Scan barcode
mxsallybend's review
4.0
Tide of Shadows and Other Stories, is a surprisingly solid debut collection from Aidan Moher, one that ably demonstrates his love for speculative fiction, along with his intimate understanding of the genre's tropes, forms, and styles. His Preface provides a nice author's introduction, and is in itself a well-written essay on the power and the voice of the short story. Meanwhile, the Story Notes that accompany each tale provide a glimpse into his mindset as reader, acknowledging his influences, both on the page and on the screen.
A Night for Spirits and Snowflakes is a grim sort of tale, one told with multiple voices, alternating between past and present. It's deliberately confusing and unsettling, placing the reader in the midst of both battle and ambush.
The Girl with Wings of Iron and Down is Twilight Zone sort of tale, full of sadness and loss, with new surprises to be found on every page. It's a story with more questions than answers, with an ending that's beautifully ambiguous.
Of Parnassus and Princes, Damsels and Dragons was probably my favorite piece in the collection. It's a very clever series of twists on the traditional Knight in Shining Armor trope, including one that's so perfectly absurd, I can't imagine how else the story could have ended. It's also a story that has a lot of fun with language, demanding a second (and even third) read to catch all the wordplay.
The Colour of the Sky on the Day the World Ended is the shortest piece in the collection, a bit of flash fiction that manages to pack a lot of story and emotion into just 700 words.
Tide of Shadows wraps things up with a story that, on the surface, seems to be an odd mix of coming-of-age space opera and hard military science fiction. The snippets of life are only the top layer of the story, however, with the motivations, last thoughts, and conflicting emotions of the crew comprising the most interesting aspect.
Offering a little something for everyone, Tide of Shadows and Other Stories is a collection of tales that know precisely how to engage the reader, and exactly how to find a climax without overstaying their welcome. Whereas some authors try to put too much into a short story, or are content to sacrifice content for style (or vice versa), Moher strikes that perfect balance.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
A Night for Spirits and Snowflakes is a grim sort of tale, one told with multiple voices, alternating between past and present. It's deliberately confusing and unsettling, placing the reader in the midst of both battle and ambush.
The Girl with Wings of Iron and Down is Twilight Zone sort of tale, full of sadness and loss, with new surprises to be found on every page. It's a story with more questions than answers, with an ending that's beautifully ambiguous.
Of Parnassus and Princes, Damsels and Dragons was probably my favorite piece in the collection. It's a very clever series of twists on the traditional Knight in Shining Armor trope, including one that's so perfectly absurd, I can't imagine how else the story could have ended. It's also a story that has a lot of fun with language, demanding a second (and even third) read to catch all the wordplay.
The Colour of the Sky on the Day the World Ended is the shortest piece in the collection, a bit of flash fiction that manages to pack a lot of story and emotion into just 700 words.
Tide of Shadows wraps things up with a story that, on the surface, seems to be an odd mix of coming-of-age space opera and hard military science fiction. The snippets of life are only the top layer of the story, however, with the motivations, last thoughts, and conflicting emotions of the crew comprising the most interesting aspect.
Offering a little something for everyone, Tide of Shadows and Other Stories is a collection of tales that know precisely how to engage the reader, and exactly how to find a climax without overstaying their welcome. Whereas some authors try to put too much into a short story, or are content to sacrifice content for style (or vice versa), Moher strikes that perfect balance.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
nedhayes's review
5.0
Interesting
Interesting stories from a literary writer who poses thought provoking questions about what happens in between the moments we're used to reading about in standard SF
Interesting stories from a literary writer who poses thought provoking questions about what happens in between the moments we're used to reading about in standard SF
eclectictales's review
4.0
I received a review copy of this book for review from the author. You can read my full review of the book at my blog, eclectictales.com: http://www.eclectictales.com/blog/2015/06/24/review-tide-of-shadows-and-other-stories/
Tide of Shadows and Other Stories is quite an eclectic collection of stories featured, each with a different tone and atmosphere to them. Each also had its own narrative voice that fit with the story it was telling. The stories themselves can be whimsical and a play on familiar fantasy tropes, like in “Of Parnassus and Princes, Damsels and Dragons”, or introspective like in “A Night for Spirits and Snowflakes.” I think my favourite story from this collection was “The Girl with Wings of Iron and Down”; I was just so invested in the character and intrigued as to what happened to her and how she got to where she was.
What’s also really cool about this collection is that the author included notes at the end of each story talking a bit about what inspired him to write that particular story and the process that went into it.
Tide of Shadows and Other Stories is a great debut publication from Aidan Moher. The short stories offers not only a range of his storytelling but the types of stories that has been churning in his mind. Readers of speculative fiction who are looking for new authors to read should check out his collection (and his website)!
Tide of Shadows and Other Stories is quite an eclectic collection of stories featured, each with a different tone and atmosphere to them. Each also had its own narrative voice that fit with the story it was telling. The stories themselves can be whimsical and a play on familiar fantasy tropes, like in “Of Parnassus and Princes, Damsels and Dragons”, or introspective like in “A Night for Spirits and Snowflakes.” I think my favourite story from this collection was “The Girl with Wings of Iron and Down”; I was just so invested in the character and intrigued as to what happened to her and how she got to where she was.
What’s also really cool about this collection is that the author included notes at the end of each story talking a bit about what inspired him to write that particular story and the process that went into it.
Tide of Shadows and Other Stories is a great debut publication from Aidan Moher. The short stories offers not only a range of his storytelling but the types of stories that has been churning in his mind. Readers of speculative fiction who are looking for new authors to read should check out his collection (and his website)!
hostral's review
3.0
Aidan Moher is better known for his Dribble of Ink fantasy site than he is for being an author, but all great writers of the genre first start as readers, so it's unsurprising that this collection has appeared.
Before we even open it up the cover beckons us in, exquisitely done and highly evocative. Whoever was responsible for this piece of art could (and maybe does) make a living out of it, easily.
Alongside this we have a recommendation from Brian Staveley of Emperor's Blades fame, which does absolutely no harm to this book's chances and is an excellent name to have attached.
The first issue for me was that the bulk of this work was Sci-Fi, which I don't really review. Having said that, I'm no stranger to the genre and persevered!
A Night for Spirits and Snowflakes is the opener, and one of the tales which was more up my street, featuring a battle of some sort told from multiple viewpoints within its short word count.
After this we delve into the world of Science Fiction shorts, and while none of them are particularly unpalatable, they didn't move me either. Moher is clearly taking cues from the genre's founding fathers, but I feel that none of the stories are given enough space to achieve what he set out.
That is until we reach the eponymous story at the end of the collection.
Tide of Shadows reminds me of Robert Heinlein at his best, but the emotive elements mean that it's probably more Joe Haldeman. We've got military science fiction with a very human element as a countdown to an imminent and seemingly hopeless assault begins.
The story details the countdown and the hopes and fears of those witnessing it, and unlike the previous tales, which seemed vignettes to a genre Moher clearly loves, Tide of Shadows has a quality that grips you to the page.
Overall this collection is too short, uneven and suffers from a serious sag in the middle between the two quality tales bookending it at either side. I'd recommend this to Sci-Fi fans who enjoy their short fiction and especially to fans of A Dribble of Ink, as this is a way of directly compensating Aidan for all his informative blogging over the years.
I'd love to see either Tide of Shadows or A Night for Spirits and Snowflakes expanded into novella/novel format. I feel that Aidan has the chops to pull off long-form should he desire, it's about whether that's what he wants to do. Either way, I look forward to reading what comes next.
Before we even open it up the cover beckons us in, exquisitely done and highly evocative. Whoever was responsible for this piece of art could (and maybe does) make a living out of it, easily.
Alongside this we have a recommendation from Brian Staveley of Emperor's Blades fame, which does absolutely no harm to this book's chances and is an excellent name to have attached.
The first issue for me was that the bulk of this work was Sci-Fi, which I don't really review. Having said that, I'm no stranger to the genre and persevered!
A Night for Spirits and Snowflakes is the opener, and one of the tales which was more up my street, featuring a battle of some sort told from multiple viewpoints within its short word count.
After this we delve into the world of Science Fiction shorts, and while none of them are particularly unpalatable, they didn't move me either. Moher is clearly taking cues from the genre's founding fathers, but I feel that none of the stories are given enough space to achieve what he set out.
That is until we reach the eponymous story at the end of the collection.
Tide of Shadows reminds me of Robert Heinlein at his best, but the emotive elements mean that it's probably more Joe Haldeman. We've got military science fiction with a very human element as a countdown to an imminent and seemingly hopeless assault begins.
The story details the countdown and the hopes and fears of those witnessing it, and unlike the previous tales, which seemed vignettes to a genre Moher clearly loves, Tide of Shadows has a quality that grips you to the page.
Overall this collection is too short, uneven and suffers from a serious sag in the middle between the two quality tales bookending it at either side. I'd recommend this to Sci-Fi fans who enjoy their short fiction and especially to fans of A Dribble of Ink, as this is a way of directly compensating Aidan for all his informative blogging over the years.
I'd love to see either Tide of Shadows or A Night for Spirits and Snowflakes expanded into novella/novel format. I feel that Aidan has the chops to pull off long-form should he desire, it's about whether that's what he wants to do. Either way, I look forward to reading what comes next.
priyastoric's review
4.0
The stories in this short story collection were fun to read. But what I appreciated the most (and what put the collection over the edge) were the author notes at the end. As a writer they really helped me think through how we build stories and character development. That being said I really loved A Night for Spirits and Snowflakes and The Color of the Sky on the Day the World Ended.
More...