"Bradley Denton - A Conflagration Artist" - читать интересную книгу автора (Denton Bradley)

and a pronounced tendency to blush and stammer with embarrassment when attention ofany kind is
directed his way. He's wearing slacks, a long sleeved shirt, and hush puppies. He stares around him with
a bemused expression and says "Excuse me" and "I'm sorry" and "Golly". He drives a small pickup truck
with a camper shell. The tires havewhitewalls.

We will call him gentleman "A".

Now picture a different man. Shoulder length hair, leather jacket, jeans, t-shirt, sunglasses dark enough
to stop neutrons, and a pronounced tendency to stare through you like you're not there. He plays the
drums in a ragged rock and roll band and the last song of every show he kicks over the entire drum set.
He has an attitude and drives a low slung motorcycle. He sweats a lot.

We will call him man "B". He isno gentleman.

Both of these creatures are Bradley Denton.

So what happened?

Was it moving to Texas?

No, those of you who've readWrack 'n' Roll know that man "B" was there in Brad back when he lived
in Lawrence, Kansas (even if he did look like something fromRevenge of the Nerds). Anyone who has
followed Brad's short fiction over the past eight years knows that this savage creature has always been
there, inside a calmer, more genteel facade. If you're acquainted with his latest book,Buddy Holly Is
Alive and Well on Ganymede, you know that Brad Denton burns with the fierce fire of all true believers.
And if you have the good fortune to read his James Blackburn stories, you'll know that this fire is white
hot.

It is no coincidence that this book is calledA Conflagration Artist. Yes, thatis the name of one of the
stories within, seeing print here for the first time, but it also describes Bradley as well, for reasons that will
become clear as you read this collection. There is fire in most of these stories, figurative and literal,
cleansing and scarring, and I assure you that you can't read these stories without feeling the heat.

And don't worry. Brad isn't (yet) a danger to society. Youcan meet him without harm, for while Man "B"
is definitely in Bradley, he hasn't escaped Gentleman "A" yet. He still blushes with wonderful regularity.
He still stammers from embarrassment. And he still has whitewalls on his truck.

тАФSteven Gould



In the Fullness of Time



Darrell (1)

The slowness begins as the pickup truck's headlight beams jump onto a boxcar. His right foot tries to
stab the brake pedal, but his muscles are too sluggish. It's as if the air has turned to gelatin.