i am presently doing a project organised by the european school of business.the chairman was john payne and in this project we are asked to describe how the new generation of business entrepreneur can surpass and emulate the success of john payne as a business entrepreneur.

Library Journal's review of this guide: "Combining encyclopedic coverage of destinations with loads of practical information and atlas-type maps, the series illuminates the wonders of nature but emphasizes the peculiarity of a place's people and their folklore."

John Shirley's notorius, exciting, revolutionary collection. John Shirley's talent lies in his abilty to shock, and inspire many emotions at once. Many of the stories in this collection are very funny, and some are extremely shocking and depressing, they span many genres, but all very distinct to John Shirley. My personal favorite in this is called "'I want to get married,' says the world's smallest man". The small person in question is and up-and-coming actor, working to achive his dream of working with his hero, Arnold Swartzanagre. He also has an article in the Enquirer, with an adress for women to write to if they want to marry him. The woman who responds is a crack whore. Funny but disturbing. Some of these stories also apear in Shirley's other, larger short story collection "Really, Really, Really, Really, Weird Stories" which i also would recomend.

"the problems with teens today is that they do not" care.Mostly Ithink that it's the parents fault for not telling them about sex and then sitting down talking to them about it.this way things like what happend in this book dont happen to you. alot of parents say that wont happen to my kids i ttaought them about sex,but the question is now is did you teach them everything or just what you thaought they need to know?Think about it.Do you even know if your kid/kids are sexually active?You may think that they will tell you but it takes alot for a kid to tell there parents that they are having sex and that is what most parents dont think about. maybe you should.Make the difference talk to your kids about sex and tell them everything.

SPIDER MOON by John Shirley is the tragic tale of Slim Purdoux, an ex-con who served a year-and-a-half in a Texas state penitentiary and who's now working as a book editor for a publishing firm in San Francisco. Slim's world begins to fall apart one morning when he's informed by his new boss that he can either accept a transfer to New York City-away from his ex-wife and son-or lose his job because of cutbacks within the company. Then, within the next hour, Slim discovers to his dismay that the child he loves so much has just died from drug poisoning. He naturally blames himself for the unexpected tragedy, but most of all he blames the people who sold his son, Frankie, the bad drugs. When Slim returns to work from the hospital to hand in his resignation, he's shocked to discover that another employee has gone on a wild shooting spree, killing several co-workers. One unfortunate event swiftly leads to another and the police suddenly think that it was our Texas cowboy doing the actual killing in the office building. Barely escaping with his life, Slim decides that he now has nothing to lose by going after the drug dealers who killed his boy, and he's prepared to do whatever it takes to collect some sweet revenge. Before the week is over San Francisco is going to find itself in the middle of a bloodbath that will make the shootout at the OK corral look like a beach picnic. SPIDER MOON is one of those pleasant little surprises that every reader hopes for when discovering a new author. Though short in length (170pp), it's a whirlwind of a novel that delivers with in-your-face intensity. I could feel the anger and frustration boiling beneath the surface as Slim Purdoux tries to keep himself from going ballistic at the drop of a hat. He has to force himself to pull it together just long enough so that his mission of revenge can be accomplished with deadly accuracy. To the author's credit, he knows how to keep the tension building within the story and the pace moving quickly toward its exploding climax. I couldn't help but find myself getting caught up in Slim's emotional anguish, and this led to me care about him. Also, I was amazed at the degree of sympathy that evolves for the street people that Slim gets involved with while hunting down the individuals who were responsible for Frankie's death. The character of Wendell clearly stands out. Even with Wendell's violent temper, crudeness, and street savvy, it doesn't take long for the reader to start liking him. All in all, SPIDER MOON proved to be one of those wonderful experiences that catch you off guard and causes you to anxiously search for other books by the same author.

Another great outre' outing by one of today's foremost Masters of the Macabre. Recommended for those who like their fiction daring and edgy. See also his short story collection, "Black Butterflies."

This slim little book packs a whallop. The First Part alone has plenty enough memorable turns of phrase to please the Shirlian reader, or any other reader, for that matter. I was so caught up in Slim's odyssey of vengeance that I felt as if I were in the same state of mind he is. When everthing just stops mattering, and something primal awakens within you, and you are carried along with it, your former personality suddenly taking a back seat to this new, more focused you. I found myself relishing every page even as the dismay mounted as the remaining pages diminished by the minute. It's as if I was trapped in a locked vehicle skidding out of control and my seat belt was stuck: I could see the crash-test-dummy brick wall straight ahead of me and a part of my mind knew the collision was inevitable so the other part just resigned itself to the adrenalized thrill of the ride.
Whatever you wanna label this genre, "streetwise" or whatnot, let me just say that in my opinion, the author is in his element here. SPIDER MOON is the gritty, street-level, real deal. It is trim, wound tight, and written as if the author were dipping a scalpel into his own blood. John's book is decidedly 21st-century, written from a viewpoint that places the reader's perspective in the cradle of the bullet itself. It's as if upon reading this novella, I have been carefully picked up, loaded into Slim's .44 chamber, and thoughtfully fired down the barrel along w/the story, to become imbedded into the heart of all that has awakened Slim's sense of injustice in this world.
This book is a one-sit read at a fast-paced 170 pages. And one of the best things about it is, what a goddamned satisfying resolution! All I can say is "Thanks, John Shirley!" for providing such a necessary tale of redemption and oulaw justice. I am not kidding when I say that the whole story is effective enough to produce real tears in the reader...and I'm not talking about those old snuffly "sad" tears: I'm talking about that one droplet of saline squeezed out of a duct that has everything to do with "Right On!" and little to do w/the tearjerker mentality of artificially induced sorrow.
SPIDER MOON, despite it's straightforwardness & brevity (or because of it-?), will from now on sit on the highest shelf of my collection for me, because it says something so damn many of us have wanted to hear, have needed to hear, for a long time now. It's a crash course in poetic justice, and why the hell Quentin Tarantino doesn't collaborate with John Shirley, I'll never figure out.

The Eclipse trilogy by John Shirley is perhaps one of the finest examples of cyberpunk "war" novels available - a classic us vs them series. Guaranteed to keep you up till all hours of the night, this series has been placed on "Permanent Out Of Stock" status by it's publisher, which usually means they are in a tussle with the author and will not print the book, but will not release the rights back to the author so it can be printed elsewhere. Your best bet is to seek out a good used bookstore or sf con - a set is usually available. This is a must read for hardcore sci-fi genre addicts, along the lines of Necrom and Armageddon Rag (if you don't know them, find them). And it never hurts to complain to the publisher, Popular Library Questar division about their stance re this series. Find it. Buy it. Read it.

John Shirley belongs to the generation of science fiction writers led by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling who are known as cyberpunks. Shirley was one of the early proponents of cyberpunk fiction. "Eclipse", the first in his "A Song Called Youth" trilogy, is a vivid, stylistically hip mix of politics, rock and roll and computers. His lean prose is almost as elegant as Gibson's; here he depicts a near future in which Europe falls under the sway of a Neo-Nazi Christian fundamentalist tyranny, the Second Alliance (SA), in the aftermath of a limited nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union. Opposing the SA are a motley band of rock musicians and socialist guerrillas known as the New Resistance. Those interested in reading some great cyberpunk fiction should acquire John Shirley's "A Song Called Youth" trilogy.

After discovering John Shirley through his short horror fiction, I bought a copy of Eclipse and sat motionless for days to read it. In other words, I could not put it down. While this would be shelved in a store's science fiction section, it really is more than typical spaceships and lasergun fare. It falls more towards cyberpunk but exceeds it with a focus on characters instead of technology.

The basic premise of the rise of a neo-fascist "security" corporation during the starts of a limited nuclear war between the USA and Russia sets the background for the very believable characters, each with distinct personalities and flaws that come to life from the printed page. Mr. Shirley weaves a complex and intertwined tale of guerilla mercenaries, fading rock stars, and fasicst powermongers that would stand proudly with the great works on science fiction. If not for any other reason, his interpretation of developing cultural trends is at the same time illuminating and frightening.

Having only read the first book*, I am anticipating no less enjoyment from Penumbra and Corona, the second and third works in the series.

I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a complicated read where each page yields a small reward.

* Sometimes I do need to spend a little time reading my college textbooks, too.

John Shirley constructs a concealed world, existing side-by-side with the world visible to the normal human eye. We all know that a similar world must exist within the sub microscopic, quantum realm of which we are all composed. Shirley populates his concealed world with creatures who feed off the souls of mankind. Environmentally, these creatures are vulnerable to the electromagnetic emanations man uses in his radios, cell phones, TVs and radar. Their message to mankind is 'clean up your environmental act.'

Max, the main character, begins as a soap opera star whose ennui drives him to quit his TV role playing. He accepts the larger task of unraveling the role concealed within his being. The Angel with TV Eyes changes Max's perspective of his dream like visions describing a concealed world. At an earlier date Lord Greymark had been dissolved into pure information and implanted in the womb of Max's mother. Max's pursuit of a larger than life role triggers his revelation as Lord Greymark, a 12 foot entity concealed within the jaded actor's soul. Lord Greymark possesses great power that he uses to extinguish the fires of Thanatos, a character representing death and vowing destruction of all that is good in man.

Just as the pictures on a TV are converted from unseen waves, the vision of the Angel with TV Eyes flows via holowaves from within the quantum realm. This posits a reality which few can either detect or receive on their vision screen. By personalizing a character with TV eyes John Shirley creates an entity directed from within this hidden reality. A story that begins with a cast of bud-like human characters soon blossoms into a bouquet of revealed Spirits constructed of plastic, metal and electronic switches. As the evolution of man is expressed through DNA, so the Spirits evolve by means of vibratory packets-a non genetic form of evolutionary record keeping. Thus the author posits another method the unseen Spirits are using to throw the evolutionary dice. What the Spirits seek is the same as what man seeks-companionship.

Admittedly this might sound like straining an old blurb cliché, but John Shirley's latest novel really IS a tour de force on the darker side of literature (dark but not without humor). It's one of those rare books so crammed with astonishing images, bizarre scenes and brilliantly written passages (some of them just begging to be read out loud) that it leaves you breathless and absolutely satisfied. On a stylistic level the author has combined the neo-baroque images of his earlier works with the condensed, razor-sharp language of his more recent fiction. Shirley always writes on the edge of reality but with such a controlled and experienced voice that he can make the most weirdest things seem natural and plausible. His menagerie of oddities is described as vivid as if the author has personally met the hybrids of ancient mythology and industrial materials which populate his novel: the vinyl harpies, Thanatos, the angel with television eyes and all the others. And if you think that the Weaver from China Miéville's "Perdido Street Station" was a strange fellow, wait until you meet Vega, the discoball guy who overdoses on e-guitar chords.
"...And the Angel with Television Eyes" has an unbelievably fast-paced plot, some cool narrative gimmicks (just look at the chapter titles) and also profits from its author's insider knowledge of the media business. Definitely some hell of a ride.

John Shirley fits into no genre perfectly, but he can write a very good horror book. Get this if you can find it, or get any other shirley novel

I have a voracious appetite for horror novels (as my wall of books will attest to,) and I can honestly say, out of the hundreds that I've read, this is one of the creepiest books ever. Few horror novels really get to me (most of them are just fun thrill rides through the dark,) but this one gave me the honest to God heebie-jeebies. The doctor's "Lord of Dark Corners" in the attic freaked me out. Do yourself a favor and track this book down.

The book is about our hero being abducted from earth and being shipped to a strange planet where other abductees have been dumped. The location is a pretty freaky place where fields of morphogenic particles alter the nature of consciousness and personality itself to 'twist' people into monstrous versions of themselves. The 'twists' try to wage war on the normals and the mystery of the planet and its purpose is finally solved when we learn that the whole scenario has been engineered by a super advanced race who watch the events as a giant 4 dimensional soap opera.

(The leader of the twists is a megalomaniacal psychology professor bent on domination :-))

The book is mu(l)ticoloured joy to the imagination and the central ideas are hilarious and deeply illuminating for the whacky light they cast on the nature of human life, our minds and our role in the cosmic scheme

This is the only book I've ever read three times. I go back to it every couple of years for a dose of something truly alien. The more books I read, the more I realize "A Splendid Chaos" is unique. If you are sick of aliens that are only alien in form, read this book. If you think the greatest accomplishment of an SF writer is to make you rub your temples in pain as you try tro wrap your brain around his concepts, read this book. If you like to read books that are spinoffs of TV shows, RUN AWAY.

The book Demons is a story of the seven clans of demons and the people who fought against them, or at least tried.... John Shirley describes everything in his book vividly, and at times he does it too well and he does it magnificently at times when you wish he hadn't painted a picture of that particular scene. Each demons has its own often hilrious name, from a bugsy to a tailpipe, but although the names sound cute and all, in 'reality' the demons are far from that description. Overall the book is magnificently written, but I should warn everyone, this book is not for anyone, there should be a level of maturity and readiness in the reader before they should ever read this book.

When it comes to John Shirley, you have to take your chances. In my humble opinion, I find him a writer of widely varying quality (though one who steadily improves, there is little backsliding in his work). If one goes as far back as CELLARS, there is really not much to recommend; however, Mr. Shirley has produced such excellent work as: IN DARKNESS WAITING; WETBONES; and, most recently, DEMONS. This is a terrific short novel--well-paced, gripping, and solid. Mr. Shirley's mastery of this short form is impressive. A sense of dread is pervasive thoughout, though his prose is lean and to the point.

In this most imaginative premise (though I sense some inspiration from John Ostrander's DEMON WARS arc in the GRIMJACK comics), unstoppable, murderous demons have suddenly appeared on Earth. They can make their presence known anywhere and anytime. With no defenses, humans must make their way through this hell on earth as best they can (this is Shirley's most interesting facet in the book--how John and Mary Sixpack continue about their daily business in this new dystopia).

It was a pleasure to read DEMONS, and I look forward to Mr. Shirley's next work.

A fascinating study of a certain type of occult phenomenon - how, to use Goya's words, _el sueño de la razon produce muenstros_ - the sleep of reason produces monsters.

Shirley's book tells about a demonic invasion that threatens to engulf planet Earth. The demons come in various types; my own personal favorites are the Bugsys - sleazy characters who somehow manage to get human beings to be their pets. And as Shirley fans will know, he has a great capacity for melding the hyperreal elements of fantasy with the gritty reality of the urban.

Would discuss the implications of this powerful book further, but I don't want to give away too much of the plot. Highly recommended.