The Beasts of Love [Paperback]

From the acid twist of "The Country Doctor" to the humor of "Little Whalers"--possibly the best mashup ever, of Moby Dick and Little Women--the elegaic beauty of "The Man at the Bottom of the Sea" and the mordant fall of "Once More, With Feeling," the stories in this collection are wide ranging, thoroughly engaging meditations composed of intelligence, grace, and darkness. Beasts of Love, indeed. Grotesqueries drawn fine, pain glimmering like light, depth and intelligence--these stories hit you in your brain, heart, and gut, and then settle into your bones to stay. This is the good stuff, the kind of stories you enjoy, savor, come back to--and feel damned pleased with yourself about it, too. Like potato chips, you can't eat just one, but unlike potato chips, these stories won't clog your arteries, and they're a bitter pleasure that carries no guilt. Highly recommended. Or as Garder Dozois says on the back of the book, "must-have."

Most of my experience with Utley's fiction prior to this collection had been with the Silurian stories series in SF magazines. This collection, as Lisa Tuttle points out in her introduction, is not what you would expect if you were expecting the collection to be something similar to Utley's "Silurian Tales." Included in this collection are none of "Silurian Tales" (these are collected elsewhere), and there are also very few mentions of dinosaurs. Instead, the collection includes a diverse range of stories in various genres. Science fiction, fantasy, horror, unsettling, and just plain different are all represented. Waldrop says on the back blurb, "[h]ere are the stories that made Utley's reputation, alternately funny, bitter and/or heartbreaking." As I read through this collection, I definitely got immersed in the feel of Utley's stories. I think the best word to describe these stories is, perhaps, "unsettling." Even the humorous stories have a tendency to tug at you and pull you into places you weren't expecting.

Overall, I enjoyed the collection and feel like quite a lot (if not most) of these stories will stick with me, which sometimes isn't the case with single author collections. I think people who, like me, are fairly neutral on his "Silurian Tales" might be surprised and much more excited by some of the stories offered in this book (not to say that "Silurian Tales" fans shouldn't check these out).

Table of Contents:
"The Country Doctor"
Doug Riddle returns to the town he always saw as his home, which is being destroyed by the construction of a nearby dam. He has come to visit his family plot in the cemetery, where the remains of his ancestors...and the town doctor...are being dug up to be moved. Only, there is something very different about this doctor and this town. This is a strong story with an emotional punch, a good way to start off the collection.

"Mysterious Ways"
The last man on earth is a Christian, and he is waiting for his calling from God...but instead, he is dying. This is an excellent story.

"Ember-Eyes"
Man makes monsters to amuse himself. Man plans on taking off in ships and abandoning monsters. Ember-Eyes, full of hatred, is one of those who are going to be abandoned. I really liked the obsessive fury of the main character in this one, and the story's setting and description really reminded me of some of my favorite classic SF tales.

"A Daughter of the Cause"
A story about a pivotal day in the life of an ancestor who was a loyal Confederate. Historical fiction stories aren't always my cup of tea, so while the main character was interesting I wasn't too excited about this one.

"Tom Sawyer's Sub-Orbital Escapade" - co-written with Lisa Tuttle
Mark Twain's famous Tom Sawyer gets it into his mind to build a moonship with Jim and Huck. This was a cute idea. I didn't entirely buy it--it is difficult to pretend to be Samuel Clemens convincingly--but it was still quite a fun read.

"Rejection File"
A man receives a series of rejections for his stories. A short story that literally caused me to gasp outloud halfway through reading it.

"The Mouse Ran Up the Clock"
A woman has gone back in time to alter history, but she isn't able to go through with it--and now she is on the run from dark angels. This time altering to save the world thing is familiar territory. What makes this story fun to read is the constant running through different settings, and the urgency supplied by limitations on the chronopaks. This ending is the first ending in the book where Utley pulls a "relationship twist" ending--where someone in the story has a different relationship with someone else in the story than expected. This story has an okay use of it, but several other stories later in the collection did it much better. I wonder if revealing this crucial relationship earlier wouldn't have made the story more powerful--as it stands, a rather exciting adventure story does a "surprise!" ending that seemed to me a bit obvious and cliche' when the "twist" is revealed.

"Leaves"
Dale and Linda have a secret, and that secret is buried in a graveyard...and it just might haunt them. This one really touched me, I'm not sure why. I liked the imagery, the very real relationship between the main characters, and how you don't really know what kind of a story you are getting into as you first start reading it.

"Pretty Meat"
Rockstar David finds refuge in Patricia's house from the mob of fangirls. Mainly this is a story about David's relationship with Patricia, and something he discovers that bothers him...solid story.

"Ants"
In a post-apocalyptic world, a man doesn't have much to do...so he has started making war on the ants. I could completely see someone doing this, especially if they were spending most of their time underground in a bunker with a computer that spits out doggerel. This is another good story.

"The Man at the Bottom of the Sea"
Sometimes it doesn't matter how much you love somebody, they still might leave you. There is some very beautiful imagery in this story.

"Never Mind Now"
A sharp P.I. investigates a case and puts his neck on the line for something. After reading this story, I had shady P.I. dreams. I liked this story, but I could have done without the very end that seemed a bit too determined to have a twist ending for what seemed to be no apparent reason to me. I thought this was the least successful use of the "relationship twist" in the book--the others were really well done, so I won't point them out anymore or I will likely spoil it for people who haven't read the stories.

"Pan-Galactic Swingers"
In which we have the personals, SF style. I read this outloud to my sweetheart the other day and there was some chuckling...a fun humor piece with a hint of sweetness.

"Abaddon"
Everyone's life is consumed by television, except one man's daughter who wants to see the visiting comet Abaddon. I really felt for the daughter, as she had her eyes open when everyone else only had them glued to the television screen...

"And For Ourselves, False Powers"
Herakles was created to be a Heavy Duty Scout for alien planets. Over and over again, the beautiful immortals bring him back from the cryogenic dead to do their dirty work. Only after the death of Ajax, he might have started questioning those he works for and going a bit mad...just in time for their visit to the long abandoned home planet of Earth. This one had some very heavy themes in it; I think this might be one of those stories where you really need to reread at least once to entirely get the most out of it.

"Creatures of Habit: An Historical Romance"
Our protagonist has one woman staying in his house and is using a detective to search for a man. But who are these people to him, and what does he intend to do? This is a slightly melancholy, but mostly sweet, story. What can I say, I'm somewhat of a sucker for a romance.

"Flies by Night" - co-written with Lisa Tuttle
Our protagonist's mother was a fly by night, and she wants to be one, too, but she is trapped in her human body. Maybe this was Utley's idea, but I'm betting Tuttle since I'm always reading stories by her about animal-people. This was a depressing story. Edit to add: But, well written.

"In Brightest Day, in Blackest Night"
Earl is an obsessive comic book fan, and his wife has left him. I'm not one hundred percent certain exactly what happened in this story--it is left a bit ambiguous--but it was a quick, interesting read.

"Outlaw Glory"
Bruce attends his reunion, and he realizes it wasn't what he thought it would be. The ending is pretty shocking.

"Someone is Watching"
A Peeping Tom finds a truly special subject to watch. I enjoyed seeing where this one lead.

"Ask Athena"
This is a very short vignette of what it might look like if Athena wrote an advice column.

"Sidhe"
A painter and sometimes seducer messes with the wrong woman and pays for it. Rather predictable.

"Losing Streak"
Our main characters makes his plans to assassinate the first man who went to Mars. This is disturbing, but I loved how the story builds up to the inevitable ending.

"Night Life"
New York City gets a new resident. I think I read a story quite similar to this within the last few years, perhaps it was paying homage to the Utley story.

"My Wife"
In the near future, a man will pay anything to bring his wife back to him. Anything...a dark, hypnotic story.

"Die Rache"
A man who was involved in the war is being punished for his involvement. This is another idea story with shocking repercussions.

"Uncoiling" - co-written with Lisa Tuttle
A man is beginning to forget who he is--or maybe he wasn't who he thought he was in the first place. This one isn't quite as cohesive as the other two Utley/Tuttle collaborations, but it might partially be the nature of the story.

"Little Whalers" - purportedly written by Louisa May Alcott and Herman Melville
I can tell you immediately that if you have read Little Women and even the beginning of Moby Dick, you are going to find this funny. It's a very short "chapter" of a version of Moby Dick where Captain Ahab hired on the March sisters to crew on his ship. He mimics both novels' styles perfectly.

"The Beasts of Love"
A man contemplates killing his wife...and then a surprise. This is another story that might work better on a reread.

"The Goods"
This is a story about a lonely detective who is investigating a wife who is cheating on her husband, and how this case is significant to the detective. What choice will he make when he gets "the goods"? This one is my favorite detective story in the collection.

"Once More, With Feeling"
A man starts seeing someone who should no longer exist anymore, but not as she was when he remembered her. This is an ambiguous story that ends on a slightly sinister note...another good story.

Favorites are "The Country Doctor," "Mysterious Ways," "Ember-Eyes," "Leaves," "The Man at the Bottom of the Sea," "Abaddon," "Creatures of Habit: An Historical Romance," "Someone is Watching," "Losing Streak," "My Wife," "Die Rache," "Little Whalers," and "The Goods." Similar themes and tropes in many of the stories make this a good collection to spread out over time.

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