William "Dead" Kennedy is in trouble. He's thirty-two, in love with his ex-wife, has lost his job, and he's been dreaming about ghost roads again. Sometimes a guy is haunted for a really good reason. - Nebula and World Fantasy Award finalist - A Book Sense Notable Book - Best of the Year: Booklist, Locus, San Francisco Chronicle - A Locus bestseller "Stewart's quicksilver wit makes Perfect Circle perfectly hilarious. And, a supremely skilled storyteller, he saves the best for last." -Texas Monthly "Stewart's mastery of Will ...
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William "Dead" Kennedy is in trouble. He's thirty-two, in love with his ex-wife, has lost his job, and he's been dreaming about ghost roads again. Sometimes a guy is haunted for a really good reason. - Nebula and World Fantasy Award finalist - A Book Sense Notable Book - Best of the Year: Booklist, Locus, San Francisco Chronicle - A Locus bestseller "Stewart's quicksilver wit makes Perfect Circle perfectly hilarious. And, a supremely skilled storyteller, he saves the best for last." -Texas Monthly "Stewart's mastery of Will's first-person narration is unflinching and unfaltering. The voice conjured here is absolutely authentic and affecting." -Washington Post "Stewart's compelling account of how DK comes to grips with his ghosts, both actual and metaphorical, is alternately poignant and hilarious, with some genuinely creepy moments and one or two powerful jolts.... Compelling ... with strong potential for crossing over into the mainstream." -Publishers Weekly "All-around terrific."-Booklist (starred review) "By turns heartbreaking and hilarious, Perfect Circle is ... an impressive example of an author using genre resources to stake out a territory that, for the moment at least, no one but he occupies. -Locus "A read-at-one-go novel.... Everything is both stated and understated, elegant, full of the mundane horror and fear that inform a normal, frustrated life.... And it is well, well worth the reading. A highly recommended work." -F&SF Sean Stewart's much-anticipated eighth novel is a dark, funny, fast-moving thriller that you won't want to put down. William "Dead" Kennedy has problems. He's haunted by family, by dead people with unfinished business, and by those perfect pop songs that you can't get out of your head. He's a 32-year-old Texan still in love with his ex-wife. He just lost his job at Pet-Co for eating cat food. His air-conditioning is broken, there's no good music on the radio, and he's been dreaming about ghost roads. When Will's cousin ("My dad married your Aunt Dot's half-sister") calls in the middle of the night about a dead girl haunting his garage, it seems like an easy way to make a thousand dollars. But nothing is ever that simple, especially when family is involved. Will's mother is planning a family reunion of epic proportions. Will's ex-wife is married to a former Marine. His twelve-year-old daughter Megan thinks Will needs someone to look after him. And recently his dead relatives seem to want something from him. +++ punk attitude: country & western life +++ "Perfect Circle is a perfect read, exciting, unique, everything here but the Second Coming, but, Sean Stewart himself is the prize. What a talent. Write on, my man. Write on." -Joe Lansdale "Needy Ghosts, bar fights, concealed weapons, R.E.M., and ramen noodles-Perfect Circle is an irreverent Texas treat. Sean Stewart is one bright, funny writer." -Stewart O'Nan "Will Kennedy has some troublesome relatives. Especially the dead ones. Perfect Circle is Sean Stewart at his spooky, funny, sad, and haunting best." -Karen Joy Fowler "A ghost story for grown-ups, frightening, funny, and finally redemptive. It kept me up way past my bedtime." -Harley Jane Kozak "I read it all in one gulp, by turns fearful and joyful for Stewart's likable loser protagonist." -Cory Doctorow "If Oprah read science fiction...This quirky, engaging novel tells the story of William "Dead" Kennedy, a thirtysomething former punk rocker and down-on-his-luck divorced dad-who sees ghosts. After a visit to his haunted cousin goes horribly wrong, "DK" finds himself getting lots of attention-mostly the wrong kind-from both the living and the dead. Funny and thought-provoking!" -Carol Schneck, Schuler Books and Music, Okemos, MI "My favorites among Sean Stewart's books are those that hover on the edge of our reality. His characters, like William "Dead" Kennedy are much like my friends and relatives -- although if any of my relatives are seeing ghosts, they haven't mentioned this to me.
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Add this copy of Perfect Circle to cart. $1.78, good condition, Sold by Once Upon A Time Books rated 1.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Tontitown, AR, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Small Beer Press.
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This is a used book in good condition and may show some signs of use or wear. This is a used book in good condition and may show some signs of use or wear.
Add this copy of Perfect Circle to cart. $3.18, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brownstown, MI, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Small Beer Press.
Add this copy of Perfect Circle to cart. $3.18, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Small Beer Press.
Add this copy of Perfect Circle to cart. $3.18, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Small Beer Press.
Add this copy of Perfect Circle to cart. $4.20, very good condition, Sold by Wonder Book - Member ABAA/ILAB rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Frederick, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Small Beer Press.
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Very Good. Very Good condition. A copy that may have a few cosmetic defects. May also contain light spine creasing or a few markings such as an owner's name, short gifter's inscription or light stamp. Bundled media such as CDs, DVDs, floppy disks or access codes may not be included.
Add this copy of Perfect Circle to cart. $4.20, good condition, Sold by Wonder Book - Member ABAA/ILAB rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Frederick, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Small Beer Press.
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Good. Good condition. A copy that has been read but remains intact. May contain markings such as bookplates, stamps, limited notes and highlighting, or a few light stains. Bundled media such as CDs, DVDs, floppy disks or access codes may not be included.
Add this copy of Perfect Circle to cart. $4.72, very good condition, Sold by BooksRun rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Philadelphia, PA, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Small Beer Press.
Add this copy of Perfect Circle to cart. $5.00, like new condition, Sold by Storbeck's rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Georgetown, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Small Beer Press.
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Fine. A fresh, bright unread copy. Inscribed "For Mary, This shot of fine Houston swamp water..." and SIGNED by the AUTHOR on the title page. 243 pages. Signed by Inscribed by author. William "Dead" Kennedy has problems. He's haunted by family, by dead people with unfinished business, and by those perfect pop songs that you can't get out of your head. He's a 32-year-old Texan still in love with his ex-wife. He's just lost his job at Petco for eating cat food. His air-conditioning is broken, there's no good music on the radio, and he's been dreaming about ghost roads. When Will's cousin ("My dad married your Aunt Dot's half-sister") calls in the middle of the night about a dead girl haunting his garage, helping him out seems like an easy way to make a thousand dollars. But nothing is ever that simple, especially when family is involved. Will's mother is planning a family reunion of epic proportions. Will's ex-wife is married to a former Marine who knows Will is bad news. Will's 12-year-old daughter, Megan, thinks he needs someone to look after him. And recently his dead relatives seem to want something from him.
Add this copy of Perfect Circle to cart. $8.00, good condition, Sold by Montclair Book Center rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Montclair, NJ, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Small Beer Press.
My first Sean Stewart book was "Mockingbird" and I liked it a lot.
I found "Perfect Circle" to be a little darker and edgier than "Mockingbird", and that's not a bad thing. If anything, I found the writing of "Perfect Circle" to be even better than "Mockingbird". I love flawed characters and this book is full of them. The main character seems unable to stop the events in his life from unfolding even when he has the ability to change. He seems bent on self-destruction and invents ways to hurt himself.
I loved his daughter in the book, 13 going on 30.
One of my favorite things about Sean Stewart is his story-telling on at least two levels. You can take the book for face value and enjoy a well-written book. You can also interpret the story in a second way, not as obvious and have some great discussions.
I also like the way Stewart brings the people of Texas alive. I've lived in the Southwest and I can hear the inflection in the chartacter's voices as I read. Its almost like evesdropping on their conversations.
This book is a little off-beat and very charming. I know there's more of Sean Stewart's books in my future.
