

Title: From the Catalogue of the Pavilion of the Uncanny and Marvellous, Scheduled for Premiere at the Great Exhibition (Before the Fire)
Author: Genevieve Valentine
In: Queen Victoria’s Book of Spells (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 3.5 (Liked this)
My Bookshelves: Fantasy, Gaslamp, Wordplay
Dates read: 4th July 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Tor
Year: 2013
5th sentence, 74th page: Even with the losses, however, the Exhibition turned enough profit to finance construction of the Victoria and Albert Museum itself.


A collection of notes, letters and quotes that tell of the Pavilion of the Uncanny and Marvellous.

This was a bit of a weird read. Not in a horrifying or negative manner, but in a, I’m going to read this again and again to see what pops out. It’s fascinating, fun and a perfect mix of reality and fantasy. The unique structure of this story is what I love the most about this story though. It is different, fun and gives an entirely different flow to the storyline than any other short story that I have read recently.
There aren’t many stories that I struggle to see the overarching storyline… a mass of exposure tends to make things more and more predictable. But, because this short story has such a unique and completely alien format to what I’m used to, I’m still not sure I’ve fully grasped what was happening. Which I loved. It not only means that this is a story I’ll enjoy reading again, it was also a challenge. And who doesn’t love a good challenge?