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Comment by smcl | Hacker News Reader

Not sure how appropriate or relevant this is, but both me and a friend read this and were reminded slightly of the stuff "written" by Matthew Holness' "Garth Marenghi" character. Sharing a couple of choice excerpts in case anyone is curious, but the real gold is in "Garth Marenghi's Darkplace" - a series set in 1980s hospital in Romford.

Dead Centre - http://www.garthmarenghi.com/books/deadcentre.htm - "This near-legendary collection of short stories includes 'The Streaming Face' (about a boy whose face is turned into a river by a magical elk because he spat on a gnome)"

Juggers - http://www.garthmarenghi.com/books/juggers.htm - "I wanted to write a book about the triumph of the female spirit over a gigantic lorry. Of course, looking back, I realise the truck actually represents AIDS.'"

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Me it reminded of Stanisław Lem.

He often wrote stuff with an astronaut from the future, who meets other civilisations and often they are a little bit like the world now. So this guy goes there and is like "how crazy those aliens are, doing this and that" and the reader feels is like "well... he is totally right but that's how it's here in real life right now!!"

Similar case with Janusz Zajdel. Notably both have been writing during the communist rule. Some amusing stuff had been passed under the nose of censors.

There was a marvelous episode of some "golden age" radio show that was giving "live updates" to a massive archeological find: the ancient island of Man Hat An was excavated, revealing wondrous finds... The Great Tomb of May Seas was opened, revealing all the treasures he needed for the afterlife such as huge rooms full of beds, clothing, entertainment, and even glass panels which magically showed events far away. Other such finds were noted, but it ended with clearing the great monument to their own doom, a stone-inscribed wall fearing the impending onslaught of the Post Men, whom "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds", whose ways younger documents noted "going Postal" being something to be feared.

If you like this you'd like the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun (Kim Il-sung Mausoleum). It has a very curious mixture of their possesions. From expensive gifts from foreign friends, to craft from schoolchildren, to everyday stuff. I think there is a photoshop CD on display for instance.

Not sure which came first, but that sounds very much like "Motel of the Mysteries", a 1979 pseudo-future-archaeology book by David Macaulay.

An archaeologist in the year 4022 walking through the ancient land of "Usa" stumbles across an ancient U-shaped structure with dozens of individual or double-sized tombs. He uses these to piece together the burial customs of that long-lost civilization of Yanks and deduce the meanings and usage of items such as the ceremonial Sacred Urn - found in the Inner Chamber - and the Great Altar towards which the body on the Ceremonial Platform was clearly intended to face in the afterlife (holding the Sacred Communicator in its right hand).

That reminds me of this anthropology essay about the Naciremas:

http://www.ohio.edu/people/thompsoc/Body.html

I loved the TV series but had no idea there were books too. Thank you :)

The books are fictional sadly, sorry I should've made that clearer!

It's kind of you to say that, but in hindsight it's pretty obvious given the writing style of the show. I was just being epically stupid (I blame tiredness but really there isn't any excuse :p)

If it's any consolation I was gutted when I found that out. Hopefully I can find something else good by Matthew Holness, who knows he might even reprise his role as Garth

A hilarious show, all five episodes are on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=darkplace

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