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graywild's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.5
In general I like short stories mixed with sci/fi or horror. This collection was just ok for. More misses than hits in the general set.
jimmypat's review against another edition
4.0
A good collection of short stories from Christopher Priest, some of which I have already read. One of the highlights of this book was that Priest provides extensive notes for each story.
My favorite story is probably "I, Haruspex" due to the meta nature of the story which might fly by most readers. Do an internet search for "James Owsley comics" and you will uncover some of the deeper meaning to the story (it makes the title even more great!). It's amusing that Priest makes no reference to this in the notes for "Haruspex", but he alludes to it obliquely in the notes for "The Stooge."
My favorite story is probably "I, Haruspex" due to the meta nature of the story which might fly by most readers. Do an internet search for "James Owsley comics" and you will uncover some of the deeper meaning to the story (it makes the title even more great!). It's amusing that Priest makes no reference to this in the notes for "Haruspex", but he alludes to it obliquely in the notes for "The Stooge."
aclamadoautor's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars.
The before and after comment on each of the stories were quite interesting, but most of the stories themselves weren't great. Not a strong collection, in my opinion.
My favourite stories were:
- The Head and the Hand
- Palely Loitering
The before and after comment on each of the stories were quite interesting, but most of the stories themselves weren't great. Not a strong collection, in my opinion.
My favourite stories were:
- The Head and the Hand
- Palely Loitering
dr_matthew_lloyd's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty early on in this collection, in one of the many introductions and afterwords to the stories collected here, Christopher Priest notes that while every novel he has written has been "self-generating", the short stories are usually - and entirely in the case of this collection - written on some external stimulus: "an invitation, or a suggestion, or even a kind of challenge." As I read the collection, I found myself misremembering this statement as an admission that Priest was more of a novelist than a short story writer, and observation that rang true for me. While several of these stories maintained a good, generally horrific atmosphere, I rarely felt that the stories had the kind of depth I found in the two of his novels I have read, but they also seemed to require more depth than the short story format allows for me. The exceptions were probably the opening story, "The Head and the Hand", and the closer, "The Sorting Out", each of which worked rather well, I thought.
I will say, though, that the decision to have introductions and afterwords for each story was excellent. Providing context to the writing of the stories, the changing conditions of the science fiction publishing industry, trends, figures, and Priest's insights on them were all interesting to me as someone who is fascinated by the history of science fiction.
I will say, though, that the decision to have introductions and afterwords for each story was excellent. Providing context to the writing of the stories, the changing conditions of the science fiction publishing industry, trends, figures, and Priest's insights on them were all interesting to me as someone who is fascinated by the history of science fiction.
george_george's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
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