REVIEW: Happily Ever After edited by John Klima

Happily Ever After edited by John Klima
Paperback: 477 pages
Publisher: Night Shade Books (24 May 2011)
ISBN-10: 1597802204
ISBN-13: 978-1597802208
Reviewer: Cara
Copy: Bought in bookshop

From the back of the book
Once Upon A Time...
... in the faraway land of Story, a Hugo-winning Editor realised that no one had collected together the fairy tales of that age, and that the doorstep-thick anthologies of modern fairy tales were sorely lacking...

And so the Editor ventured forth, wandering the land of Story from shore to shore, climbing massive mountains of books and delving deep into lush, literary forests, gathering together thirty-three of the best re-tellings of fairy tales he could find. Not just any fairy tales, mind you, but tantalising tales from some of the biggest names in today's fantastic fiction, authors like Gregory Maguire, Susanna Clarke, Charles de Lint, Holly Black, Alethea Kontis, Kelly Link, Neil Gaiman, Patricia Briggs, Paul Di Filippo, Gregory Frost, and Nancy Kress. But these stories alone weren't enough to satisfy the Editor, so the Editor ventured further, into the dangerous cave of the fearsome Bill Willingham, and emerged intact with a magnificent introduction, to tie the collection together.

And the inhabitants of Story - from the Kings and Queens relaxing in their castles to the peasants toiling in the fields, from the fey folk flitting about the forests to the trolls lurking under the bridges and the giants in the hills - read the anthology, and enjoyed it. And they all lived...
...Happily Ever After.

This is a beautiful book. The cover art (by Kurt Huggins and Zelda Devon) captures the essence of the tales contained within and each story has different small decorative motifs at the top of each page. A lot of care has been taken by Night Shade Books to present Happily Ever After as a volume to treasure and, given the high calibre of authors contributing to this anthology, they are right to do so. Personally, I would be prepared to pay for a hard cover version, so taken am I with this anthology.

From the unusual introduction by Bill Willingham (of the Fables graphic novels series), which is a short story itself, to the chilling final tale by Robert Coover, Happily Ever After has a something for everyone within its pages. Many of the stories are based on the familiar characters from the European tradition - Red Riding Hood, trolls, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella, for example - but others take their inspiration from other parts of the world or are completely new yet still recognisable as a fairy tale.  The authors hail from across the broad range of speculative fiction: Peter Straub is known as a horror writer, whereas Garth Nix is a familiar name in childrens fiction. Patricia Briggs is the author of a quality urban fantasy series and Nancy Kress is an award winning science fiction writer. Other names familiar to me who have contributed to this anthology include Jeff VanderMeer, Karen Joy Fowler, Howard Waldrop, Michelle West (also known as Michelle Sagara) and Esther Friesner.

Having grown up reading Hans Christian Andersen, the Brothers Grimm and the Andrew Lang 'colours' series of fairy tales (now available on Kindle) I am probably biased in favour of this type of story. I always enjoyed the dark undercurrents that were present in the written versions but were mysteriously absent in the Disney film versions. As a result, I prefer my fairy stories to have a more sinister edge. In Happily Ever After, I was not disappointed; these are fairy stories for adults. Take Wil McCarthy's He Died That Day, In Thirty Years for example. Here we have a modern take on Alice in Wonderland, only in this story she is not the innocent girl who finds herself in a mysterious world filled with white rabbits and mad hatter but instead is a protagonist in a distinctly science fictional piece.  One story that stands out is Pinocchio's Diary by Robert J Howe, which is brutal and terrifying yet has a strong moral core. Another that left a lingering disquiet was The Return of the Dark Children, which explored how the parents dealt with the loss of their children to the Pied Piper.

While I enjoyed the book overall, I was annoyed by there being four stories based on the tale of Little Red Riding Hood. Also there were  2 stories about Rapunzel, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. Although the stories were all quite different from one another, I would have preferred there to have been only one version of each. Of all  the stories, however, there was only one I really disliked - The Sawing Boys by Howard Waldrop. I found it confusing (despite the glossary of slang terms used at the end) and was somewhat puzzled by its inclusion in this particular anthology.

Happily Ever After will be enjoyed by anyone who enjoys short stories with a twist. The range of authors combined with new and imaginative approaches to familiar tales will appeal to a broad spectrum of speculative fiction readers. It is a book that lends itself to reading in short bursts rather that straight through from start to finish. I found that reading a story every 2 or 3 days was ideal, and it acted almost like a palate cleanser. It is certainly a book I will return to time and time again and I am sure it will still be prominent on my bookshelves for many years to come.

Overall 8/10

REVIEW: Tales from the Edge of Forever by Alexander Hammond

Tales from the Edge of Forever by Alexander Hammond
Publishing information: Paperback; 174 pages
Publisher: Nazca Plains; 16 December 2010
ISBN 10: 1610981715
ISBN 13: 978-1610981712
Anthology/Short Story Collection
Copy: Provided by Author
Reviewer: Tyson

Synopsis: "An anthology of mind bending imagination, Tales from the Edge of Forever offers a delicious collection of wildly original vignettes mixing fantasy, speculation, spirituality and science invention. Hammond has created stories with a depth and thoughtfulness that transcend their brevity. Whether on the streets of Manhattan or at the very edge of time and space itself the authors’ scenarios tease and intrigue in this stunningly unique collection. A total of twenty three creatively brilliant stories to captivate even the most jaded fantasy enthusiast, this book both challenges and enchants."

Tales From the Edge of Forever is a short story collection from Alexander Hammond and he does a fairly good job of delivering a wide gambit of genres. He tackles suicide in the story The Hotel at the Edge of Forever. Nuclear war and politics in the story The Button and UFO conspiracies in Top Secret. Every story contained in the collection reads as if it was written from a different author as Hammond finds a new voice for each story. There is at least one story for everyone regardless of your tastes.

The three stories that I enjoyed the most were The End of the World, My Special Guest Tonight, and Deity. The End of the World had a surprise ending. So did My Special Guest Tonight which takes a interesting look at violence in the media. The main character has a striking quality similar to Quentin Tarantino. Finally, in Deity we find a young man who must come to terms with his god-like powers.

There are a lot of stories contained in this collection and they read really quickly. I found myself continuing to read long after I should have taken a break. Tales from the Edge of Forever is quite an eclectic collection and I found that it was a lot of fun to read.

Plot 8
Characters 8
Style 8

Overall 8/10

REVIEW: Flesh and Bone: Rise of the Necromancers anthology

Flesh and Bone: Rise of the Necromancers edited by Jessy Marie Roberts
Publishing information: Kindle
Publisher: Pine Hill Press; 16 August 2010
ISBN 10: 1617060011
ISBN 13: 978-1617060014
ASIN: B004C05DR4
Anthology
Copy: Provided by publisher
Reviewer: Tyson

Synopsis: "Twenty-one dark short stories about the undead, and the persons who raise them... Featuring: The Blade of Tears by Lydia Sharp, No Man's Land by K.G. McAbee, Wrists by Shennandoah Diaz, All the World a Grave by Michael McClung, Blood on the Beach by Anne Michaud, The Scarlet Cat by Rebecca Lloyd, The Mortician's Secret by Kelley Frank, The King's Accord by Alan Baxter, Necrodance by Darin Kennedy, The Ghost Walk by Marianne Halbert, Blood Brothers by J. Matthew Saunders, Bequest by Greg Mellor, 9 Mystery Rose by Eden Royce, In the Dark Kingdom by Brandon Berntson, Jenna's Awakening by TW Brown, Queen of Bones by Aubrie Dionne, Small Matters of Immortality by Michael R. Colangelo, The Stoner Bride by Matthew Fryer, Sedenberry's Pest by Jon C. Forisha, A History of the Wraith King by Chris Poling & And the Greatest of these is Love by David McDonald."

While reading Flesh and Bone I was struck with the thought that this entire collection has the feel of a Creep Show or Tales From the Darkside feel to them. The collection contained in the anthology varies considerably. There are tales that are in the modern age as well as from times past. There is also a lot of fantasy elements aside from the obvious dealing with necromancy. While I found the nearly all the stories contained in the collection to be great there were a few that stood out.

The Blade of Tears by Lydia Sharp and All the World a Grave by Michael McClung were very impressive in that they should have been full blown novels. There were a lot of great ideas and characters presented in both of the stories. The Blade of Tears dealt with the undead attacking a woman bent on revenge as she attempts to recover a family heirloom. All the World a Grave had a fascinating assassin. The background for the character was impressive and the ending was something that I did not see coming. The Scarlet Cat by Rebecca Lloyd was a cross between classic Stephen King and Raimi's Drag Me to Hell. After reading the story I thought she outdid King in many respects and would love to see more work from the author.

The one stand out story that I enjoyed was Blood on the Beach by Anne Michaud. It was a short story told from the zombie's prospective as the zombie is semi-aware and not as brain dead was we are led to believe. When Michaud has the zombie looking for a hiding spot to avoid the soldiers had me chuckling.

Flesh and Bone: Rise of the Necromancers is not a collection that I would pick up on my own as it is not something that I tend to go after when I look for a new book, but I am glad that the publisher sent me the collection as it was a lot of fun to read and gave me a chance to read several talented authors that I had never encountered before. If you love the undead and those that raise them from their eternal rest then this the perfect collection for you. I wish that I had received this anthology around Halloween because it is a great collection for that time of year.

Plot 8
Characters 7
Style 7

Overall 8/10

The Allure of the Short Story

Introduction
There are occasions when concentration is poor or time is short and settling down to read a novel is not an option. This is when I turn to my collection of short stories, when I can read a complete piece of writing in a relatively brief period. This is a recent development for me, not having considered short stories much in the past, but thanks to Short Story Month earlier this year at Nextread’s blog I have become a fan. Since then I have acquired a number of themed anthologies, some author collections and found several useful online resources. The world of short stories is a veritable treasure trove of good writing, imaginative fiction and occasional surprises. Here I will share some of the stories that have made an impression on me and recommend anthologies and collections that now sit proudly on my shelves.

Author collections

Many authors began their writing career with short stories, especially in America. There has long been a tradition of this format in magazines such as Weird Tales in the 1950’s. Such esteemed names as Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke, Philip K. Dick, Ray Bradbury and Fritz Leiber have all strong reputations as short story writers. Indeed, there are award-winning authors whose output is largely confined to this format, for example, Ted Chiang or Kelley Link.

Science fiction: Many of my favourite authors have written science fiction short stories, often in the early stages of their writing careers. It is a good way for a new writer to attract the attention of publishers and, sometimes the short story can be a useful exercise in developing new concepts or ideas. Isaac Asimov’s famous works, the Foundation series and the Robot series both began life as short stories, and in 1968 the Science Fiction Writers of America voted "Nightfall" the best science fiction short story ever written.
Although Marion Zimmer Bradley is probably best known for her fantasy novel The Mists of Avalon, she has written some quality science fiction short stories, published as a Best Of collection about 20 years ago. Some are set in her Darkover world, others involve alien invasion, but all have a leaning towards gender politics in varying degrees, similar to Ursula Le Guin or Sheri S Tepper. Ian McDonald’s Cyberabad Days, set in the future India of River of Gods is another notable collection.

Fantasy: The master of epic fantasy, J.R.R. Tolkien has two collections of short stories, both set in Middle Earth. Personally I love The Silmarillion which gives us insight into the history and mythology prior to the time of The Lord of the Rings. More modern writers, such as Kelley Armstrong continue the tradition of short stories and I have enjoyed two of her collections, Men of the Otherworld and Tales of the Otherworld. Another favourite collection is Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber, a retelling of fairy stories more akin to the originals than the sanitised Disney versions. Neil Gaiman is also a great short story writer, Fragile Things being an excellent collection.

Horror: There are a number of authors who are particularly known for their short story writing and of these, probably H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allen Poe are the earliest exponents of the format. I haven’t read any Lovecraft (yet) but am well aware of his lasting influence on horror and ‘new weird’ writing. My own favourite is Edgar Allen Poe, whose Selected Tales I read many years ago. The Masque of the Red Death and The Fall of the House of Usher are classics but it was The Pit and the Pendulum that had a lasting impact on me. Descriptions of the evil nature of the Spanish Inquisition and the terrible torture inflicted on its victims terrified me as a teenager and I continue to use this story as a benchmark for all horror short stories. Stephen King has also written short stories, some of them excellent, all with a twist. Recommended collections include Night Shift and Four Seasons. His son, Joe Hill, has carried on the tradition of short story writing in his collection, 20th Century Ghosts.

Anthologies
For me, anthologies are an excellent way to discover new authors without committing to buying a novel. I enjoy dipping into an anthology, reading one or two stories, then leaving it for another day. I particularly enjoy collections of stories, from a range of authors all centred around a theme. There seems to be a growing number of these available today and I admit my collection is growing steadily. Many of these cover the range of speculative fiction, the uniting feature being the theme of the title.

Emerald Magic: This is described as “great tales of Irish fantasy” and includes authors such as Ray Bradbury, Jacqueline Carey, Charles De Lint, Tanith Lee and L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Other Earths: “11 original stories about the different paths our world might take if certain events never occurred” this is a collection of alternative history, or ‘what if…’ stories by a range of authors; Gene Wolfe, Lucius Shepard, Jeff Vandermeer, Stephen Baxter and Alastair Reynolds have all contributed to this anthology.

Songs of the Dying Earth: “stories in honour of Jack Vance” intrigued me when I first saw it, and includes stories from Robert Silverberg, Tad Williams, Howard Waldrop, Elizabeth Moon and George R. R. Martin.
Future Primitive: “The new Ecotopias” is edited by Kim Stanley Robinson and contains stories from Ursula le Guin, Terry Bisson, Pat Murphy and Ernest Callenbach who wrote the classic novel Ecotopia which provides the theme.

Sympathy for the Devil: “Thirty-five stories, from classics to the cutting edge, exploring the many sides of Satan, Lucifer…” is a very recent acquisition with short stories from Stephen King, Robert Louis Stevenson, Charles Stross, Kelley Link, China Mieville, Holly Black and Mark Twain amongst others.

Dead Souls: "contains twenty-five stories that will only ensure the darkness without enfolds you in its cold embrace" This is another recent purchase, prompted by the amazing cover and a story from the talented Kaaron Warren.

Online resources
SciFiction
This is an archive of short stories that were previously published on scifi.com. I haven’t read many of them yet, but have found some gems including Passing of the Minotaurs by Rjurik Davidson and The Ugly Chickens by Howard Waldrop (as recommended by @kevmcveigh on Twitter). There is a wide range of authors who have stories published here and this is an archive I can spend several hours reading a mix of science fiction, fantasy, horror and just plain strange short stories.

Free Speculative Fiction Online
Here is another extensive archive of short stories. Many stories, novelettes and novellas are available in PDF and/or eReader formats or podcasts as well as standard HTML webpages. It includes recent award winning pieces such as One of Our Bastards is Missing by Paul Cornell and Palimpsest by Charles Stross. The range of authors is extensive and thankfully the search facility is good.

Conclusion
As evidenced by the large number of well known authors listed in this article, the short story is a popular form of writing. With the wealth of stories available I hope to see more anthologies appearing on the shelves and online. I am starting to really appreciate short stories and see myself continuing to explore this format further as there is something very satisfying about reading a complete work of fiction in the space of 30 minutes or less. I hope you agree. If you know of any good collections, anthologies or online stories, please add your recommendations to the comments section below.

REVIEW: Death's Excellent Vacation edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner

Death's Excellent Vacation edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner
Contributing Authors: Charlaine Harris, Sarah Smith, Jeaniene Frost, Daniel Stashower, A. Lee Martinez, Jeff Abbott, L. A. Banks, Katie MacAlister, Christopher Golden, Lilith Saintcrow, Chris Grabenstein, Sharan Newman and Toni L. P. Kelner.

Publisher: Penguin
Format: Hardcover, 352 pages.
ISBN 10: 0441018688
ISBN 13: 9780441018680
Copy: Penguin Canada
Reviewer: Victoria

On the back of the book. . .

The editors of Wolfsbane and Mistletoe and Many Bloody Returns deliver a new collection-including a never-before-published Sookie Stackhouse story.
New York Times bestselling authors Charlaine Harris, Katie MacAlister, Jeaniene Frost-plus Lilith Saintcrow, Jeff Abbott, and more-send postcards from the edge of the paranormal world to fans who devoured Wolfsbane and Mistletoe and Many Bloody Returns.


With an all-new Sookie Stackhouse story and twelve other original tales, editors Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner


 
Charlaine Harris, author of the Sookie Stackhouse novels and Toni L. P. Kelner have managed to put together a rare mix of both fun and exciting, and comical and serious stories in Death's Excellent Vacation.  No two stories are alike, and there's a story for just about every reader.  For any fan of HBO's True Blood, you can get your fill of Sookie in Harris' offering, the first story in the collection.  Have you ever wanted to see how Sookie would behave in a strip club?  See if Sookie can handle her own with a gun, a vampire and a feral crossbreed? If so, then this story is for you.
 
Katie MacAlister's story, The Perils of Effrijim bring us on a comical adventure with a demon, Pirate Dave's Haunted Amusement Park by Toni L. P. Kelner provides us with an interesting take on werewolf culture, and Jeaniene Frost with, One for the Money, gives us action, a strong plot, and some really believable characters.
 
My favourite stories in the anthology include works by Daniel Stashower, Lilith Saintcrow, A. Lee Martinez and Sarah Smith.
 
Meanwhile, Far Across the Caspian Sea by Daniel Stashower follows Jeff Clarke on his new job as an editor for LifeSpan Books.  He is assigned to the mysterious and notoriously fickle writer, Thaddeus Palgrave.  The story does not follow the usual pattern of paranormal tales, and because of that, it had me hooked from the beginning.  Stashower has a strong style which contains well thought out characters, believable dialogue and dashes of imagery.  At times I was reminded of Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian, insofar as the research which forms the main bulk of the plot is concerned.  I was sad when Meanwhile, Far Across the Caspian Sea ended.  I wanted more.
 
Lilith Saintcrow takes us through a pivotal point in a gargoyle's life in The Heart is Always Right.  The very fact that Saintcrow chose to write a story about a gargoyle piqued my interest.  Perhaps my curiosity was because gargoyles rarely see the limelight, or because I loved the cartoon Gargoyles from the nineties.  Either way, I really think she has something here, and would love to see more.
 
The Heart is Always Right is an urban fantasy piece written in first person limited, the narrator being a nameless gargoyle.  He tells us the roles of gargoyles, the hierarchy and social structure of their culture.  They're on the side of good, fighting all sorts of evil creatures, but in order to gain a name, in order to become one of the coveted inner circle, he has to bring in a Heart Candidate.  When he finds one, he finds something within himself he is not entirely prepared for it.
 
A. Lee Martinez offers a comical rendition of monsters from the deep in The Innsmouth Nook.  While this piece is not full of puns or extreme ridiculousness, there are some toned down similarities to Tom Holt when it comes to comic style.  In contrast, The Boys Go Fishing by Sarah Smith is a heartfelt tale about the loneliness and isolation of the last superhero on earth.
 
Death's Excellent Vacation surprised me.  I thought I'd have some light-hearted material for when I sat in a lounger in my backyard while sipping margaritas.  While this anthology is entertaining and fun, there are some excellent gems which shine more brightly than others.