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Cosmocopia, by Paul Di Filippo, is a weird story! The main character, Frank Lazorg, is a very rich and successful painter, a man of passion, a creator. However, he is an old man who has suffered a stroke and hasn't finished a painting in over a year. His hated rival, Rokesby Marrs, on the other hand, has become popular and he prolifically churns out paintings in the same style as Lazorg, fueling Lazorg's anger. One evening, Lazorg receives an odd-smelling package - a brick composed of the powder of ten thousand vision scarabs, sent to him in recompense by an old sorcerer whose life Lazorg had once saved (or possibly terrorized.) It will allow the artist to paint a brilliant crimson, a living, sanguine hue. Before he mixes up the paint, Lazorg, entranced by the smell, the color and texture of the powder, likening it to "the cosmetic-dusted porous skin of some exotic maiden" (location 129), places a few grains of the powder on his tongue ... and the story turns certainly Weird. The events that follow could be construed as drug-induced hallucinations, but the reader soon realizes that that interpretation is probably wrong and the events are real. Frighteningly, disgustingly, disturbingly real as Lazorg is transported through the Cosmocopia, a horn of plenty of parallel universes with the ultimate Creator at its base.

Creation and creative acts are driving themes in the story. Lazorg exemplifies this by making art and having sex. He also seems to have exceptionally loose control over his urges and his emotions, these passions informing his creative acts. Unfortunately, anger is primal in Lazorg. He is extremely angry with his model, Velina Malaspina, when he discovers that she also sits for his rival, Marrs. He is angry with Marrs for usurping his own position in the forefront of an artistic movement. He is so angry with God for the suffering that he and his partner endure that he claims he wants to kill God! These passions infuse Lazorg's art; indeed, they are likely the reason Lazorg's art excels. The passions are also the cause of Lazorg's most dramatic actions and his suffering; they are his fatal flaw.

Di Filippo evokes wonder and disgust as he describes the bizarre settings and circumstances of Lazorg's journey through the parallel universes. This may be sufficient for many readers - he certainly does a bang-up job of it - but ultimately, Cosmocopia is a study of Frank Lazorg's character. Certainly the weirdness of the settings and circumstances have an effect on Lazorg as well as the reader. It is fascinating to see how his passions affect his future and how they change through his experiences.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. ( )

I received a free galley of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book a little difficult to follow after the first turn, but then so did the protagonist. I enjoy the authors complex story line and external view of the ego driven artist who is the protagonist of the story. While I found some of the other characters far more likable, I believe that was the point.

This story is a wild ride through the imagination incorporating fantastical worlds, spirituality, cosmology and many other ologies. You definitely have to think for a bit when you finish it. Always the mark of a good book.

I give this book a B. ( )

http://speculiction.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/review-of-cosmocopia-by-paul-di-filip... ( )

Cosmocopia is what I imagine an inspiring acid trip to be like; everything is alien, yet you feel strangely engaged with and emboldened against the foreign elements.

It all starts rather normal, within the dimensions humans of this Earth recognize all to well: ailing self-centered painter, beautiful and cruel muse/love interest, a budding substance abuse problem… And then Di Filippo does what he does, and our painter is thrown into a strange parallel universe, where his daily vocabulary is put to the test, where there are no paintings and ghosts are not what he knows. Here, the search for the true self starts anew, and perhaps inevitably, the painter retraces his previous life in this strange new world. Each time the painter settles down to his success, he embarks on a new journey, one that will take him closer to his maker.

Di Filippo’s language is fluid and engaging, and successful in creating separate emotional vernaculars for the characters that belong to different worlds. There is love, sex, and art intertwined throughout the journey, but ultimately the story is of birth and rebirth and origins of self.

Highly recommended for those who like pets, sculpture, and psychedelic trips.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. ( )