminous egg...an absolutely staggering ending, very hard to describe. I finished the book feeling awed and humbled. Snippets of dialogue, fantastic scenes, emotional depths, these and more swirled through my mind for weeks afterword. If Lucius Shepard's powers were not yet fully matured when he wrote this, I daresay he may write THE best fantastic story of our generation.

The story is of a girl in a town on the back of a dragon frozen in place by a 1000 year old spell, who's father works (as you can imagine) hunting scales on the back of the dragon. Due to an unlucky twist of fate, the girl must hide inside the dragon's mouth, then finds herself a prisoner of the creatures that live inside the inert, yet still powerful and very aware dragon.

Lucius Shepard is a stunningly beautiful writer, and this novel and Life During Wartime are two of the best stories I have ever read.

This is not your standard dragon story. Shepard has done something utterly amazing: a story for adults. With an ending that you will not forget. Shepard wrote two other dragon stories, all were a challenge to himself inasmuch as he greatly dislikes most dragon stories; so he wrote one that he would like. And if you know Shepard, you know to expect the unexpected.

I have just finished reading 'Colonel Rutherford's Colt' in the e-book format (it's been available for months) and have ordered a copy of this book in the signed limited HB edition (newly released) for my library... Lucius Shepard has always been one of the greatest American sci-fi/fantasy/horror genre writers, but he seems to have become an even more formidable mainstream writer. (By calling Lucius mainstream, I simply mean than the fantasy elements in his writing, though they still exist, are less overt now than in the past). Fans of Lucius' older work should rest assured that 'Colonel Rutherford' is populated by the same type of underworld-connected lowlifes that appear in his previous stories, but now these characters are reaching a much higher level of credibility. In 'Col. Ruth.' we follow a used gun dealer named Jimmy, who specializes in selling weapons once used in famous crimes, around to various swap meets where he and his girlfriend rub up against other gun dealers and customers, and in particular one gun (a Colt once owned by a deceased racist militia leader) that must not fall into the wrong hands... You will continue to think about these characters long after you have finished reading and the plot has the kind of subtle, creepy twists and surprise ending that will have you rereading the book to look for clues. A great story...

Lucius Shepard is one of the most extraordinary writers living, inside the genre ghetto or out. All his books - Green Eyes, The Jaguar Hunter, The Golden, Barnacle Bill the Spacer, Life During Wartime and any others you happen to run across - are complex, literate, unputdownable and decidedly different from anything else you've ever come across. There's almost nothing in science fiction, less in horror fiction, and damn little in the mainstream to match his visionary scope, his brilliant atmospherics, and his lucid prose - lucid even in the most extreme states of mind and of spirit. The stories in The Ends of the Earth take place in his usual locations - evil little Central American wars as in "Fire Zone Emerald", weird mutations of the United States as in "Bound for Glory" and "Nomans Land", and upon (and inside) the great dragon Griaule in the stunning "The Scalehunter's Beautiful Daughter" - which is a heartbreakingly beautiful story. As are the rest, including among many others the terrifyingly optimistic "Bound for Glory", which tells of monsters and why we might consider joining them; the existential nightmare "Nomans Land", which treats of white spiders which dream us; and "Aymara", which is that near impossibility, an original tale of time travel, with one of the most moving final sentences I've ever seen. You should go to the ends of the earth to buy this one. These fourteen stories alone are worth a cartload of almost anyone else.

Louisiana Breakdown is an impressively written and thoroughly entertaining novel by Lucius Shepard that blends superstition and lore with faith, potions, and machinations. When a new figure arrives in a small Louisiana because his BMW breaks down, he becomes caught up in the town's tradition of appointing a ten-year-old Midsummer Queen every twenty years. A dark fantasy, Louisiana Breakdown is commended as an imaginative and thought-provoking tale of the fantastic.

This book is introspective without being maudlin, and I find
myself struggling for a better word than "wistful", but alas,
no cross-referenced OED at my fingertips.

Therefore: I can promise you this, there's not a happy ending in the book, and I found myself at first very disappointed in this growing trend. At some point in the third short story, I realized that he would supply no easy answers, and the converse might prove true: nothing but hard questions from here on.

Stories wrapped up neatly, even with the bad guy winning, aren't a possibility for Shepard. Life is like that sometimes, and the choices that lead you to a place you wish you hadn't visited. But, since you're there, take in the scenery and try to pass on a warning to others...

This is my first formal introduction to Lucius Shepard; it won't be my last meeting with his work, for sure.

The Jaguar Hunter is still the best introduction to the frustratingly inconsistent work of Lucius Shephard. Shephard is at his best in short stories and some of those in this collection show a real mastery of the form, telling often quite simple moral tales in settings packed dense with strange underpinning imagery and meaning.

The collection divides into several different overlapping types: traveller's tales, New England horror, Latin American magic realism, those dealing with the ongoing shadow cast by Nazism, fantasy etc. It is really a matter of taste which you prefer: my own favourites are the title story, which tingles with atmosphere and magical possibility; the two treatments of the legacy of the Third Reich - the terrifying 'Mengele', and the bizarre, menacing 'A Spanish Lesson'; and the magnificent 'R&R'. I like the New England-set tales less, but even they far outdo Stephen King.

Shephard's writing has never been better than is these early stories (and also in the underrated novel 'Life During Wartime'); lush but never bloated and often ironic but always moral. I just wish he would find his form again and stop writing yet more vampire novels!

Fourteen short stories, including a novella new to print, provide a fine collection of Lucius Shepard's skills in Jaguar Hunter, and outstanding anthology headed by a Nebula-winning title story. From a war of the future and wind spirits to a woman's end of life, this is filled with diverse plots.

I'm sorry that I wasn't as impressed with this particular collection of Shepard's stories as I was with some of his other work. There are a couple of gems in here, however; "Barnacle Bill the Spacer", winner of the Hugo Award, is alone worth the price of admission.

However, if by chance fate has you perusing this page and wondering whether or not to take a chance on Shepard, do it. I first randomly ran across his 'Life During Wartime' in an airport, and I've read everything else of his that I could get my hands on since.

This collection is a fairly mild intro to some of the awe-inspiring concepts that Shepard constructs with the ease of Legos; and not only that, this guy can put words together like nobody's business. Borges would be proud.

It's a crying shame that a lot of his other work is now out of print or otherwise difficult to find; "The Jaguar Hunter", "The Ends of the Earth", and "The Scalehunter's Beautiful Daughter" I would all rate as superior to this particular collection, but don't let that stop you. Shepard is worthy of your reading time, and his full-length novels are equally astonishing.

This book is a collection of short stories, and although I liked them all, the one entitled Barnacle Bill the Spacer took my breath away. Lucius Shepard writes with such beautiful, unique precision, and expresses himself in such an uncommon and thought provoking manner that I found myself reading many of his sentences over and over just to savor their flavor and texture. His words linger, and his plots won't leave you alone. His uncommon writing gave me an uncommon pleasure-highly recommended.

I love short stories, and it is clear to me that anyone else that loves short stories will love this collection, regardless of whether they condsider themselves sci-fi fans or not. In fact, two of the stories are completely devoid of anything fantastical, and two more only touch upon the surreal. In all seven, you do find the clear and descriptive writing that carries with it an insight into human beings all across the world - or universe. Shephard is able to portray the humanity and inhumanity as they battle within each of his primary characters, and over all, you might say that this is really what this collection is about. Each story has a clear and entertaining plot, but underneath, each focuses on a character that is struggling with his desires or angers or impulses that often lead to self-destructive life patterns; vivid and recognizable as elements of our own lives.

The genre sci-fi stories work the best for me. "Barnacle Bill, the Spacer" and "Human History" make my top five list of the best short stories ever. "Sun Spider" is interesting, but without the punch. And the remaining three straight stories were good, but less so than the others. However, in that "Barnacle Bill, the Spacer" and "Human History" are practically short novels, the book is well worth having just for these two stories alone. Consider the others bonus stories. Collections as a general rule are spotty. There are always pages you want to rip out and sometimes pages you want to hang on the wall. This is the first I've read in a long time that has no rip out material. Everything here is good. And some of it is truly amazing. Enjoy.

I was surprised to see a new novel by Lucius Shepard as I had thought that he had retired some time ago. I have read all of his novels and was really blown away by the force of his writing in Life During Wartime. I like to think of Golden as an miss step and was hoping that Valentine would be all conquering. Unfortunately, it is closer to Golden than his best work. It is small, perhaps indicating a lack of stamina, and shares some of Shepard's overriding themes. His protagonist has "been around", is a tough guy, a sexual giant. While the love interest is, as usual untrustworthy, a slut and grateful for the sexual gratification the protagonist visits on her.

While this is depicted as a story about love, it could easily be seen as a repetition of his horror fiction, only sanitised for a more main stream audience (Mr Shepard wouldn't be the first SF writer trying to break into another audience in the winter of his career).

I found it strange to return to Shepard's work after the more prolific early 90s. And it resonates, but in a peculiar fashion, as he is now in his 60s.

This book does show promise and hopefully the next one will be longer, more developed and less slavish to his simplistic depictions of men and women.

I look forward to better things to come.

The fascinating thing about Lucius Shepard is how he generates debate between intercolutors and the heat of argument.

However, I am puzzled that that debate by one intercolutor should be placed in the forum for criticism of the book itself.

In my work with children with special needs, I am called upon often to offer mediation strategies. I did not think those elective skills would be called upon in science fiction. In offering this balance, I would like to say that yes, Lucius' age is clear from numerous bios on line and off. However, the reviewer may not be aware of the debate in John Clute's Encyclopaedia surrounding the inconsistencies in Lucius' age. The issue therefore may not be arithmetical but about honesty.

Regarding Lucius' alleged retirement, I would again agree that this is incorrect, but only by degree. The reviewer Jay may have meant to pinpoint a trend. Dozois said of Lucius that "no year since has gone by without him adorning the final ballot for one major award or another." That was in 1990. By 1995 Dozois was reduced to republishing mainstream fiction from Playboy ("Beast of the Heartland") and stories that weren't even published _at all_ ("Human History"), in order to get Lucius' name into the science fiction press. This is a dramatic fall off in publishing, but certainly not retirement. Lucius himself said, in Locus, that he didn't see the point in writing for a time and so he stopped.

Regarding labels. I personally know the pain that these can bring, but I think that the label of "science fiction" is an innocent enough one. Again, those of us more familiar with the genre will know that this loosely encapsulates the wider subgenres of horror, fantasy and slipstream.

So I think one reviewer did indeed endeavour to get his facts right. Did the other?

However, these remarks are tangential to the book itself. Those of us who have met Lucius are aware of his towering presence and his command of centre stage. While he may not be above a little personal embellishment, this makes for a mastery of fiction. A man who lives so close to the edge of personal mythologizing (or past it) can bring great gusto to the art of the novel.

I recall my pleasure in my late twenties of discovering Life During Wartime, the story of a strong, vigorous youth rescuing a sexually traumatised woman by sexual expertise. Or "Beast of the Heartland," the story of a strong young boxer teaching a prostitute to love with his sexual expertise. Or "The Last Time," the story of a strong, violent man, coming to a nasty end during bouts of dramatic sex with a sexually traumatised woman. To paraphrase EL Doctorow, he is nothing, Lucius Shepard, if not a writer who knew a good formula when he found one.

Lucius has been one of the most popular science fiction writers of his era, and he is still popular today. Though it is also fair to say that he sits at the genre's table below the salt while the more sophisticated voices of modernist and post modernist irony (Silverberg, Gibson, Le Guin) conduct the conversation.

As always, Lucius remains a big man with a big voice, fearlessly shouting down boundaries, critics, genre distinctions and even those around him who would caution patience and control. While Valentine does not show the command and breadth of emotion that he has has had, the reactions below indicate that he can still create dialogue and polarise opinion.

A beautifully written little book about love and the illusion of love. Shepard's lyrical yet emotionally precise prose illuminates the mysterious process of the weathers of the heart by choosing to isolate his lovers in a town itself isolated by hurricane whose reality is in question. Is it all a dream, a story the narrator is telling to a woman for whom he longs, or an actual record of a moment in "a serial affair?" Whatever the case, VALENTINE reads like the essence of a love affair, the distillation of a dream. Its intensity and luminous clarity is obviously the product of a man in love--a very talented man named Lucius Shepard.

Lucius Shepard is a strong and beautiful writer. His stories have frequently been compared to those of Joseph Conrad, and indeed Shepard is a master of the short story and the novella. R&R, the novella that makes up the opening of this novel, is a beautiful and terrible read, and the quality of the writing remains consistently captivating throughout. So why have I given this novel only three stars? Because, as a novel, it doesn't really work. Shepard writes fantastic short fiction, but when he wrote LIFE DURING WARTIME, he just wasn't ready to tackle a novel. It reads like a series of episodes, each an good read on its own, but each also providing its own closure. But they are linked closely enough that were I to read something else in between them, I'd likely lose track of the details of the plot. So, while the writing is beautiful, the plot interesting, and each episode a joy to read on its own, the novel isn't able to sustain its momentum throughout. I'm glad I read it, but as a novel, it just doesn't quite work.

R&R was the story that put Shepard among the great names of SF and forms the chapter of this book. There are several familiar elements for fans of the author, exotic locales, drugs psychic powers that border on magic and secret forces battling it out under cover of 21st century warfare in the jungles of Central America. The book suffers just a tiny bit from being written in the late 80's when heavy involvement by US secret ops gave the impression that a Vietnam type meltdown was about to happen almost on the doorstep of US. Brilliant language and (naturally) hallucinatory imagery are the qualities of the book. Storyline tends to sag in the second half of the book but if you are one of the author's followers you will enjoy this work.

I'm always amazed at Shepard's output. He has a way of making things believable yet allowing you to be surprised at the next turn of events. A unique writer and a book that sneaks some basic truths past you while the reader is still trying to comprehend the new universe Shepard lays out.

I found the plot and images entertaining enough to keep my interest throughout the story, but I couldn't help thinking that I was really reading a murder mystery instead of a horror novel. The basis of the story seemed like the classic 'a body was found in a room where all of the windows and doors where locked from the inside'. The only difference being that some of the cast of characters where vampires.

That being said I really would give it a 4 star rating as a pure mystery novel. I was guessing until the end and I thought all of the loose ends were very neatly wrapped-up. It is just that as a pure horror novel that I would only give it a 2 star rating. I suppose my 3 star rating is the average of the two.

My original comparison for this book was Gene Wolfe writing an issue of Marvel Comics' "Tomb of Dracula." This is not a "mean" comparison. I tend to use Wolfe when I want to compare a someone to the pinnacle of excellent writing in a genre (I compare Wolfe himself to Borges or Shakespeare, depending on how effusive I'm feeling). And, as far as comics go, I liked "Tomb of Dracula." But, on the other hand, I am damning Shepard with faint praise as well. Although The Golden has some excellent writing in it the novel ultimately strikes me as unfulfilling. There's a lot of wonderful visuals and high language, but underneath that, it's still a comic book This is also well worth reading if you are a Shepard fan. But I'd hesitate to recommend this blindly.

I have to agree with the sentiments of a reviewer that can't believe this thorougly entertaining novel is not in print. What a shame. If you enjoyed Anne Rice's vampire novels or "Tap Tap" or "The Book of Common Dread"; you'll enjoy this. Shepard's prose is very lush & rich. His characters are suitably creepy and dark. Without giving too much away-this not only a superb murder mystery; but a frightening vampire love story.

I would recommend this book to any fan of vampire novels.