Tag Archives: Kelly Link

Two Houses by Kelly Link

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Hauntings: Datlow, Ellen: 9781616960889: Amazon.com: Books

Title: Two Houses
Author: Kelly Link
In: Hauntings (Ellen Datlow)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Ghosts, Horror, Space
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Tachyon
Year: 2013

Thoughts

This short story started out kind of fun, and not with too much feeling of a horror story. I mean, it’s a bunch of younger people, in space, celebrating a friends’ birthday. How could that not seem fun and innocent? But then it got a little bit darker… and kind of haunting. And then it just got twisted. I love that this horror feeling came out of left field and was quite unexpected.

To start with, the characters begin by telling each other ghost stories. A perfectly normal way to spend an evening when you’re young and bored. Again, it wasn’t overly freaky to begin with. Then we get to the story of the two houses – which is quite twisted in and of itself. But then the ship gets involved in the story and things get seriously… twisted. And horrible. Which made this a fantastic story – the unexpected nature of the ick and horrifying.

After reading this seemingly benign short story, I actually had to walk around my house and close all of the darker areas. I mean, this was a seriously creepy murder story that features a murder house. I might not live in a murder house, but it didn’t mean that I wanted to look out at the darkness that inhabits all of the shadows. I mean, you finish off this story wondering who is in the murder house, and who is in the replica…

<- Spectral EvidenceWhere Angels Come In ->

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Hauntings edited by Ellen Datlow

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Overview
Hauntings: Datlow, Ellen: 9781616960889: Amazon.com: Books

Title: Hauntings
Author: Ellen Datlow, Pat Cadigan, Dale Bailey, E. Michael Lewis, Lucius Shepard, David Morrell, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Joyce Carol Oates, Elizabeth Hand, Neil Gaiman, F. Paul Wilson, Jonathan Carroll, Terry Dowling, Paul Walther, Simon Kurt Unsworth, Connie Willis, Stephen Gallagher, Michael Marshall Smith, Richard Bowes, James P. Blaylock, Jeffrey Ford, Gemma Files, Kelly Link, Adam L.G. Nevill & Peter Straub
In: Hauntings (Ellen Datlow)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Ghosts, Horror, Short story collections
Pace: Slow
Format: Anthology
Publisher: Tachyon
Year: 2013

Thoughts

This is, as with all Ellen Datlow collections, seriously fun and enjoyable. The fact that this fantastic collection is full of seriously creepy stories made it that much more enjoyable. Mostly because it’s out of my usual genre of choice. Horror and ghost stories might not be quite my usual speed, but that didn’t mean that I didn’t love reading this collection!

Although I really enjoyed reading all of these short stories, I did find that this was not an anthology I should be reading late at night. Or when I was home alone. Whilst some of the stories were kind of mild and not too terrifying, some made it really difficult to sleep after turning the final page. Or just made it difficult to turn off the lights. Which is why this took me a little bit longer to read than I had anticipated.

Hauntings runs the gambit of horror and ghost stories, from horrible hauntings to stories that had a little bit more hope at the end. They made me feel all of the feelings, and I would most definitely read this collection again in the future.

<- The First Lunar HalloweenEenie, Meenie, Ipsateenie ->

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The Coyote Road edited by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling

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Overview
Image result for coyote road book cover

Title: The Coyote Road
Author: Ellen Datlow, Terri Windling, Pat Murphy, Carolyn Dunn, Steve Berman, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Christopher Barzak, Delia Sherman, Richard Bowes, Ellen Klages, Patricia A. McKillip, Theodora Goss, Charles de Lint, Katherine Vaz, Caroline Stevermer, Midori Snyder, Michael Cadnum, Ellen Kushner, Elizabeth E. Wein, Kim Antieau, Will Shetterly, Kelly Link, Holly Black, Carol Emshwiller, Jedediah Berry, Jeffrey Ford, Jane Yolen & Kij Johnson
In: The Coyote Road (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Mythology, Short story collections, Tricksters
Dates read: 11th March – 24th October 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Firebird Fantasy
Year: 2007
5th sentence, 74th page: She handed me a message, one that read I was to be married to a stranger.

Synopsis

Coyote. Anansi. Brer Rabbit. Trickster characters have long been a staple of folk literature – and are a natural choice for the subject of the acclaimed Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling’s third “mythic” anthology. Twenty-six authors, including Holly Black (The Spiderwick Chronicles), Charles de Lint (Little (Grrl) Lost), Ellen Klages (The Green Glass Sea), Kelly Link (Pretty Monsters), Patricia A. McKillip (Ombria in Shadow) and Jane Yolen, have crafted stories and poems drawing from cultures and traditions all over the world – each surprising, engrossing, and thought provoking. Terri Windling provides a comprehensive introduction to the trickster myths of the world, and the entire book is highlighted by the remarkable decorations of Charles Vess.

The Coyote Road, like its companions The Green Man (winner of the World Fantasy Award) and The Faery Reel (a World Fantasy Award Finalist), is essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary fantastic fiction.

Thoughts

This collection took a long time to read. Yet, I absolutely adored it. Mostly it took a while to read because there were so many short stories filling the pages, and whenever I finished one, I often went searching for more stories by the authors I was discovering. My wishlist has grown by leaps and bounds since starting this collection.

Like many of the Ellen Datlow collections lining my shelves, the theme and collected authors in this are brilliant. Each and every story is perfectly curated to match into the theme of Tricksters. Often in surprising and confusing ways. After all, the prefect trickster never does what is expected, and many of the stories in this managed to take me by surprise.

I would suggest this collection to anybody who loves short stories, fantasy, mythology, tricksters… really I would just suggest it to almost anyone. There are sad stories and happy ones. Insanely complex tales and ones that are so beautifully simplistic. Definitely one of those collections that I’m going to read again and again.

<- The Cinderella Game AnthologyOne Odd Shoe ->

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The Constable of Abal by Kelly Link

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for coyote road book cover

Title: The Constable of Abal
Author: Kelly Link
In: The Coyote Road (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Ghosts, Mythology
Dates read: 5th September 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Firebird Fantasy
Year: 2007
5th sentence, 74th page: Don’t tell her then, the constable said.

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Synopsis

Ozma and her mother, Ziller, have made ghosts all the fashion. But when her mother kills the constable, things start to take a turn for the weird. And Ozma might have to find a way to start a new life all on her own.

Thoughts

This was one of those enjoyable, easy reads that leaves you with a nice big smile after you turn the final page. It’s a little bit sad, and it’s a lot bit dark. But, that smile still lingers. Which was the part of it that I loved the most. There’s a happy ending that just feels like a beginning…

One of my favourite tropes in a story is the idea of being completely unloved and unaccepted by your family. Especially daughters by their mothers… I’m not sure why this draws me so thoroughly. But it does, and I always enjoy these stories. Which meant that Ozma and Ziller’s relationship is one that I completely lapped up. Especially even more once I found out exactly who Ziller is and what her history was… then I just sat there with a giant, slightly manic smile on my face.

I was honestly expecting the constable in this story to be the one who solves a crime or goes toe to toe with a trickster. Instead, he is just a catalyst for the split between Ozma and Ziller. One that ends up being an incredibly healthy and fun one. Not quite the trickster story I was expecting, but definitely one that was well suited to my mood…

 <- Black Rock Blues ReviewA Reversal of Fortune Review ->
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Troll’s-Eye View edited by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling

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Overview
Image result for troll's-eye view book cover

Title: Troll’s-Eye View
Author: Ellen Datlow, Terri Windling, Delia Sherman, Garth Nix, Wendy Froud, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Peter S. Beagle, Ellen Kushner, Joseph Stanton, Holly Black, Jane Yolen, Nancy Farmer, Michael Cadnum, Catherynne M. Valente, Midori Snyder, Neil Gaiman & Kelly Link
In: Troll’s-Eye View (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Fairy tales, Retellings, Short story collections, Villains
Dates read: 12th December 2018 – 1st March 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Anthology
Publisher: Firebird Fantasy
Year: 2009
5th sentence, 74th page: I could have wept.

Synopsis

Everyone thinks they know the real story behind the villains in fairy tales – evil, no two ways about it. But the villains themselves beg to differ. In this book you’ll hear from:
the Giant’s wife from “Jack and the Beanstalk”
the oldest of the Twelve Dancing Princesses
Rumpelstiltskin
the witch from “Hansel and Gretel”
someone called Evil Cinderella

Just watch these old stories do new tricks!

Thoughts

This is an incredibly easy, fun and engaging short story collection. It takes some brilliant authors who take you on journeys through well known fairy tales. The fact that these retellings all focus on the villains of the stories just made me love it even more. I always love the highlighting of grey areas and alternate tellings.

Troll’s-Eye View is a collection that is written for a very young age group. It’s simple and quaint. Easily accessible and fun. But, that doesn’t mean that as an adult you can’t enjoy it. There was nothing I enjoyed more than sitting down at the end of a long day and reading one of these short stories or poems. It was a great, fun and quick escape from the real world at a time when I’ve been really quite overwhelmed and stressed.

Most of my anthologies and collections contain only novellas and short stories. Troll’s-Eye View also has poems. They were enough to break up the flow throughout the story and leave you with a smile on your face.

<- Why Light?Wizard’s Apprentice ->

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The Cinderella Game by Kelly Link

Book Review, , ,
Overview
Image result for troll's-eye view book cover

Title: The Cinderella Game
Author: Kelly Link
In: Troll’s-Eye View (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Family
Dates read: 2nd March 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Firebird Fantasy
Year: 2009
5th sentence, 74th page: He opened his mouth to explain everything, but Darcy got there first.

Buy The Book Now at The Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide
Synopsis

Two step-siblings decide to play the cinderella game… with some interesting consequences.

Thoughts

My mother always taught me that it takes two to tango… and that idea carried through in her rearing of us, every time my sister and I got into a huge fight, we’d generally both get in trouble. So I kind of liked the fact that this story was about two (step) siblings who are playing a slightly sinister game and arguing. There are no good guys and bad guys in this story. But rather, a mix of motives that inform one another.

From the name of this story, I thought that the child who played the evil stepsister was going to do something kind of horrible. Then they started talking about evil Cinderella and I was expecting some seriously weird things to start happening. But it didn’t. I wasn’t uncomfortable at this tale, and I actually thought it was kind of cute. A promise for a future in which they could all live together happily, or one in which they would have a not-so-happily ever after. It could go either way.

This was a great story to end the Troll’s-Eye View collection on. It didn’t have a villain or a hero. There was no right or wrong. Instead, it had a vagueness in which everyone had a little bit of good and a little bit of bad in it…

 <- Observing the Formalities ReviewTwists of the Tale Review ->
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