From Publishers Weekly
Told with splendid clarity, the 13 tales in this collection from Nebula nominee Baker (
The Anvil of the World) are deceptively simple and seem, at first, to be comfortably folkloric. Each then takes a distinctive turn, often an O. Henry twist, and becomes indelibly the author's own. Lemuel Gulliver gets exactly what he's always deserved in "Miss Yahoo Has Her Say." An angry little girl learns the power of observation from a wickedly wise tyger in "What The Tyger Told Her." "Nightmare Mountain" combines the myths of Eros and Psyche with an eccentric Californian in a tour de force. Another myth, that of Tam Lin, and another angry little girl blend in the chilling "Her Father's Eyes." The standard kill-your-grandfather time-travel story receives fresh treatment in "Merry Christmas from Navarro Lodge, 1928," as do Oberlin, Titania, their faerie court and the inevitable human ass in "The Summer People." Alien manifestations receive unique play in "How They Tried to Talk Indian Tony Down" and "Pueblo." The unspeakably delicious "Mother Aegypt," a novella original to the collection, involves a con man and immortals with unquenchable cravings. These wry and often wise narratives prove Baker is one of the most accomplished fantasists of our era.
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From Booklist
Like a brisk October wind, these 13 stories blow clear and cold, bringing with them unusual landscapes, brilliant colors, multilayered shadows, and haunting characters. They challenge from the first page with insights and concepts sure to win inquiring, thoughtful, imaginative minds. "The Briscian Saint" examines the twin powers of belief and superstition and how they may bend human minds. In "Desolation Rose," a selfish, arrogant young man discovers that he inadvertently assumes great responsibility by misrepresenting himself as a god. In "Mother Aegypt," we meet a mysterious, ageless woman desperate for eternal rest; the strange and innocent imp she rescued from an insane asylum, who apparently possesses vast knowledge of natural magic within his "empty" head; and the scheming but likable con man who wants to use the imp's magic to enrich himself. In each story, Baker's even hand and compelling characterizations entrance. Listen closely, and perhaps you will hear the collective sigh of delight from intelligent lovers of fantasy the world over. A book to savor.
Paula LuedtkeCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
This text refers to an alternate
Hardcover
edition.
