Escape Artists
PodCastle => Fantasy Discussion => Topic started by: Talia on August 18, 2010, 04:56:24 PM
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I just heard about this anthology and it sounds super-cool. Considering its edited by Tim Pratt and has an all-star contributor list I'm surprised I hadn't heard of it sooner, but better late than never I suppose. :)
http://suvudu.com/2010/08/sympathy-for-the-devil.html
To summarize: stories about the devil from authors like Holly Black, Charles de Lint, China Mieville, Stephen King, etc.
I will absolutely be picking this up.
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Fans of Podcastle should absolutely check out this anthology. I'll cross-post my Goodreads reaction here:
What does it say about me that instead of hearing the Rolling Stones in my head every time I looked at the cover for this book, I heard the samples of said song in "Devil Does Drugs" by My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult?
This is an anthology for folks who lean more towards dark fantasy as opposed to horror. Now there's a decent representation of horror, but they're the minority in this collection. Here's my major reactions:
The bookends of this collection are great. Starting with a Gaiman cat story and ending with Dante is everything you ask for.
"Young Goodman Brown" This is a nice gem whose dark ending was rather brutal and unexpected for something of this era. I've been forced to revise my opinion from "Nathaniel Hawthorne sucks" to "The Scarlet Letter sucks".
"With By Good Intentions" This was an amusing piece of shaggy dog fiction following a crew of diligent road builders. The thing I found most impressive is that the story is actually cognizant of road construction and made a compelling and believable story about paving the road to Hell.
"Details" Was a seriously freaky piece of magical realism that takes on the devil's bargain, but in a unique and disturbing fashion. The ending and imagery are particularly compelling.
"The Professor's Teddy Bear" has such a horrid and unexpected monster that I need to hunt down more of Mr. Sturgeon. I can see how he's part of the 10% of speculative fiction free from his Eponymous Law.
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Fans of Podcastle should absolutely check out this anthology. I'll cross-post my Goodreads reaction here:
What does it say about me that instead of hearing the Rolling Stones in my head every time I looked at the cover for this book, I heard the samples of said song in "Devil Does Drugs" by My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult?
That you have good taste in music! ;)
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"It's Great!" "It's Great!"
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I was able to pick up a (signed) copy from Tim Pratt himself when he was doing a book blowout sale a while back...
There are some great gems in there.
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Nice! It even has stuff from Elizabeth Bear. Good find. :)