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anna_hepworth's review
2.0
On finishing, my thoughts were, "...but the last story left such an unpleasant feeling that it brings the whole collection down. This was not helped by the preceeding two stories also being unpleasant stories about unpleasant people". And then I looked back through, and realised that in the main, they are all horrible stories about horrible people. Working from the back:
"Her Gallant Needs", Paul Haines - I don't think I've ever read a nice story by Paul Haines, nor do I think I've ever done anything but skim through the last half of any of them. This is no exception. Pointlessly unpleasant. [and yet, there were obsessive details about 1982 that almost kept my interest].
"Weightless", L L Hannett - ? Again, a pointlessly unpleasant story. I couldn't tell if it was a sparse story line, an unreliable narrator issue, or just incoherent writing.
"All the love in the World", Cat Sparks - post-apocalyptic nasty small town politics. More unredeemable characters.
"Neighbourhood Watch", Barbara Robson - small group politics with humour and panache. Pointed, subtle, enjoyable. One of the redeeming features of the collection
"Gnawer of the Moon seeks Summit of Paradise", Anna Tambour - slow to get going, gripping by the end. A lovely take on exactly who the ferals are in this country. Not quite a redeeming feature of the collection, but an enjoyable story.
"Brisneyland by Night", Angela Slatter - given that this had one of the nastiest underlying stories, a surprisingly simple modern Faery Tale. Not a hardship to read.
"White Crocodile Jazz", Ben Peek - Peek appears to have finally move on from writing the story of the Angry Young Man, to writing about the angry and the dispossessed. I did not expect to like this - fans of Peek's writing should love it.
"Signature Walk", Pete Kempshall - more horrible people being horrible in horrible circumstances. Also, Perth summer heat, as experienced by the whinging Pom.
"Seed Dreams", Liz Argall/Matt Hungh - gorgeous little piece, subtle and powerful.
"Walker", Dirk Flinthart - this is one of the stand out stories of the collection, possibly the only one I didn't want to put down (and then turned back to read again, because I *knew* I'd missed details). This one made the Australian landscape feel like home, rather than an alien landscape to be endured.
"Loss", Kaaron Warren - Revenge fantasy. I can see the appeal, but again, stuck inside the head of a thoroughly revolting first person character.
"No Going Home", Deborah Biancotti - unlike some of the other stories in the collection, where the writing was disjointed and wandering, in this one it makes sense. When the protagonist is lost, possibly amnesiac, attempting to understand the world, the story isn't clear. Interesting, but still not enjoyable.
"Sweep", Simon Brown - going back to one's childhood town to remember what a little shit you were. Not enthused.
"Yowie", Thoraiya Dyer - New mother, not coping, going slowly mad. Or encountering the supernatural. Never quite clear whether the oddities of the story are real or hallucinations. This and Robert's opening story made me wonder where the stories about life going on okay despite the hell of raising tiny humans might be. An interesting story, but I wasn't receptive to it at this point.
"One Saturday Night, with Angel", Peter Ball - three stories in, and we've gone from end of the world as we know it, to personal hell, and back to end of the world as we know it. urgh.
"How to select a durian at Footscray Market", Stephanie Campisi - the alienness of this story was somewhat forgivable, with the perspective on the immigrant woman who is apart from all the communities.
"Relentless Adaptations", Tansy Rayner Roberts - as an opening salvo, a grim-dark future, where even ones reading pleasure, and the pleasure of making new stories for one's children become secretive behaviour, this was a great choice. Given how it set the tone for the rest of the book, I almost which I'd given up then.
in summary - the intro claims it is a fantasy anthology. The intro is wrong. It is a horror anthology, of the sick and twisted, there is no escape sort, with the odd piece of fantasy garnishing the gore. It reads as if this collection of 'Australian' writers are no such thing, but a group of people who live here, but hate the place. The main reason this will stay in my collection is the Flinthart story, which I want to foist on people. The other four that I liked - I might read them again, but the chances are low.
"Her Gallant Needs", Paul Haines - I don't think I've ever read a nice story by Paul Haines, nor do I think I've ever done anything but skim through the last half of any of them. This is no exception. Pointlessly unpleasant. [and yet, there were obsessive details about 1982 that almost kept my interest].
"Weightless", L L Hannett - ? Again, a pointlessly unpleasant story. I couldn't tell if it was a sparse story line, an unreliable narrator issue, or just incoherent writing.
"All the love in the World", Cat Sparks - post-apocalyptic nasty small town politics. More unredeemable characters.
"Neighbourhood Watch", Barbara Robson - small group politics with humour and panache. Pointed, subtle, enjoyable. One of the redeeming features of the collection
"Gnawer of the Moon seeks Summit of Paradise", Anna Tambour - slow to get going, gripping by the end. A lovely take on exactly who the ferals are in this country. Not quite a redeeming feature of the collection, but an enjoyable story.
"Brisneyland by Night", Angela Slatter - given that this had one of the nastiest underlying stories, a surprisingly simple modern Faery Tale. Not a hardship to read.
"White Crocodile Jazz", Ben Peek - Peek appears to have finally move on from writing the story of the Angry Young Man, to writing about the angry and the dispossessed. I did not expect to like this - fans of Peek's writing should love it.
"Signature Walk", Pete Kempshall - more horrible people being horrible in horrible circumstances. Also, Perth summer heat, as experienced by the whinging Pom.
"Seed Dreams", Liz Argall/Matt Hungh - gorgeous little piece, subtle and powerful.
"Walker", Dirk Flinthart - this is one of the stand out stories of the collection, possibly the only one I didn't want to put down (and then turned back to read again, because I *knew* I'd missed details). This one made the Australian landscape feel like home, rather than an alien landscape to be endured.
"Loss", Kaaron Warren - Revenge fantasy. I can see the appeal, but again, stuck inside the head of a thoroughly revolting first person character.
"No Going Home", Deborah Biancotti - unlike some of the other stories in the collection, where the writing was disjointed and wandering, in this one it makes sense. When the protagonist is lost, possibly amnesiac, attempting to understand the world, the story isn't clear. Interesting, but still not enjoyable.
"Sweep", Simon Brown - going back to one's childhood town to remember what a little shit you were. Not enthused.
"Yowie", Thoraiya Dyer - New mother, not coping, going slowly mad. Or encountering the supernatural. Never quite clear whether the oddities of the story are real or hallucinations. This and Robert's opening story made me wonder where the stories about life going on okay despite the hell of raising tiny humans might be. An interesting story, but I wasn't receptive to it at this point.
"One Saturday Night, with Angel", Peter Ball - three stories in, and we've gone from end of the world as we know it, to personal hell, and back to end of the world as we know it. urgh.
"How to select a durian at Footscray Market", Stephanie Campisi - the alienness of this story was somewhat forgivable, with the perspective on the immigrant woman who is apart from all the communities.
"Relentless Adaptations", Tansy Rayner Roberts - as an opening salvo, a grim-dark future, where even ones reading pleasure, and the pleasure of making new stories for one's children become secretive behaviour, this was a great choice. Given how it set the tone for the rest of the book, I almost which I'd given up then.
in summary - the intro claims it is a fantasy anthology. The intro is wrong. It is a horror anthology, of the sick and twisted, there is no escape sort, with the odd piece of fantasy garnishing the gore. It reads as if this collection of 'Australian' writers are no such thing, but a group of people who live here, but hate the place. The main reason this will stay in my collection is the Flinthart story, which I want to foist on people. The other four that I liked - I might read them again, but the chances are low.
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