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Dhalgren by Samuel Delany
(Close race with House of Leaves, but ultimately House of Leaves was telling a specific story, whereas Dhalgren is a semi-incoherent drug trip. Loved both books, though.)
Not a book, but a webcomic: https://elan.school/
Be careful what you wish for OP, this is THE WILDEST shit you will ever read (at least top 5, guaranteed) and the worst/best part is that it’s all true.
Also, its VERY addictive so clear your schedule.
You’ve been warned.
You know I’d rather not read about that “school” again.
Exactly, but not knowing it exist is even worse.
I remember reading through the entire thing in one sitting… it is LONG. You can’t look away
Yup, I started reading out of curiosity from a suggestion on a thread just like this one, then found myself 10 hours later feeling like I’d come down from an acid trip.
I’m jealous of the people who can take that ride now, but also glad my ride with it is over. If that makes any sense.
No it’s NOT all true. It begins true, like the first couple chapters, then it spirals into 100% creative fiction. Please do not trouble your brain & emotions over fiction.
What years were you in Elan, since you are the obvious expert? And even if the Elan part was creative fiction, are you saying that I shouldn’t care about the children who really went through that? Should I watch Saving Private Ryan and not “trouble my brains and emotions” about war because “Tom Hanks wasn’t really a soldier”?
You sound like a sociopath.
The best fiction can be quite troubling, the trick is knowing the difference and/but allowing the troubles. Good art can move you. Great art compells you to move yourself.
I’m not sure if it’s the wildest but the first that comes to mind is “John Dies at the End”
The book is better but the movie was pretty good.
If only the sequel kept to the same idea…
“Dude, This Book Is Full of Spiders”? THEN WHY WAS MINE FULL OF SCORPIONS‽
And now his watch has ended.
The one that included the most wildlife might be hard to know exactly, but ‘The Lost World’ by Arthur Conan Doyle might be a contender.
One of my favourite books, and one that gave me lots to think about was His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman.
The most ‘different’ setting for a book that I’ve read might be The Planiverse by AKA Dewdney, which takes place in a 2d world with thought out and realistic physics and societies.
The Book of Rack the Healer by Zach Hughes was pretty wild.
It’s ‘New wave’ sci-fi from the 1970’s, and revolves around these mutated humans in a deeply poisonous and radioactive world where it’d forbidden to dig into the earth.
The humans have developed a carapice and internal air sacks that they fill to hold their breath before leaving their safe organic dome homes that change color depending on their mood. Some of the domes have women in them that don’t seem capable of complex thought, and live purely through sensory input, are telepathic, and are basically constantly edging themselves all day.
It’s a drug fueled fever dream, for sure.
I found my next read. Copy ordered.
I read Mother Load by Zach Huges decades ago. Not as strange as the one you describe but I still remember it.
Ha, cool! Hope you enjoy it 😄
That sounds a bit like “The Prince in Waiting” by John Christopher (more famous for “The Tripods”), it’s a trilogy also set in the distant future after a nuclear war, where all machines have been outlawed and humans exist alongside dwarfs and mutants. Over the course of the trilogy, the protagonists (living in fairly alright areas) venture deeper into more and more radiated areas and encounter grotesque stuff.
Oh man, I adore the tripods, so I’ll be giving that a read for sure. Cheers for sharing!
Definitely House of Leaves. A story inside of a story, inside of a story, with all narrators being just a bit crazy. Text of different fonts, going all over the place and even upside down based on the story. Just make sure to get the physical copy.
I’ve been meaning to get his latest work which he predictably didn’t finish. Have you read it?
Oh I didn’t know about this. You’re talking about The Familiar, right? I don’t know if I’m up for another 5 books like this but now I really want to try.
Exactly so!
House of Leaves feels like reading some sort of forbidden text.
I’m pretty sure that was the intent.
Just finished this one. And honestly, it broke my brain and how I interpret other written narratives.
2nd on the physical copy. This text doesn’t work otherwise.
Strange new world by Heinlein.
Martian Jesus comes back to earth and is like, wtf guys?Do you mean Stranger In a Strange Land? Because that’s one of mine.
I went into Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? blind. Hadn’t seen the movie, hadn’t read any other Dick, hadn’t even had it hyped to me by a friend. What a series of mindfucks.
If you want something really wild by him you can try Valis. Going in blind or not won’t really make a difference.
Lies, Inc. is another by PKD that will leave your head spinning.
I love pkd but haven’t read that, thx.
The only Philip K. Dick I’ve read is Flow my tears the policeman said (epic title). It’s pretty linear and coherent until one point towards the end where, without question, 'ol Dick popped some acid.
In elementary school I read this book called “Flawed Dogs” and it was unforgettably wild. It’s about a dog who escapes some kinda confinement by jumping over a barbed wire fence and loses his back legs in the process, and then joins a dog gang and does dog gang activities. Also one of the dog gang members was a cat in disguise.
Honestly I should see if I can find a copy of it and reread it. It was pretty wild.edit: I looked it up and maybe I have a lot of the details wrong but it’s still pretty wild
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is an obvious but nonetheless relevant answer. What a ride.
Also Infinite Jest.
The multiorgasmic man.
I’d say the first book of The Chronicles of Thomas covenant the unbeliever was a wild trip.
In the story, Thomas covenant has leprosy. Due to the leprosy he is numb from the neck down even though he can still walk. He has no sensation when he touches anything and he cannot engage in his chosen profession which is writing. In a fit of pique he rescues a girl that almost gets hit by a car and gets isekaied.
This was written in the late '70s so it was not a common trope at the time.
He arrives in a world of magic on top of a mountain covered in Giant steps, he crawls his way down the mountain and encounters a girl who uses the magic of the land to heal him of his leprosy.
Believing this is all a dream and trying to prove to himself that this is not real, he rapes the girl.
The girls seems very distraught but pulls herself together and guides him into town and that is when he discovers that the white gold wedding ring on his finger is the source of wild magic.
There is a great evil on the land that plans to destroy everything and he is the chosen person, the only person who can stop it.
He has to fight against his disbelief of the world while reconciling his abhorrent actions with his own internal sense of morality in order to have a chance to go home again.
This book spawned a 10 book series covering hundreds of years of history in the land with Thomas Covenant’s battle with the forces of evil and the lives of the people of the land resting in his leprosy numbed hands.
It’s an amazing work but it is a rough read.
Have read the first 6 books at least a half dozen times since my local librarian suggested Lord Foul’s Bane to 12 year old me in the early 80s. Little heavy for a pre teen, so I’m pretty sure she hadn’t read it herself…But those books ignited a lifelong passion for fantasy adventure stories. Saltheart Foamfollower is one of my absolute favorite characters of all time. Sooo many wild parts in those books. Good call!
Indeed. When saltheart foamfollower undergoes the lava caamora? Like I don’t cry but that brought a tear to my eye.
There is a final four books out which are of a different caliber than the first six but not a terrible read.
Yeah…I read the last 4, too. Not all that long ago. I appreciated the nostalgia returning to The Land engendered…but…“a different caliber”, is a very diplomatic way to refer to them. Lol
Naked Lunch. It’s a dark strange read but it suck with me.
At some point I stopped trying to make sense of it and let the general feelings carry me forward. It’s bizarre and dark, but in a captivating way.
That’s probably the best way to read it.
The Road. Still think about it a lot.
NOFX: The Hepatitis Bathtub. Wildest because it’s an autobiography, and they spill it all.
Edit: find the audiobook if you canI gift this one out SO many times!
