Tag Archives: The Coyote Road

Always the Same Story by Elizabeth E. Wein

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

Title: Always the Same Story
Author: Elizabeth E. Wein
In: The Coyote Road (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Circus, Contemporary, Tricksters
Dates read: 11th July 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Firebird Fantasy
Year: 2007
5th sentence, 74th page: He knew they could not hear him.

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Synopsis

Gus grew up on the trains, travelling around with his circus family. When he gets kidnapped, his unusal upbringing comes to his aid.

Thoughts

Growing up, I always wanted to be part of the circus. There was something that just seemed so romantic and worldly about being a part of such a family that I couldn’t help but imagine how fun and adventurous my story would be. As an adult, I kind of realise that it’s probably not that romantic and perfect. And I kind of like the upbringing and life that I’ve had, but this short story still manages to encompass some of that fun and intrigue that drew me in as a young child.

You would expect a circus child to be one that could do tricks, be like a strong man and just be generally quirky. The last thing in the world that you would expect would be for such a child to be a nerdy little book worm who wears glasses. Which, considering this short story is in a collection of trickster tales, worked perfectly. As did the idea that his unique upbringing is not only what gets him in trouble, but also what gets him out of it.

There are a few people in my life who are a little obsessed with trains, and the entire time I was reading this tale, I mostly thought of them. And clowns. But I hate clowns, so I focused on the trains aspect. I really enjoy the idea of travelling over country on a train and this helped to further romanticise that idea. I just won’t be as confident as Gus was during his adventures.

 <- Honored Guest ReviewThe Senorita and the Cactus Thorn Review ->
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Honored Guest by Ellen Kushner

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

Title: Honored Guest
Author: Ellen Kushner
In: The Coyote Road (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Tricksters
Dates read: 3rd July 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Firebird Fantasy
Year: 2007
5th sentence, 74th page: When I kneel before my instrument, and my fingers bend and dance on the strings, I feel as if I know things no one has ever known before.

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Synopsis

Bright Phoenix is trapped by her greedy, malicious grandmother. But a chance visit from a tricky womann might help her escape to a new world, one where her creativity can truly shine.

Thoughts

This didn’t end the way I was hoping for / expecting. Which is probably not a bad thing. After all, I love a good story that surprises. Especially one that was as fun and descriptive as this one. We’ve all met that someone that we completely hate, that just strikes us as not good. The grandmother in this went that extra step further and seemed just downright evil, but Bright Phoenix’s responses and thoughts on the old hag were still completely recognisable.

This wasn’t a trickster story in the sense that many of the other tales I’ve read lately have been. Jessica, or the honoured guest, might have a trickster nature about her, but there isn’t the sense of balance and comeuppance that characterises most of the trickster tales I’ve been reading. Which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I kind of would have liked to see a little more karma, and a little less manipulation in this story.

 <- Cat of the World ReviewAlways the Same Story Review ->
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Cat of the World by Michael Cadnum

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

Title: Cat of the World
Author: Michael Cadnum
In: The Coyote Road (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Comedy, Tricksters
Dates read: 28th June 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Firebird Fantasy
Year: 2007
5th sentence, 74th page: While I first set paw upon sand in the Egypt of the Ancients, I have travelled the world.

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Synopsis

The cat is in the bag… literally. But this cat has some sharp teeth and his captors are about to face more than they bargained for.

Thoughts

Cats are tricky, difficult and irritating creatures. They always have been. They’re also kind of fun, but, mostly irritating and tricky. Which means that it makes perfect sense to have a feline creature in a collection of trickster stories. I also love that although it is a cat trickster with extra powers, it’s not quite god-like and not quite mortal… but a glorious, contrary mix of something in between.

This entire tale was quick, quirky and filled with the sassy language that I’m sure a cat would use, if he could talk. It was a lot of fun. And, considering I was reading it will feeling the after-effects of a migraine, it was a nice, easy, happy read. Although I’m not really a cat person, and am, in fact, allergic, I do love tales of these insane creatures. There is something so fun, capricious and contrary about the silly creatures. Something which speaks to me on a personal level.

Many tales of tricksters involve a wit defeating another wit. Yet, this wasn’t quite like that… the cat is kind of witty. The foes he went up against though… not so witty. Which of course, makes it even funnier and more enjoyable.

 <- Uncle Tompa ReviewHonored Guest Review ->
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Uncle Tompa by Midori Snyder

Book Review, , ,
Overview
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Title: Uncle Tompa
Author: Midori Snyder
In: The Coyote Road (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Poetry, Tricksters
Dates read: 12th June 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Poem
Publisher: Firebird Fantasy
Year: 2007
5th sentence, 74th page: His stomach rumbles, hungering for mischief

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Synopsis

Uncle Tompa is a trickster from folklore. One who Snyder highlights seamlessly in her beautiful poem, Uncle Tompa.

Thoughts

I love when you read a poem and it makes you want to dive right into the subject matter and find out more. The fact that this poem featured a trickster from folklore just tickled my fancy all the more. It was actually incredibly sad that it was only two pages long.

The ebb and flow of Snyder’s poem was good like most of the modern, fantasy poems that I’ve been reading lately. But I loved the subject matter. There wasn’t really a tale that was highlighted or an adventure that anyone journeyed along, but there was a fun and humorous lead that jumped from the pages into your imagination. One that I imagined doing so with a wide grin plastered across his impish face.

 <- Uncle Bob Visits ReviewCat of the World Review ->
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Uncle Bob Visits by Caroline Stevermer

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

Title: Uncle Bob Visits
Author: Caroline Stevermer
In: The Coyote Road (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Tricksters
Dates read: 5th May 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Firebird Fantasy
Year: 2007
5th sentence, 74th page: “Now is the winter of our discontent,” said Miss Lillegren stiffly.

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Synopsis

A classroom is always full of mischief. But when Uncle Bob decides to visit, the mischief and mayhem crank up a notch.

Thoughts

It fits that a trickster story would take place in a children’s classroom. After all, children are really good vessels of chaos. So having a bunch of the little darlings all crowded into one classroom would surely attract some kind of poltergeist to wreak a little havoc on our daily lives. Although I enjoyed this story, I did feel incredibly sympathetic towards the teacher. Not only does she have to try and corral a bunch of children who just aren’t interested in grammar. But she also has to contend with a poltergeist who is definitely not interested in grammar.

I really like the idea of a grumpy, old man as the poltergeist. Or at least, that’s how I’m picturing him as the story unfolds. Somebody who loves to be around the school and the children but is a bit fussy about what he wants to learn. And not all that great at understanding discipline of any kind…

 <- The Chamber Music of Animals ReviewUncle Tompa Review ->
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The Chamber Music of Animals by Katherine Vaz

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

Title: The Chamber Music of Animals
Author: Katherine Vaz
In: The Coyote Road (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Medical, Music, Tricksters
Dates read: 28th April 2019
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: Firebird Fantasy
Year: 2007
5th sentence, 74th page: She’d consumed nothing but coffee all day; no wonder she ached with heartburn.

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Synopsis

Sophie has lost her husband, and now cancer is threatening to take away her only son. Does the power of music have the ability to battle away the awful disease?

Thoughts

I’m really glad that this story didn’t have a sad ending. I was fully expecting it to, after all, Sofia had already lost her husband, and she was incredibly close to losing her son to cancer. Although this tale is in a collection about tricksters, it doesn’t mean that you can’t have trickster tales that are sad. Rather than their usual witty, entertaining journeys.

Monkeys are often tricksters in mythology. They’re the characters which run amok through the lives of people and change the world around them. Just by creating chaos. And believe me, if you’ve ever watched a troop of monkeys, or apes, you can understand how their presence can incite change and align them with the tricksters of myth and legend. Which means that it was probably about time for a monkey to show up in The Coyote Road.

The parallel running of this story worked really nicely throughout. There are the battles which Sofia is fighting for her son. The life that her mother is trying to live with a broken leg, and an incredibly sick grandson. And finally, the music and internal war that Rangy is fighting to save a well-loved boy. Even if he has been left in the cupboard for years on end…

 <- Crow Roads ReviewUncle Bob Visits Review ->
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Crow Roads by Charles de Lint

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

Title: Crow Roads
Author: Charles de Lint
In: The Coyote Road (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Feminism, Tricksters
Dates read: 27th April 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Firebird Fantasy
Year: 2007
5th sentence, 74th page: But I overheard Woody and Les at the corner store a couple of days later, laughing about the hippie they’d sent packing, so I could guess.

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Synopsis

Annie wants something more from life than a small, dead-end town and a teenage pregnancy. So when a young man comes into her life, she finds his intriguing outlook on life fascinating. But not fascinating enough to follow him to the Crow Roads.

Thoughts

Crows are kind of fascinating birds. And although there are some more horror-inspired relations to them, I love their symbolic connection to tricksters. Anytime I read a story that mentions these birds in any way, shape or form, I feel completely drawn in. The fact that this short story not only included that aspect, but also a woman’s will to become something more than just a mother and a wife… well, I fell in love with it completely.

Annie is a young woman from a small, poverty-riddled town. Most people believe that her only future in life is to get pregnant young, and become a mother, and maybe a wife. If she doesn’t, well, she might end up becoming a beautician or hairdresser. Yet, she wants something more. And not even a chance meeting with a boy who intrigues her on the deepest level will deter her from her course. Even if he does truly want her to journey the Crow Roads with him.

I love the fact that although this feels like a bit of a teen romance, Annie decides to show people that she can make something of herself. She still wants to ride off into the sunset with the boy, but she’ll only do it after she’s shown herself and others that she can be whoever, and whatever she wants to be.

 <- How Raven Made His Bride ReviewThe Chamber Music of Animals Review ->
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How Raven Made His Bride by Theodora Goss

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

Title: How Raven Made His Bride
Author: Theodora Goss
In: The Coyote Road (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Native American mythology, Poetry, Tricksters
Dates read: 22nd April 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Poem
Publisher: Firebird Fantasy
Year: 2007
5th sentence, 74th page: While she lay sleeping, he stole

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Synopsis

Raven needs to win a bet and create the perfect bride. So how is he going to go about it?

Thoughts

This is a nice, quick and fun poem. It’s an easy read, but one that has many hidden layers. I read it twice before I started trying to write this review. After all, the hidden layers were happy to tell me something new each and every re-read.

I really enjoy stories about Coyote and the Native American tricksters. There is something that is a lot more fun and entertaining than some of the other tricksters in mythology. It is a little less dark than many other trickster stories. But there is still that great, fun sense of vengeance and selfishness. A sense of equality in their very presence.

This poem had a very origins feel to it. Kind of like “how the porcupine got its spines” or “how the camel got its hump” sort of story. Which worked in brilliantly well with the trickster theme that runs throughout not only this poem, but also the collection that I found it in.

 <- The Fortune-Teller ReviewCrow Roads Review ->
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The Fortune-Teller by Patricia A. McKillip

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

Title: The Fortune-Teller
Author: Patricia A. McKillip
In: The Coyote Road (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Tricksters
Dates read: 12th April 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Firebird Fantasy
Year: 2007
5th sentence, 74th page: Then I can afford to be honest.

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Synopsis

She’s made her life under the sign of the trickster, but is she capable of change? Will a visit from an old flame remind her of who and what she truly could be?

Thoughts

This isn’t like a lot of the trickster stories I’ve been reading recently. Instead of featuring a supernatural being of balance, this is a mortal woman who follows the sign of the trickster. But, unlike the supernatural beings that I’m so used to, she’s actually capable of change. The question of whether or not she’s willing to become something more than herself, something better, is what fills this story.

Fortune-tellers are a great vessel for chaos and a realignment of the world. I like that this is a woman on the cusp of a decision. She can continue on her wily way by cheating and scamming people out of their money, or she can make the decision to become a better person. To gain her life and money in a way that she won’t feel ashamed of. And it is the mirror of her past lover that makes her really consider this…

 <- Friday Night at St. Cecilia’s ReviewHow Raven Made His Bride Review ->
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Friday Night at St. Cecilia’s by Ellen Klages

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
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Title: Friday Night at St. Cecilia’s
Author: Ellen Klages
In: The Coyote Road (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Easy reading, Tricksters
Dates read: 1st April 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Firebird Fantasy
Year: 2007
5th sentence, 74th page: She looked at the light switch across the room, but didn’t bother turning it on.

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Synopsis

Friday night at St. Cecilia’s means a night of board games and companionship for Rachel and Addie. But, when Queen Mabe decides to up the stakes, traditional board games become far more complex, and a whole lot more dangerous.

Thoughts

Game nights were kind of a big thing in my family when I was younger. Actually, they’re still kind of a big thing, although I’m not around as much to play now. They were always a great way to spend time together in a fun way. And, since we’re all more than a little competitive, a very fun, not to mention loud way to spend the night. So, a short story that features board games that I grew up playing and a trickster… it’s the kind of story that I was always going to love.

I was kind of expecting Rachel to learn some kind of lesson throughout this story. After all, she starts out as a very rebellious young woman in a catholic boarding school. Who is in detention. This is exactly the kind of not-on-the-right-path character that tends to need a bit of adjustment. But, it doesn’t really happen. Rather, her rebellion just leads her on a very fun and interesting adventure. And it is one that is full of nostalgia and humour. An easy read that made me think of all the times with my family. And all of the board games in my cupboard.

 <- A Tale for the Short Days ReviewThe Fortune-Teller Review ->
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