Toronto writer and editor Mark Sampson has recently posted a review of J.G. Ballard's 1998 novel Cocaine Nights — which Sampson did not particularly enjoy. Publicly criticizing an author as well-liked as Ballard requires some small bravery, and doing it with without producing a screed demands a refined and subtle critical eye. Thankfully, Sampson possesses both.
"Cocaine Nights hasn’t turned me off J.G. Ballard—I’ll most likely be back for more of his strange, transgressive writing—but in the end I can’t really recommend this book to fans of honest and well-structured fiction."
Cocaine Nights is one of many books that Sampson has reviewed on his blog, Free Range Reading, which he has been updating since 2010. Recent authors reviewed include Catherine Owen and Anthony Burgess. On May 18, Sampson also took to his blog to announce that his novel, Sad Peninsula, had been accepted by Dundurn Press.
You can read the whole review at Free Range Reading, along with the author's other posts.
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