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zraitor's review against another edition
5.0
–>I received a free copy of this in exchange for an honest review.<–
Later in the book when asked what's the greatest compliment you can receive, the author answers absurd, which is exactly what I found these stories to be...
Every story was interesting because they are from a Chinese person's point of view and seeing their culture dealing with sci-fi/horror themes was enjoyable. Every story is also full of social commentary but as each tale goes to about an eleven on the crazy scale I doubt that's what you'll come away remembering most from each one.
A different version of the Christopher Columbus legend, a man gets trapped on a subway car that never stops, a baby born with many eyes, all of China forced to work at night and never dream... A lot is going on in these stories and it's not easy to summarize them really. For the most part, I didn't know where each story was going and found them very original. 'My Country Does Not Dream' was by far the highlight of the collection to me, what an amazing story.
After each story, you get a short commentary that talks about and explains it which I found helpful, except in the case of 'Two Small Birds' where no amount of explanation will ever help me understand what the heck was going on there.
Han Song's stories were great to read, and the collection is just otherwise well put together and worth the time.
Later in the book when asked what's the greatest compliment you can receive, the author answers absurd, which is exactly what I found these stories to be...
Every story was interesting because they are from a Chinese person's point of view and seeing their culture dealing with sci-fi/horror themes was enjoyable. Every story is also full of social commentary but as each tale goes to about an eleven on the crazy scale I doubt that's what you'll come away remembering most from each one.
A different version of the Christopher Columbus legend, a man gets trapped on a subway car that never stops, a baby born with many eyes, all of China forced to work at night and never dream... A lot is going on in these stories and it's not easy to summarize them really. For the most part, I didn't know where each story was going and found them very original. 'My Country Does Not Dream' was by far the highlight of the collection to me, what an amazing story.
After each story, you get a short commentary that talks about and explains it which I found helpful, except in the case of 'Two Small Birds' where no amount of explanation will ever help me understand what the heck was going on there.
Han Song's stories were great to read, and the collection is just otherwise well put together and worth the time.
aaronlindsey's review against another edition
4.0
The stories in this primer are amazing. I'm now a fan of Steve Rasnic Tem. I also loved the illustrations. The articles/interview were good, too, but a bit wordy.
Apparently, 'Hungry' is one of Tem's most popular stories, and I can see why. Creepy vibes all the way through. 5 out of 5.
Next up: 'The Last Moments before Bed'. Another creepy and interesting piece. 4 out of 5.
'In These Final Days of Sales' was my favorite story in the collection. It's a novella. A madness slowly sinks in as this one goes along. Very well executed. 5 out of 5.
'The Giveaway' was really good, too, and reminds us of how cruel kids can be. 5 out of 5.
'Rat Catcher' was so creepy and has a super exciting ending. 4 out of 5.
The final short story in the primer: 'Whatever You Want' is a vivid night terror of a story. Dreamy and smooth. 4 out of 5.
Apparently, 'Hungry' is one of Tem's most popular stories, and I can see why. Creepy vibes all the way through. 5 out of 5.
Next up: 'The Last Moments before Bed'. Another creepy and interesting piece. 4 out of 5.
'In These Final Days of Sales' was my favorite story in the collection. It's a novella. A madness slowly sinks in as this one goes along. Very well executed. 5 out of 5.
'The Giveaway' was really good, too, and reminds us of how cruel kids can be. 5 out of 5.
'Rat Catcher' was so creepy and has a super exciting ending. 4 out of 5.
The final short story in the primer: 'Whatever You Want' is a vivid night terror of a story. Dreamy and smooth. 4 out of 5.
david_agranoff's review against another edition
4.0
Lets talk first about this format, which is fair I think because it is the first in a series. Edited by Eric J. Guignard I think he is on to something special here. If this is the system he is going to follow. This is a really, really cool book and the format is inspired. It has six short stories by the subject of the book, including one new to this edition. A long and complete bibliography, each story comes with academic commentary,beautiful art and an essay on the genre from Tem.
When I closed the book my first thought was all the authors I would love to see in this series. Lisa Morton, Cody Goodfellow, Stephen Graham Jones, to name a few. I have no idea who Guignard has in mind but I am ready to trust him as I love the format.
OK I am familiar with Steve Rasnic Tem but not a huge devotee. I read and reviewed a collection of stories he co-wrote with his late wife. I had read stories here and there and was a fan of a novel of Melanie Tem but have yet to read one of his. So I was a prime candidate for this book. The Six stories were a great example of various tones and subjects in horror. I finished the book very interested in his most recent novel and I will read more.
Several of the stories had moments of humor but most were dark in all the right ways. "Hungry" the first story was great at setting the tone and I like that we got introduced to the author's work with the same story as the editor. That was a neat touch. The story played with the freak show setting and made for a wonderful story environment. The second story "The Last Moments Before Bed" was to me the most powerful story in the book, this absolute heartbreaker of a story that explores loss.
All the commentaries written by author and PHD Michael Arnzen all added depth to the experience and in a few cases confirmed my feelings on stories. I have admit on the Christmas story new to this book I didn't catch some of the elements Arnzen brought up. It was great because I re-read the story with new eyes.
This is not just a great collection and introduction to a underrated writer, it is great showcase on the nuts and bolts of what makes short horror fiction work. This is a book that may some day be taught, I don't say that lightly.
When I closed the book my first thought was all the authors I would love to see in this series. Lisa Morton, Cody Goodfellow, Stephen Graham Jones, to name a few. I have no idea who Guignard has in mind but I am ready to trust him as I love the format.
OK I am familiar with Steve Rasnic Tem but not a huge devotee. I read and reviewed a collection of stories he co-wrote with his late wife. I had read stories here and there and was a fan of a novel of Melanie Tem but have yet to read one of his. So I was a prime candidate for this book. The Six stories were a great example of various tones and subjects in horror. I finished the book very interested in his most recent novel and I will read more.
Several of the stories had moments of humor but most were dark in all the right ways. "Hungry" the first story was great at setting the tone and I like that we got introduced to the author's work with the same story as the editor. That was a neat touch. The story played with the freak show setting and made for a wonderful story environment. The second story "The Last Moments Before Bed" was to me the most powerful story in the book, this absolute heartbreaker of a story that explores loss.
All the commentaries written by author and PHD Michael Arnzen all added depth to the experience and in a few cases confirmed my feelings on stories. I have admit on the Christmas story new to this book I didn't catch some of the elements Arnzen brought up. It was great because I re-read the story with new eyes.
This is not just a great collection and introduction to a underrated writer, it is great showcase on the nuts and bolts of what makes short horror fiction work. This is a book that may some day be taught, I don't say that lightly.
david_agranoff's review against another edition
5.0
Last year when the first Exploring Dark Short Fiction Primer book was released featuring a tribute to Steve R Tem I was excited about the potential of these. Before I get into the content let me tell about the series. These are beautiful books, they look amazing and the quality of the production is some of the best I have seen by a independent publisher. When you add the commentary by PH.D Michael Arnzen, everything from the lay-out, to the art is top notch. When you add it to the amazing fictional content you have incredible value at $13.95. Each book comes with six stories, commentary, interviews, artwork and more.
So this book is dedicated to the work of the Australian Author Kaaron Warren who I had only read once before. I gave her debut novel Slights 5/5 in 2010. At the time I said "Slights is disturbing and the most original psychological horror novel I read in years. It seems very Chuck Palahniuk influenced." So I was way overdue to read more work by the author and excited to check out her short fiction. One of the exciting aspects of this series is you get a chance to meet the author.
Reading this book you get to know Kaaron Warren comes just as much from her story as her introduction as you do the interview. I didn't know that this author grew up around Hare Khrisnas. This lead to an author who thinks out of the mainstream. Warren's tales are not predictable and are hard to pin as traditional even though she often picks one of the oldest tropes in horror the ghost tale. This book alone has several interesting and thoughtful takes on ghosts.
The collection kicks off with a really strong fantasy "Guarding the Mound" that has a epic scope that plays with the eternity of the after-life and manages to make a subtle statement about patriarchy. Other highlights for me includes "the Wrong Seat" and "Crisis Apparition."
"The Wrong Seat" is very short but powerful story about a ghost that haunts the bus she was murdered on. "Crisis Apparition" is a story that Warren talks about in the interview. Reading about the inspiration and seeing how she wove it into a story is really great way for young authors to learn about short story construction.
That is the thing, this is a entertaining book, the stories are great. You will learn about the author but as much as it is primer for the author it is also a great education tool for short fiction in general. Editor Eric Guignard is doing exciting stuff with this series and Dark Moon Books in general. He is one of the hardest working folks in the indie horror scene and it is paying off. His name on a book is a mark of quality. This series is just starting but in a few years I suspect these books will help a new generation of authors learn the ropes.
Either way Dark Moon books is raising the bar, good news for all horror fans.
So this book is dedicated to the work of the Australian Author Kaaron Warren who I had only read once before. I gave her debut novel Slights 5/5 in 2010. At the time I said "Slights is disturbing and the most original psychological horror novel I read in years. It seems very Chuck Palahniuk influenced." So I was way overdue to read more work by the author and excited to check out her short fiction. One of the exciting aspects of this series is you get a chance to meet the author.
Reading this book you get to know Kaaron Warren comes just as much from her story as her introduction as you do the interview. I didn't know that this author grew up around Hare Khrisnas. This lead to an author who thinks out of the mainstream. Warren's tales are not predictable and are hard to pin as traditional even though she often picks one of the oldest tropes in horror the ghost tale. This book alone has several interesting and thoughtful takes on ghosts.
The collection kicks off with a really strong fantasy "Guarding the Mound" that has a epic scope that plays with the eternity of the after-life and manages to make a subtle statement about patriarchy. Other highlights for me includes "the Wrong Seat" and "Crisis Apparition."
"The Wrong Seat" is very short but powerful story about a ghost that haunts the bus she was murdered on. "Crisis Apparition" is a story that Warren talks about in the interview. Reading about the inspiration and seeing how she wove it into a story is really great way for young authors to learn about short story construction.
That is the thing, this is a entertaining book, the stories are great. You will learn about the author but as much as it is primer for the author it is also a great education tool for short fiction in general. Editor Eric Guignard is doing exciting stuff with this series and Dark Moon Books in general. He is one of the hardest working folks in the indie horror scene and it is paying off. His name on a book is a mark of quality. This series is just starting but in a few years I suspect these books will help a new generation of authors learn the ropes.
Either way Dark Moon books is raising the bar, good news for all horror fans.
david_agranoff's review against another edition
4.0
Hey, I was pretty excited to see the third of this series in my mailbox, the first two books in this series confirmed to me Eric Guignard was really on to an excellent format to highlight authors. I can think of probably thirty authors I would love to see in this series. The cool thing about this one was before I saw this listed in the last edition I had not heard of Nisi Shawl. So I read Everfair and while I respected it and could tell there were some good things going on in the post-colonial Africa steampunk alternate history novel but it just didn't hook me.
So unlike the first two editions, this was absolutely a primer to her work. I enjoyed reading about her history, the interview, and her essay. As always Arnzen's academic breakdown of the stories provided a lot of excellent insight. My favorite of the stories was the post-apocalypse story Otherwise. Set after a massive EMP event this story is probably the most straight forward narrative. That is not to say that there is not depth. Beyond the grim set-up, this story looks at class and consumerism.
"The Beads of Ku" opens the book with a very folklore inspired tale that sets the tone nicely. Most of the stories balance the feeling of folklore with surrealism that fits nicely in the realm of the Afrocentric genre. "Just Between Us" is a short but effective dark fantasy that has an interesting set-up about an apartment building with dead women everywhere.
I admit the surreal tale "At the Huts of Ajala" kinda lost me. I am sure that was user error. I liked how the story was framed I just didn't connect to it. The book closed out with three stories about a character named Brit. She has powers that look similar to "The Shine" from Stephen King's fiction but Brit's experience is so much more rooted in her cultural identity.
While I don't think I connected to this author I really respect what she is doing. Nisi Shawl is a talented brillant writer, I don't think her style will connect with everyone but this is a great way to check out her work. This series does it again and puts together a beautiful looking book. Serious readers of horror and dark fiction should not miss a volume of this series. It doesn't matter if Steve R. Tem or Nisi Shawl scratch your itch perfectly these volumes present so much to learn from they really need to be consumed.
This is #3 in the series I can't wait until I have a shelf in my library devoted to them.
So unlike the first two editions, this was absolutely a primer to her work. I enjoyed reading about her history, the interview, and her essay. As always Arnzen's academic breakdown of the stories provided a lot of excellent insight. My favorite of the stories was the post-apocalypse story Otherwise. Set after a massive EMP event this story is probably the most straight forward narrative. That is not to say that there is not depth. Beyond the grim set-up, this story looks at class and consumerism.
"The Beads of Ku" opens the book with a very folklore inspired tale that sets the tone nicely. Most of the stories balance the feeling of folklore with surrealism that fits nicely in the realm of the Afrocentric genre. "Just Between Us" is a short but effective dark fantasy that has an interesting set-up about an apartment building with dead women everywhere.
I admit the surreal tale "At the Huts of Ajala" kinda lost me. I am sure that was user error. I liked how the story was framed I just didn't connect to it. The book closed out with three stories about a character named Brit. She has powers that look similar to "The Shine" from Stephen King's fiction but Brit's experience is so much more rooted in her cultural identity.
While I don't think I connected to this author I really respect what she is doing. Nisi Shawl is a talented brillant writer, I don't think her style will connect with everyone but this is a great way to check out her work. This series does it again and puts together a beautiful looking book. Serious readers of horror and dark fiction should not miss a volume of this series. It doesn't matter if Steve R. Tem or Nisi Shawl scratch your itch perfectly these volumes present so much to learn from they really need to be consumed.
This is #3 in the series I can't wait until I have a shelf in my library devoted to them.
david_agranoff's review against another edition
5.0
I am always excited to see a book of this series in my mailbox, the first three books in this series confirmed to me Eric Guignard was really on to an excellent format to highlight authors. I trust Guinard to find the right authors for this series but let me make a few suggestions for who I think would be great in this series. John Shirley, Maurice Broddus, Cody Goodfellow, Lisa Morton, Silvia Moreno Garcia...Damn it I wish every author could get this treatment and this one of the best things I can say about this series. I mean it does such a wonderful job of highlighting an author and showing many sides of their skills. I really do wish every writer could get this kind of treatment. What do I mean by this treatment?
• Six short stories.
• Author interview.
• Complete bibliography.
• Academic commentary on each story by Michael Arnzen, PhD.
It is not just the variety of stories by each author in the series which are all carefully chosen by Guinard. Ford delivers six traditional dark fiction stories that are by themselves a powerful example of excellent writing. Add to it that you have the Arnzen commentary. The interview gives more personal insight compared to the academic insight of Arnzen. Now that we have four books in this series I could see this series being used for a teaching prompt and you bet your ass it would be a great way to teach the art of the horror short story.
As for Jeffery Ford, he comes the apology, I can't say I have read more a short story or two before. Not sure why he had not caught on with me before. That said is why this series exists, because I got a great introduction to a fantastic author. All six stories were well written and it is clear that Ford is an excellent writer whose influences go far beyond the genre ghetto. He has a great style that feels classical at times, conversational at other times.
My favorite stories were Boatman's Holiday and The Night Whiskey. That said I really loved the Japanese setting of the opening story. The most powerful piece by a country mile was the Boatman's Holiday. Hell and the river Styx is a really tricky subject to write about. There is a balance between not being dark enough and being goofy that is really hard to strike. There is a dark beauty to this piece that is worth the whole book. I loved every word that dripped with vivid humidity and pain. Ford gave the Boatman and the setting of Styx a painful reality and I loved it.
The Night Whiskey showed Ford's skill for characters. Boatman's holiday and A Natural History of Autumn showed off his ability to use the setting. As this series tends to do there is a little bit to learn about every aspect of the horror short story. The book succeeds in the sense that I am now primed to read more Jeffery Ford and it will happen.
• Six short stories.
• Author interview.
• Complete bibliography.
• Academic commentary on each story by Michael Arnzen, PhD.
It is not just the variety of stories by each author in the series which are all carefully chosen by Guinard. Ford delivers six traditional dark fiction stories that are by themselves a powerful example of excellent writing. Add to it that you have the Arnzen commentary. The interview gives more personal insight compared to the academic insight of Arnzen. Now that we have four books in this series I could see this series being used for a teaching prompt and you bet your ass it would be a great way to teach the art of the horror short story.
As for Jeffery Ford, he comes the apology, I can't say I have read more a short story or two before. Not sure why he had not caught on with me before. That said is why this series exists, because I got a great introduction to a fantastic author. All six stories were well written and it is clear that Ford is an excellent writer whose influences go far beyond the genre ghetto. He has a great style that feels classical at times, conversational at other times.
My favorite stories were Boatman's Holiday and The Night Whiskey. That said I really loved the Japanese setting of the opening story. The most powerful piece by a country mile was the Boatman's Holiday. Hell and the river Styx is a really tricky subject to write about. There is a balance between not being dark enough and being goofy that is really hard to strike. There is a dark beauty to this piece that is worth the whole book. I loved every word that dripped with vivid humidity and pain. Ford gave the Boatman and the setting of Styx a painful reality and I loved it.
The Night Whiskey showed Ford's skill for characters. Boatman's holiday and A Natural History of Autumn showed off his ability to use the setting. As this series tends to do there is a little bit to learn about every aspect of the horror short story. The book succeeds in the sense that I am now primed to read more Jeffery Ford and it will happen.
david_agranoff's review against another edition
5.0
There are very few things that are consistently awesome. No band is without a bad record, no director without a stinker. So far Eric and his Dark Moon imprint are a perfect five for five with this series of collection Exploring Dark fiction. That said this is my favorite so far for lots of reasons I will explain.
In the previous editions I had read at least one thing by the author and was familar to a degree with their work of reputation. I have read quite a bit of Chinese science fiction and genre, as that line is blurred much more in China. That said this is my first experience with Han Song who did not appear in Invisible Planets the first of Ken Liu's anthology of Chinese Translations. He appeared in Broken Stars the second of that series which is still on my list to read.
This series always comes with pretty illustrations and commentary on each story by Professor Michael Arnzen. All are excellent non-fictional commentaries. The author interview provides insight but Han Song's own essay Sending Chinese Science Fiction overseas is a highlight. He talks about several novels and works of scholarship I wish were translated.
So who is Han Song? He is an award-winning Chinese science fiction author and considered to be one of the three most important voices. He is a journlist who has had his fiction censored by the Chinese goverment for being too dark as in the case with his early story Gravestone of the Universe that was published in 1991 in a Taiwanese magazine. In China he has published nine novels and almost as many short story collections.
I can't speak to his novels, as I am judging his work by six short stories, I know I am more willingly to experiment with short fiction. The vibe I am getting reminds me of Brian Evenson's short fiction. That is no small piece of praise as Evenson's last collection just won the world fantasy award and I consider him to be the best author of dark short fiction since Clive Barker.
Han Song's style has the same surreal feel and zero fucks given for convention or expectation. These stories don't have to access reality as we know it. Given that Song was censored early in his career you can see he embraces the genre's ability to subvert conformity and repression. It is not a shock that this author struggled with censorship. I wondered as I read this if the translators were able restore any of this lost material?
All six stories were good, but the two that stood out for me were Transformation Subway and Fear of Seeing. Both were dark surreal stories. Transformation Subway was a haunting tale about a subway train that keeps going endlessly through a dark tunnel never stopping or even seeing a station in passing. Once Zhou the main charater tries to escape by climbing to the other cars he discovers something more horrible. This surreal tale plays with time, cosmic dread, and is metaphoric nightmare. The situation reflects a dark mirror on human behavior and is probably a commentary on Chinese culture that I am not able to gleam.
The Fear of Seeing is the story of parents whose child is born with eight eyes. It is the most traditional horror tale, but it is still a surreal trip. The parents who I don't remember ever being given a name try to love and relate to this freakish child of theirs. It is important that written in 3rd person, if it was in first we would be to connected. A little space gives us room to digest at distance how painful and weird this would be for the parents. I got the sense the idea is how weird and isolating it would feel to have wide open eyes and be able to see more than the people around you. A negative of being a creative free thinker in a stifling society. I don't maybe I reading too much into it.
The fiction in this entire series is great but this is my favorite yet. Han Song is incredible and the essay is something Sci-fi adademics are dying for. In the movement for more international voices in genre this book is a must read.
In the previous editions I had read at least one thing by the author and was familar to a degree with their work of reputation. I have read quite a bit of Chinese science fiction and genre, as that line is blurred much more in China. That said this is my first experience with Han Song who did not appear in Invisible Planets the first of Ken Liu's anthology of Chinese Translations. He appeared in Broken Stars the second of that series which is still on my list to read.
This series always comes with pretty illustrations and commentary on each story by Professor Michael Arnzen. All are excellent non-fictional commentaries. The author interview provides insight but Han Song's own essay Sending Chinese Science Fiction overseas is a highlight. He talks about several novels and works of scholarship I wish were translated.
So who is Han Song? He is an award-winning Chinese science fiction author and considered to be one of the three most important voices. He is a journlist who has had his fiction censored by the Chinese goverment for being too dark as in the case with his early story Gravestone of the Universe that was published in 1991 in a Taiwanese magazine. In China he has published nine novels and almost as many short story collections.
I can't speak to his novels, as I am judging his work by six short stories, I know I am more willingly to experiment with short fiction. The vibe I am getting reminds me of Brian Evenson's short fiction. That is no small piece of praise as Evenson's last collection just won the world fantasy award and I consider him to be the best author of dark short fiction since Clive Barker.
Han Song's style has the same surreal feel and zero fucks given for convention or expectation. These stories don't have to access reality as we know it. Given that Song was censored early in his career you can see he embraces the genre's ability to subvert conformity and repression. It is not a shock that this author struggled with censorship. I wondered as I read this if the translators were able restore any of this lost material?
All six stories were good, but the two that stood out for me were Transformation Subway and Fear of Seeing. Both were dark surreal stories. Transformation Subway was a haunting tale about a subway train that keeps going endlessly through a dark tunnel never stopping or even seeing a station in passing. Once Zhou the main charater tries to escape by climbing to the other cars he discovers something more horrible. This surreal tale plays with time, cosmic dread, and is metaphoric nightmare. The situation reflects a dark mirror on human behavior and is probably a commentary on Chinese culture that I am not able to gleam.
The Fear of Seeing is the story of parents whose child is born with eight eyes. It is the most traditional horror tale, but it is still a surreal trip. The parents who I don't remember ever being given a name try to love and relate to this freakish child of theirs. It is important that written in 3rd person, if it was in first we would be to connected. A little space gives us room to digest at distance how painful and weird this would be for the parents. I got the sense the idea is how weird and isolating it would feel to have wide open eyes and be able to see more than the people around you. A negative of being a creative free thinker in a stifling society. I don't maybe I reading too much into it.
The fiction in this entire series is great but this is my favorite yet. Han Song is incredible and the essay is something Sci-fi adademics are dying for. In the movement for more international voices in genre this book is a must read.
niallharrison's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
emilyyjjean's review against another edition
4.0
This was a great collection of short stories by Nisi Shawl. I am definitely interested in reading more works by this author, and also more books published by Dark Moon Books!
biancarosesmith's review against another edition
4.0
This collection blew my mind. I have never experienced any of Kaaron Warren’s work before and am in awe of her writing abilities. The stories were incredibly unique, written from a feminist lens (love), character driven and contained beautiful prose.
I honestly enjoyed all the 6 stories but I have some favourites in this 6 story collection:
I honestly enjoyed all the 6 stories but I have some favourites in this 6 story collection: