An insane, broken pulp-art painter gets chance at redemption in a phantasmagoric science fiction wonder from a true master of the weird
Before his stroke and the onset of old age, Frank Lazorg was the king of the fantasy illustrators—with an ego to match. But he can paint no more. That is, until he starts taking a bizarre new drug that promises to restore his creative powers. Unfortunately, artistic reinvigoration comes with a steep price tag: addiction and madness. With his rage and jealousy unleashed and his grasp of reality severely compromised, Lazorg is led to commit an unspeakable act, and, in turn, is led . . . somewhere else. Suddenly naked and helpless, the artist finds himself in a world of abiding strangeness, filled with monstrous things that seem to mock, yet oddly mirror, Lazorg’s previous reality. And here is Crutchsump, a remarkable creature possessing great love and rare compassion, who could possibly aid in Lazorg’s ultimate salvation as he spirals downward through the Cosmocopia and ever-closer to the Conceptus.
Arguably the most inventive force in science fiction since Philip K. Dick in his heyday, Paul Di Filippo outdoes even Paul Di Filippo with his remarkable Cosmocopia. Outrageous, ingenious, nightmarish, funny, provocative, and utterly unforgettable, this is a glittering testament to the towering heights science fiction can achieve.
