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kestrellKes: Although it seems as if almost every book is available in a wide variety of formats, I often find that it is precisely the kind of literature I am most hoping to find--the more literate speculative fiction being published through the mid-sized and small presses--which is still the most difficult to find in electronic formats. Thus it is that I religiously prowl Fictionwise's "new ebooks" list every week, and this week I was doubly rewarded.
1. Phantom Edited by Paul Tremblay & Sean Wallace (Prime Books, 2009)
available as a MultiFormat ebook from Fictionwise
$9.95, on sale this week $8.46
http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/b110302/Phantom/Paul-Tremblay/?
As one of those people who admits to being a horror fan, I am often asked--as occurred just earlier this week--why do you read that stuff?
While my long answer can be found here http://kestrell.livejournal.com/585544.html
my short anser is, in hopes of finding books like _Phantom_.
_Phantom_ contains fourteen stories written by some of today's most intelligent writers of horror and speculative fiction, each exploring the idea of what scares us. The answers in this collection offer nothing so trivial as zombies, vampires, or ghosts. Instead, they explore the fears which lie even deeper down in the psyche: the fear of being a monster, the fear of the human potential for inhuman violence, the fear that our very fears will overwhelm us.
_Phantom_ is an excellent introduction to the world of literary horror, as co-editor Paul Tremblay describes the term:
Block quote start
The literary horror story aims to do more than shock, titilate, scare, or affect the reader. While affect is a clear and important (possibly defining)
element of horror fiction, there needs to be more. In using the
elements of literary fiction-style, theme, setting, character-the
literary horror story goes beyond the scare, beyond the revealing
of some terrible truth (personal or social or universal) and asks the truly terrifying questions: What's next? What decisions are
you going to make? Does it matter the consequences? Do you know the consequences? How are you going to live through this?
How does anyone live through this? Stories where the shock or the grand revealings or implications aren't the point, but just a part of the exploration of how people react to the everyday horrors of existence, how they might answer How does anyone live through this?
Block quote end
I have not yet finished all the stories in the book, but among my favorites so far are: "The Cabinet Child" by Steve Rasnic, which explores how the desire we keep hidden can become both magical and monstrous;
"The End ofEverything" by Steve Eller, in which the last human living after a zombie apocalypse turns out to be the most monstrous of all;
and
"Kinder" by Steve Berman, in which a man is literally overwhelmed by his own fears.
Um, really, there are lots of great stories written by people not named Steve, too.
2. The Alchemy of Stone by Ekaterina Sedia (Prime Books, 2008)
This book is on the Locus Recommended Reading List
and was also on the Honor List for the 2008 James Tiptree, Jr. Award
http://lquilter.net/tiptree/?page_id=157
Available as a MultiFormat eBook from Fictionwise
$9.95 Sale: $8.46
http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/b110301/The-Alchemy-of-Stone/Ekaterina-Sedia/?
eBook Description: Mattie, an intelligent automaton skilled in the use of alchemy, finds herself caught in the middle of a conflict between gargoyles,
the Mechanics, and the Alchemists. With the old order quickly giving way to the new, Mattie discovers powerful and dangerous secrets - secrets that can
completely alter the balance of power in the city of Ayona. This doesn't sit well with Loharri, the Mechanic who created Mattie and still has the key to
her heart - literally.
1. Phantom Edited by Paul Tremblay & Sean Wallace (Prime Books, 2009)
available as a MultiFormat ebook from Fictionwise
$9.95, on sale this week $8.46
http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/b110302/Phantom/Paul-Tremblay/?
As one of those people who admits to being a horror fan, I am often asked--as occurred just earlier this week--why do you read that stuff?
While my long answer can be found here http://kestrell.livejournal.com/585544.html
my short anser is, in hopes of finding books like _Phantom_.
_Phantom_ contains fourteen stories written by some of today's most intelligent writers of horror and speculative fiction, each exploring the idea of what scares us. The answers in this collection offer nothing so trivial as zombies, vampires, or ghosts. Instead, they explore the fears which lie even deeper down in the psyche: the fear of being a monster, the fear of the human potential for inhuman violence, the fear that our very fears will overwhelm us.
_Phantom_ is an excellent introduction to the world of literary horror, as co-editor Paul Tremblay describes the term:
Block quote start
The literary horror story aims to do more than shock, titilate, scare, or affect the reader. While affect is a clear and important (possibly defining)
element of horror fiction, there needs to be more. In using the
elements of literary fiction-style, theme, setting, character-the
literary horror story goes beyond the scare, beyond the revealing
of some terrible truth (personal or social or universal) and asks the truly terrifying questions: What's next? What decisions are
you going to make? Does it matter the consequences? Do you know the consequences? How are you going to live through this?
How does anyone live through this? Stories where the shock or the grand revealings or implications aren't the point, but just a part of the exploration of how people react to the everyday horrors of existence, how they might answer How does anyone live through this?
Block quote end
I have not yet finished all the stories in the book, but among my favorites so far are: "The Cabinet Child" by Steve Rasnic, which explores how the desire we keep hidden can become both magical and monstrous;
"The End ofEverything" by Steve Eller, in which the last human living after a zombie apocalypse turns out to be the most monstrous of all;
and
"Kinder" by Steve Berman, in which a man is literally overwhelmed by his own fears.
Um, really, there are lots of great stories written by people not named Steve, too.
2. The Alchemy of Stone by Ekaterina Sedia (Prime Books, 2008)
This book is on the Locus Recommended Reading List
and was also on the Honor List for the 2008 James Tiptree, Jr. Award
http://lquilter.net/tiptree/?page_id=157
Available as a MultiFormat eBook from Fictionwise
$9.95 Sale: $8.46
http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/b110301/The-Alchemy-of-Stone/Ekaterina-Sedia/?
eBook Description: Mattie, an intelligent automaton skilled in the use of alchemy, finds herself caught in the middle of a conflict between gargoyles,
the Mechanics, and the Alchemists. With the old order quickly giving way to the new, Mattie discovers powerful and dangerous secrets - secrets that can
completely alter the balance of power in the city of Ayona. This doesn't sit well with Loharri, the Mechanic who created Mattie and still has the key to
her heart - literally.
