Review by Booklist Review
Beagle proves that he is as good an editor as he is a writer, with this anthology of modern fantasy short fiction. All 17 stories eschew all or most of the conventions of commercial fantasy (defined as beginning with Terry Brooks'Sword of Shannara, 1983). Much of this is due to the fact that the 5,000-word quest tale is a form not yet perfected (as Lynn Abbey pointed out some years ago). But it is also due to the limited number of authors who can draw on the traditional mythic and folkloric roots of fantasy as a defense against a dark world, and arrange the results in a form intelligible to modern readers. Stephen King and T. C. Boyle have done it here; so have the late Octavia Butler, Terry Bisson, Robert Holdstock (of the classic Mythago Universe), Jonathan Lethen (a master of darkness), Patricia McKillip (with perhaps the broadest range among contemporary fantasists), and Francesca Lia Block (undeservedly obscure). Start reading and expect to enjoy.--Green, Roland Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Disparaging the commodification of fantasy, Beagle (The Last Unicorn) uses 19 stories and two essays to demonstrate that unique works of imagination are still appearing on both sides of the ostensible "separation of fantasy from actual literature." The all-star cast includes genre powerhouses (Maureen F. McHugh, Terry Bisson), mainstream favorites (Yann Martel, T.C. Boyle), and incorrigible line-straddlers (Jonathan Lethem, Stephen Millhauser). Concluding essays by Ursula Le Guin and David Hartwell can seem strident in their condemnation of "nostalgic, conservative, pastoral, and optimistic" epic fantasy. But in tales like Millhauser's "The Barnum Museum," which itself encapsulates the entire discussion of how to view the literature of the fantastic, there is a sense of frivolity and freedom that permits this anthology to "elude the mundane, and to achieve... beauty and exaltation." (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
From Stephen King's vibrantly macabre tale of a woman who knew that a straight line was not the shortest distance between two points ("Mrs. Todd's Shortcut") to Kij Johnson's somber narrative on the life and death of a circus trick ("26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss"), the 19 selections in this volume demonstrate that "fantasy" does not confine itself to certain writers and belongs as much in the mainstream as in a separate category. Informative essays by Ursula K. Le Guin and David G. Hartwell illuminating the origins of the fantasy genre add an additional dimension to this already strong anthology. VERDICT Including such classics as Terry Bisson's "Bears Discover Fire" and Robert Holdstock's "Mythago Wood" (the story that served as the starting point for his similarly titled novel), as well as stories by Francesca Lia Block and Neil Gaiman, this collection serves as a touchstone for fantasy lovers and short story aficionados alike. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
