Small Press Pimpage--Lone Star Stories Reader
The Lone Star Stories Reader, edited by Eric Marin, is out.
For this anthology Marin chose stories published in Lone Star Stories, his online zine which began very quietly just a few years ago, and has steadily gained both audience and respect. Marin usually features three stories and three poems. Marin, a poet himself, has an eye for the kind of poetry that engages me the most.
I read the anthology well over six months ago, but I still remember the stories. Many of them at least peripherally connect to the Southeastern US, but this is not a theme anthology. The stories range widely in tone, length, subject matter, etc, sharing one characteristic: they are stories containing a fantastical element.
The main thing I remember is that I enjoyed all the stories. Not a klunker among 'em. Some I enjoyed more than others, but with names like Gavin Grant, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Jay Lake, and Catherynne M. Valente among the authors, I expected something out of the ordinary, and was not disappointed. There are new voices who are going places fast, like Stephanie Burgis and Josh Rountree, and authors in the midst of establishing, or having established, a solid and devoted readership, like Sarah Monette and Martha Wells.
I don't read as much short fiction as I do novels because novels tend to engage me more--the payoff is generally sharper, once I've been hooked. occasionally a short story gives me that sharp payoff. Though I liked all the stories--and can remember images from them all--the one that gave me the sharpest payoff was by Marguerite Reed. Wow.
For this anthology Marin chose stories published in Lone Star Stories, his online zine which began very quietly just a few years ago, and has steadily gained both audience and respect. Marin usually features three stories and three poems. Marin, a poet himself, has an eye for the kind of poetry that engages me the most.
I read the anthology well over six months ago, but I still remember the stories. Many of them at least peripherally connect to the Southeastern US, but this is not a theme anthology. The stories range widely in tone, length, subject matter, etc, sharing one characteristic: they are stories containing a fantastical element.
The main thing I remember is that I enjoyed all the stories. Not a klunker among 'em. Some I enjoyed more than others, but with names like Gavin Grant, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Jay Lake, and Catherynne M. Valente among the authors, I expected something out of the ordinary, and was not disappointed. There are new voices who are going places fast, like Stephanie Burgis and Josh Rountree, and authors in the midst of establishing, or having established, a solid and devoted readership, like Sarah Monette and Martha Wells.
I don't read as much short fiction as I do novels because novels tend to engage me more--the payoff is generally sharper, once I've been hooked. occasionally a short story gives me that sharp payoff. Though I liked all the stories--and can remember images from them all--the one that gave me the sharpest payoff was by Marguerite Reed. Wow.