“That I have left my tales intact, complete with imperfections, serves not as proof of my dishonesty, but the opposite! Any blame lies not with the poor author who writes with the strictest regard to honesty, but with the events themselves.”

Pyrotechnicon is a fantastical, whimsical novel in which Cyrano de Bergerac has to face off against a man who’s part billiard table, a giant microscopic organism, a house made of birds, and other fantastical wonders. It’s pre-steampunk science fiction based on 17th century scientific ideas taken to their logical conclusions.

He encounters many strange phenomena during his journey through space. When he approaches the moon, he starts to experience menstrual symptoms. He encounters an alien race with lanterns for heads and salamanders who treat shadows like ponds. He rides on a cloud, meets God, travels through time, experiences nothingness, and becomes part of a painting.

A movie version of this book would never do it justice. Scenes are often described in ways impossible to picture in your head. The text is more poetry than prose. Much of the delight comes in the form of word play. At times, the text itself is a necessary part of the story, so even an audio version would cause you to miss out on some of the fun.

A ship’s departure “was marked by three fat bubbles like the ellipsis at the end of a sentence too sorry to conclude…” At one point a sloshing chamber pot comes flying towards Cyrano – “A case where the pessimist saw the vessel as half-full.”

An enormous feast being brought to a table is described as a siege-engine that has to pass through several hazards to get to the dining room. A space ship has “vacuum-tolerant flowers” hanging from window-boxes outside. There were many laugh-out-loud moments for me, but, of course, your own experience may vary.

Cyrano’s arrogance is charming. He receives a lump upon his head that he claims would have killed a lesser man. He also remarks that “If you could have resisted the temptation to watch these private reminiscences, reader, you are a better man than I (and we both know that is not true).”

Of course, Cyrano’s famously large nose is his most distinctive feature. At one point a character remarks, “Like your nose, Sir, your reputation precedes you.”

Though Cyrano and his fiancé Roxane face many dangers along the way, the end of the book is absolutely delightful. This book is a pure joy. I rarely read a book more than once, but this is certainly one I want to revisit. The best book I’ve read in a while.

Simon Petrie has a wonderful review of this book as well.