- Hardcover: 232 pages
- Publisher: Subterranean Press (October 2005)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1596060301
- ISBN-13: 978-1596060302
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.5 x 2.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 544 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,563,727 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Finlay shows himself to be a versatile writer of imaginative fiction in his first story collection. A Lake Erie couple must deal with the aftermath of their kinky proclivities in the unusual vampire story "Lucy, in Her Splendor." A wrestling fan finds Lovecraftian weirdness in "The Smackdown Outside Dedham." The literate, if only slightly fantastic, "Still Life with Action Figure" explores the relationship between an artistic father and son. A theocratic future in which men and women never commingle is the basis of "Pervert." Examining the meaning of freedom, "We Come Not to Praise Washington" is set in an alternative past in which George Washington died in 1793, Alexander Hamilton is the new "Washington," and Aaron Burr pleads that Thomas Jefferson be allowed to return from his exile at Napoleon's court. The brief, teasing "Footnotes" consists entirely of footnotes. The title story takes a different look at a character from Arthurian legend as well as the world of faerie. Solidly told and occasionally memorable, these 14 tales display an insightful knowledge of human nature. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Finlay says he thinks of these 14 stories as apprentice work toward his novel The Prodigal Troll (2005), yet all are at least of journeyman quality. They show Finlay exploring a variety of genres, bringing freshness and intelligence to them all. His Lovecraft tribute artfully refrains from disclosing itself as such, especially stylistically, until the penultimate page. His zombie adventure ends not in horror or triumph but in dreadful doubt, especially for readers. Despite their military milieus and in-space settings, "The Seal Hunter" and "The Political Officer" are as focused on characters and interactions rather than slam-bang histrionics as any mainstream novel of suburbia. "Still Life with Action Figure," a particularly realist exercise, actually occurs in suburbia, where an artist son visits his artist father, who has resumed painting despite suffering from parkinsonism. The satires "Pervert" and "A Game of Chicken" take lively and imaginative aim at already shot-riddled targets (straight-male bashing and bioengineering, respectively), and "Wild Thing" exposes the fairy-addled backstory of the chivalric hero Perceval. In all, an absorbing, often-surprising collection. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
There are no customer reviews yet on Amazon Canada
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A collection you don't want to miss, Jan 14 2006
By John Joseph Adams - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Wild Things (Hardcover)
If this book only contained Finlay's brilliant Nebula and Hugo Award-nominated reinvention of space opera, "The Political Officer," it would be worth buying for that story alone. But fortunately, the book's also got thirteen other compelling and finely-crafted tales, which run the gamut from humor to alternate history to swords-and-sorcery. This variety makes for an interesting reading experience, as if Finlay wanted to take the reader on a tour through all of what science fiction and fantasy has to offer. And Finlay seems equally adept at each of the subgenres he explores, so it's not a matter of him trying new things until he finds something that works; it's more like having written a great story in one subgenre, he goes looking for new kingdoms to conquer.
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
