FANTAStic Short Fiction

Posted by David R.

Something very nice about short story collections is that you can often sit down and finish a story in one sitting.  These fantasy-based short fiction stories have the added appeal of being imaginative, clever, and innovative. 

Perchance to Dream: Selected Stories by Charles Beaumont
A new Penguin edition of the legendary fantasist's most inventive and imaginative of tales; a collection of stories that illustrates the boundless talents of its author.

Beaumont dreamed up fantasies so vast and varied they burst through the walls of whatever box might contain them. Supernatural, horror, noir, science fiction, fantasy, pulp, and more: all were equally at home in his wondrous mind. These are stories where lions stalk the plains, classic cars rove the streets, and spacecraft hover just overhead. Here roam musicians, magicians, vampires, monsters, toreros, extraterrestrials, androids, and perhaps even the Devil himself. With dizzying feats of master storytelling and joyously eccentric humor, Beaumont transformed his nightmares and reveries into impeccably crafted stories that leave themselves indelibly stamped upon the walls of the mind. In Beaumont’s hands, nothing is impossible: it all seems plausible, even likely.


Songs of a Dead Dreamer and Grimscribe by Thomas Ligotti
Lovecraftian yet original tales of horror and the dark fantastic, by a lesser known and innovative voice in the fantastic fiction field.

Ligotti’s stories take on decaying cities and lurid dreamscapes in a style ranging from rich, ornamental prose to cold, clinical detachment. His raw and experimental work lays bare the unimportance of our world and the sickening madness of the human condition. Like the greatest writers of cosmic horror, Ligotti bends reality until it cracks, opening fissures through which he invites us to gaze on the unsettling darkness of the abyss below.








I Am Crying All Inside and Other stories: The complete short fiction of Clifford D. Simak, Volume One by Clifford D. Simak

An under-read name in science fiction history, the short stories of Clifford D. Simak contain a cultural influence extending from Harlan Ellison anthologies to Ridley Scott's Film Alien. Collected here in the fantastic new edition are thrilling favorites such as "Small Deer" and "Madness from Mars".

Top 10 SF/Fantasy of the Past Year

Posted by Staff, summarized from Booklist magazine

Booklist recently published a list of the top 10 SF/Fantasy books from the past year.  The stories range from gothic tales to high-tech gladiators and reflect the many faces of contemporary science fiction and fantasy. All descriptions are from Booklist.

The Troupe by Robert Jackson Bennett.  In this fantasy, everything in existence is an echo of a primal song used by the Creator to bring the universe into being.

The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark.  Dark's letter-perfect gothic style is a satisfying tribute to novels of the genre and the incubi, fae, vampires and witches make this a stellar romance.

The Games by Ted Kosmatka.  In the not too distant future, the Olympics feature a popular event utilizing artificially created gladiators fighting to the death.

Hitchers by Will McIntosh.  Well-drawn characters and a smart plot follow the devastation of a bioweapon attack in Atlanta.

Naked City: Tales of Urban Fantasy edited by Ellen Datlow.  An anthology of short fiction offers a superb sampling of urban fantasy.

Timeless by Gail Carriger.  The 5th book in the Parasol Protectorate, this book wraps up a popular steampunk series.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.  The author follows the exploits of two magicians and thier young wards over a period of time from the 1870's to about 1900.

Reamde by Neal Stephenson.  An unknown hacker has created a computer virus and is using it to extort money from players of an online game.

The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer.  An outstanding collection of short stories.

The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King.  This should satisfy those who read the entire Dark Tower Saga, those who didn't, and those who haven't started yet.

Steampunk: Part 4, Young Adult Selections

Alphonse de Neuville, Captain Nemo from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, 1863

Posted by Alana T.

In this last of the steampunk series, I've listed some recent young adult novels (kindly provided by Anne W.).  Don't shy away from any of these because they target a younger audience.  The plots and characters are often quite sophisticated and the themes can be very serious indeed.  I find that the biggest differences are a little more angst (the main characters are often teens) and the language is a bit simpler (that means a faster read!).  In any case, these are all great books - give one a try!

Corsets & Clockwork:  Thirteen Steampunk Romances edited by Trisha Telep.  Young heroes and heroines battle evils with the help of supernatural or super-technological powers.

The Leviathan Series (Leviathan, Behemoth, Goliath) by Scott Westerfel. An around-the-world quest to end World War I, reclaim a throne and find love; set within a dirigible.

Airborn by Kenneth Oppel. See our review from a previous post.

His Dark Materials Series (The Golden Compass, The Amber Spyglass and The Subtle Knife) by Philip Pullma. A classic story of adventure and honor; the audio is performed by a full cast and is excellent.

Fever Crumb by Philip Reeve. The story of a young woman, alone, and with memories she doesn't understand.

Foundling by D.M Cornish. A world of predatory monsters, chemical potions and surgically altered people.

Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore.  When a wealthy sorcerer hires the heroine to sing with a piano-playing automaton, she hopes for a better life; rumors about ghosts, a madwomen, and tortured fairies suggest otherwise.

Infernal Devices Series (Clockwork Angel and Clockwork Prince) by Cassandra Clare.  Vampires, demons, warlocks, and a transforming heroine make for an exciting read.

Worldshaker by Richard Harland. A young man from the upperdecks of the Worldshaker meets a young woman from below - both learn the truth of their existence.

The Clockwork Three by Matthew Kirby.  An enchanted green violin, an automaton that comes to life, and a hidden treasure.

Incarceron and Sapphique by Cathrine Fisher.  Incarceron is a prison so vast that it contains not only cells and corridors, but metal forests, dilapidated cities, and wilderness. It has been sealed for centuries, and only one man has ever escaped...

Steampunk: Part 3, Graphic Novels

Alphonse de Neuville, Captain Nemo from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, 1863

Posted by Alana T.

Perhaps some of the most interesting Steampunk inspired works have been created as graphic novels.  Not only do you get the basic ideas behind the genre (view post #1 and #2), but you get fantastic illustrations as well.  Many titles are geared (pun intended) toward the young adult audience, but the themes are often quite serious.  Try any of the following for a visual and intellectual feast.

Flight (The Amulet Series) by Kazu Kibuishi.  Two children move to an ancestral house that has a door to another dimension; beautifully illustrated.

Lovelace and Babbage by Sydney Padua.  Originating as a Web comic (and still available as such ) this series takes an irreverent look at the lives of Ada Lovelace (Lord Byron's daughter & a mathematician) and Charles Babbage (mathematician/inventor).

The Amazing Screw on Head and Hellboy by Mike Mignola.  The author describes his work as "Crazy people...involving some crazy thing, working themselves into a frenzy over it."

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill.  If you hated the movie, try the originals - much better!

Grandville by Bryan Talbot.  Imagine Sherlock Holmes with animal characters and robots everywhere... dark and fun!

Steampunk: Part 2, Recent Publications

Alphonse du Neuville, Captian Nemo from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, 1863

Posted by Alana T.

A previous post described the steampunk genre and provided a list of some early works.  The following is a list of more recent works (post mid-90's to present) and represent some of the best and well known examples.  All are entertaining and good reads!

The Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer by Neal Stephenson. Futuristic steampunk, set in twenty-first century Shanghai, it is the story of what happens when a state-of-the-art interactive device falls into the hands of a street urchin.

The Steampunk Trilogy by Paul Di Phillipo An outrageous romp about the replacement of the Queen of England with a giant salamander and two more equally engaging tales.

Boneshaker by Hugo Award nominee Cherie Priest. Zombies, motherhood, and a radical rewrite of the history of Seattle.

Alchemy of Stone by Ekaterina Sedia  Mattie, an intelligent automaton finds herself caught in a conflict between gargoyles and the Mechanists and Alchemists.

Steampunk edited by A. & J. Vandermeer.  A selection of short stories that feature a dazzling variety of steampunk ideas.

The Mainspring Series by Jay Lake is set on a giant clockwork world.  In the series, an apprentice clockmaker must find the lost key that will start the world turning again.

The Dream of Perpetual Motion by Dexter Palmer.  A future/past story that includes a sentient dirigible with a theme that borrows heavily from Shakespeare's The Tempest.

Steampunk: Part 1, The Early Days

Alphonse du Neuville, Captian Nemo from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, 1863

Posted by Alana T.

No so long ago, fiction featuring adventure, strange clockwork machines and alternate histories would be found primarily in the Science Fiction or Fantasy section.  The genre, now called Steampunk, has become so popular that it's most common elements are finding their way into mainstream fiction. How to recognize it?  Jeff Vandermeer (The Steampunk Bible) broadly defines the genre in the following way:
"STEAMPUNK = Mad Scientist Inventor [invention (steam x airship or metal man /baroque stylings) x (pseudo) Victorian setting] + progressive or reactionary politics x adventure plot."

The fathers of the genre are Jules Verne (The Demon of Cawnpore, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, From the Earth to the Moon, A Journey to the Center of the Earth) and H.G. Wells (The War of the Worlds, The Time Machine, The Invisible Man).  We take for granted many of the inventions and adventures described in those old pages, but at the time of first publication, these ideas fostered feelings of awe that are captured in the genre today. Edgar Allen Poe is also considered an influential author in the development of the genre because so many of his fiction works feature the importance of 'modern' scientific thought and inventions.

The following give you an idea of the first and most lauded steampunk stories published before 2000:

The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers (1983). Wellsian time travel with a story of ancient gods and British rule over Egypt

Lord Kelvin's Machine (1985) a short story by Michael Moorcok. Featuring the historical Lord Kelvin, a physicist and engineer; dirigibles are a big part of the story.

The Difference Engine by W. Gibson and B. Sterling (1990).  Set in a distopian 1855 alternate reality in which Charles Babbage succeeds in building a mechanical computer. 

Part II will discuss the best of the more recent Steampunk offerings.

My all-time favorite McCaffrey book

Posted by Alana T.

A few weeks ago, Anne McCaffrey passed away at the age of 85 (see her obituary in the New York Times here).  She wrote many books that incorporated elements of both fantasy and science fiction, and is best known for her Dragonriders Series.  Her main characters were often strong-willed adolescents or young women who beat the odds to save the day.  There was lots of adventure, tricky politics, and dragons!  Not only were they fierce and fire-breathing, they were intelligent, emotional individuals who had complicated relationships with humans. The current and very popular dragon-based stories (e.g. TheTemeraire Series by Naomi Novik or The Inheritance Cycle by C. Paolini) owe a great debt to McCaffrey who initiated the idea of telepathic dragons who have positive interactions with humans.

Her first books were published in the late 60's and she continued to write until recently.  She won both a Hugo and a Nebula Award for her Dragonriders works.  For a list (and it's a long one!) of all her works available through the ILHS, click here.

Book Review: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Posted by EPL patron and guest blogger Holly A.

I really enjoyed this youthful adventure story.  I started reading it to keep up with what my daughter was reading next... and then I was unable to put the book down.  The main character, Clary, thought that she was just a normal kid with average teenage problems.  However, she soon finds out what downworlders and shadowhunters are.  She discovers that she is a shadowhunter, and that her childhood memories have been altered by a magician.  Jace, Alec, and Isabel are other shadowhunter teeenagers that form a close bond with Clary.  Their hope is to locate Clary's mother who has been kidnapped by an evil shadowhunter, whom, unfortunately happens to be Clary's father.  A good read - 5 stars out of 5. 

Request City of Bones here.
Request other items in the Mortal Instruments Series here.

New Sci-Fi and Fantasy reads

Posted by Staff

Recently, Booklist published a list of their favorite recent sci-fi and fantasy novels.  These are diverse genres, and there is something in the list to interest just about any reader.  Descriptions below are transcribed form Booklist's reviews.

All the Lives He Led by Fredereick Pohl.  It's 2079 and Pompeii has become a theme park.  Pohl is a master of everything that goes into a cracking good novel, and for this one, he has clearly boned up on vulcanolgy to boot.

The Best of Larry Niven edited by Jonathan Straham.  Niven excels at creating possible futures that are the outcome of current ideas stretched to the extreme.

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness.  Diana Bishop is the last of the Bishops, a powerful family of witches, but she has refused her magic ever since her parents died.

Dragon Haven by Robin Hobb.  The second volume of the Rain Wilds Chronicles shows Hobb again working at the highest level of contemporary fantasy.

Hellhole by Brian Herbert and Keven Anderson.  This is a militaristic sf story of galactic proportions that also offers characters easy for the reader to believe in.

Midsummer Night by Freda Warrington.  Set after the end of the Great War, this novel should please classic and urban fantasy fans, romance readers, and anyone looking for a good fey story.

Pale Demon by Kim Harrison.  The ninth Rachel Morgan novel finds our tough and feisty witch on a mission to get her shunning rescinded.

Thirteen Years Later by Jasper Kent.  Kent has magically blended history, folklore, and storytelling to produce a superb account of the Dekabrist revolt in 1825 Russia.

What the Night Knows by Dean Koontz.  This novel is deliberate, highly supernatural, somber throughout, and motivated by religious dread - one of Koontz's weightiest performances.