"I like writing novels because they're looser and sloppier and more surprising. Writing a short-story for me is like trying to write a sonnet. Every word has to be right, whereas the tension level of writing a novel is much less."
- K.W. Jeter in "Forced Exposure #15"
|Novels|Short Stories|Media Books|Miscellaneous|Interviews|Projected Novels/Stories| The following is as accurate a bibliography as I've managed to compile - most of the entries receive some commentary which you should read with reservations (some have fairly lengthy ones because at the time of reading I've written some notes down and thus am not just relying on my failing memory implants..). They are, after all, just my opinions. You should make your own.(Updated May 29, 1999)
NOVELSSHORT STORIES
SEEKLIGHT (Laser Books, 1975) This is a very nice, downbeat early novel by Jeter, describing a planet in entropic decline, and a young protagonist seeking answers he may not ultimately want to find. Reminded me a bit of some books by Neal Barrett, Jr. Worth looking up. DREAMFIELDS (Laser Books, 1976) This second book is a far more complex novel with some definite phildickian flavors, about suppression, conspiracies and dreams. The execution isn't yet up to the 'level' of ideas here but that shouldn't stop you from digging up a copy. MORLOCK NIGHT (DAW, 1979 - written in 1976-1977) A humorous sequel to H.G. Wells' THE TIME MACHINE. Set in Victorian England, it involves King Arthur in the battle against Morlocks. It was written under the influence of Henry Mayhew's LONDON LABOR AND THE LONDON POOR - the book that probably did start this whole small subgenre. SOUL EATER (Tor, 1983) The first of Jeter's suspense novels. I've not read it, but by all accounts this should be a fine and gritty book."I was approaching it from a route that wasn't really out of horror fiction. I'm not that big a horror fiction fan, I'm more of a suspense fiction fan. So I was coming at it from the angle of people like Cornell Woolrich and Geoffrey Household.." - KWJ DR. ADDER (Bluejay, 1984 - written in 1971-1972) Jeter's first book, unpublishable for 12 years. A terrific, twisted book set in a post-apocalyptic future, combining tv evangelistas with cosmetic amputations. Candide for the post-atomic age. GLASS HAMMER (Bluejay, 1985) This may be the best book Jeter has written so far - a book crammed full of ideas and insights. It deals mainly with religion and medias. Unflinchingly thoughtful. Somehow the honesty I found inside this book turned into something nearly spiritual. A terrific read. INFERNAL DEVICES (St. Martin's, 1987) This is Jeter's second book set in the Victorian period, and it's outrageous. Funny and demented story about the son of an inventor who encounters a bunch of automated devices ready to trash the earth. DARK SEEKER (Tor, 1987) The second suspense novel, and another one I've not read yet. Raving mad cult-leaders and drugged out diciples should make it an interesting read. "What really happens with the suspense fiction is that I can write about what happens to adults. And in some senses, suspense fiction is really at its most interesting when it's anxiety fiction - when the people are having a hard time because they have problems [...] Most of them would just be fucking grateful if they could live out their lives going to some dumb job, going home in the evening, having their wives cook them dinner... They don't want to fuck around with the bad stuff, but something happens and they have to deal with it." - KWJ
DEATH ARMS (Morrigan, 1987 written in 1972-1974) Far more sedate than the others, and relatively brief, this book brings a nice balance to the so-called 'thematic-trilogy' consisting of this, DR. ADDER and GLASS HAMMER. Revenge and videotape, memory and the role of medias. MANTIS (Tor, 1987) Third of Jeter's suspense novels, and a terrific one at that. This is the most phildickian book of Jeter's that I've read, gritty and believable story about a man losing his grip on reality. Despite the schlocky cover, which suggests this is another bug-eyed-monster mash, it is a harrowing psychological study of madness, portrayed in the form of a diary. It's relationship to the work of PKD comes from it's portrayal of schizophrenia (though technically I'm not sure if this is exactly that..) and the question of "What is real ?". It's about obsession, love (or need ), even a bit about parenthood. It's about hatred and trust. FAREWELL HORIZONTAL (St. Martin's, 1989) Another fine novel, first in a projected series that never got past this one. Cynical and odd, this book again deals with the medias and is set on a vividly imagined artificial world. "In some ways it's a spoof of the genre 'cause there are some silly elements about it, but it has a convoluted plot..." - KWJ IN THE LAND OF THE DEAD (NAL/Onyx, 1989) This one is generally regarded as Jeter's finest suspense novel. Set in the south and described by Jeter as 'Jim Thompson mating with corpses in Steinbeck's bed'. I've not read it yet, but I think you can safely assume it to be a good one. "The preoccupations were with the relationship of the individual to the family." - KWJ
THE NIGHT MAN (NAL/Signet, 1989) Another suspense novel that I've not read - this one is a tale of revenge. I've read some rave reviews and a few lukewarm ones, so this may not be quite up to the quality of the previous ones. I recall that the negative reactions were mostly because this one has some supernatural elements, so if that's not a problem.. MADLANDS (St. Martin's 1991) - Unread, but it appears to be a magnificently surreal sf book. WOLF FLOW (St. Martin's, 1992) - The only review I've read of this was by John Clute and it was very complimentary - suspense/horror of the first class I should think. NOIR (Bantam, 1998) - This is a fascinating combination of science fiction and film noir aesthetics, vivid and packed with ideas. "..the patron saint of my book NOIR is Ida Lupino. [..] There was a tremendous intelligent vulnerability to Ida Lupino. Inasmuch as she seemed to know that her actions were going to doom her; she wasn't just a lamb to the slaughter." - KWJ
SHADOW REICH - formerly known as THE KINGDOM OF SHADOWS, to be published.
MEDIA BOOKS
"Black Nightgown" (LITTLE DEATHS, Millennium 1994 ed. Ellen Datlow) - available at the Event Horizon website.
"Blue on One End, Yellow on the Other" ("Midnight Graffiti " Spring 1990) "The First Time" (ALIEN SEX, Dutton 1990 ed. Ellen Datlow)
"The New Floor" ("Omni" October 1988) "Rise Up and Walk" (STILL DEAD, Bantam 1992 ed. John M. Skipp & Craig Spector) "True Love" (A WHISPER OF BLOOD, Morrow 1991 ed. Ellen Datlow)
MISCELLANEOUS
ALIEN NATION: DARK HORIZON (Pocket Books, 1992) ALIEN NATION: CROSS OF BLOOD (Pocket Books, 1995) - I've read neither of these, nor heard any comments or read any reviews. If you like the series or have read everything else.. STAR TREK - DEEP SPACE NINE: BLOODLETTER (Pocket Books, 1993) STAR TREK - DEEP SPACE NINE: WARPED (Pocket Books, 1995) - I've read the first one and it was competent, if not all that interesting. I enjoyed in the beginning of the novel the feeling I got that everybody at the station were wearing masks, hiding their true feelings, suppressing their urges, and it gave a nice insight to the series. Beyond that I don't remember anything about the actual book. But I hope that some Star Trek fans find Jeter's original books through these. BLADE RUNNER 2: THE EDGE OF HUMAN (Bantam, 1995) The book is an independent sequel to the film's "director's cut", but it also closes some of the distance between Philip K. Dick's book and the finished film. It begins about a year after the events in the film, when Deckard is brought back into L.A. by the Tyrell corporation. He is 'offered' a job of finding one more replicant.. but what he finds is something quite different. The novel's most interesting aspect, to me, is the exploration of the differences between humans and replicants, and the moral questions this evokes. The plot is unpredictable and enjoyable, though I did have a some problems with it. I didn't particularly enjoy the way J.F. Sebastian was brought back to life - I would have expected it to have been, for example, depicted as a temporary jump-start after which he escapes, twitching and with a sporadically functioning brain, rather than the easy, painless and relatively convenient episode it was now. And there were some other points that I thought passed interesting possibilities by, but all in all, fairly minor distractions. The psychology is what one has come to expect from Jeter; dark and brooding, and small doses of happiness found in unexpected places. Some of the plot twists, like what was the real purpose of those replicants in off-world colonies, give the novel a phildickian edge. The rep-symphs and your basic cop-mentality clashing against each other would in itself have been an interesting novel. Now this and many other small details give the novel spice and punch. A minor novel in the whole body of work, but interesting if you give it a chance.
BLADE RUNNER: REPLICANT NIGHT (Bantam, 1996) - All that I said about the previous book holds true here - I get the feeling that both of these should have been polished a bit more and that some of the ideas should have been explored more deeply, but again these are small grievances. The images are vivid and the ideas potent. STAR WARS - THE BOUNTY HUNTER WARS: THE MANDALORIAN ARMOR (Bantam, 1998) STAR WARS - THE BOUNTY HUNTER WARS: SLAVE SHIP (Bantam, 1998) STAR WARS - THE BOUNTY HUNTER WARS: HARD MERCHANDISE (Bantam, 1999) BLADE RUNNER: BEYOND ORION (Bantam, 1999)
INTERVIEWS
"Afterword: The Young Man Comes to the City" - afterword found in the 1987 limited edition printing of DEATH ARMS, by Morrigan. "Invisible Writing" - afterword to the Morrigan books' limited edition of James P. Blaylock's DIGGING LEVIATHAN. "MISTER E" - a 4-part comic from DC Comics' Vertigo imprint (1991) - I've only read the first issue and it was very interesting, but I can't say anything definite about it as it was fairly brief and perplexing. "On the Writing of a Book Called BLADE RUNNER 2: THE EDGE OF HUMAN" - the title says it all. Available here.
"Phil's Cat" ("Last Wave" #3 1984) - article "Sheckley and I Go Back a Long Ways" (THE COLLECTED SHORT STORIES OF ROBERT SHECKLEY Book Five, Pulphouse 1991) - introduction unknown title - a 'teenage Christian action adventure novel' published by Standard Publications, probably in the late 70's, under a house name - heavily rewritten by publishers. Something for all you obsessive collectors to hunt down.. PROJECTED NOVELS/STORIES
"Arguments with a Ghost" by Charles N. Brown (Locus, June 1996) - fine, detailed interview. Dominion (1996) - mostly about PKD and the first BLADE RUNNER sequel.Available here. Fire in the Hole (1997) - about the internet and the BR sequels mostly. Available on the Official K. W. Jeter website (see under books/Blade Runner 2) Interzone #22 by Les Escott (1987) - an excellent interview, but the magazine may be difficult to locate. New Pathways #7 and #8 by J. B. Reynolds and Ferret (1987) - unread. NonStop #2 by L. H. Salant (1995) - unread. Nova Express vol.2 no.2 (1988) - unread. See their website. PKD Society Newsletter [Dec.1984] by Andy Watson - unread "The Pseudo-Father of Steampunk Confesses" in Forced Exposure #15 by Byron Coley (1987-1989) - an excellent interview covering Jeter's whole career in great detail. There should still be back issues available at the Forced Exposure website. Science Fiction Review [May 1985] by Andy Watson - unread "Time Warps and Loathing" in Fear #30 by Les Escott (1991) - unread. see also
DIVINE INVASIONS by Lawrence Sutin (1987) - a fine biography on Philip K. Dick.
..to be added later
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