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Pride and Prejudice meets Macbeth by way of Moby Dick and a dollop of the speculative, in this hugely entertaining anthology where authors such as John Scalzi get inspiration for short stories from the first lines of famous works of literature. Edited by hugely respected anthologist Gardner Dozois, the collection includes stories by John Scalzi, Tad Williams, Elizabeth Bear and many others.
My thoughts:
A collection of stories inspired by first lines, and I will do it as always do. Talk a bit about every story. So let us begin.
Fireborn (Rootabaga stories) by Robert Charles Wilson
Set in the future where a war tore mankind apart, I guess. It was interesting and good, and I'd read more from this author. Though I have no idea where that first line is from.
The evening line (Pride and Prejudice) by Mike Resnick
The story is from Resnick's world, and frankly the whole story was meh.
No decent patrimony (Edward II) by Elizabeth Bear
A son talks about his dead father. Set in a world where the rich can live forever. Interesting premise. Would make a good movie when I think about it
The Big whale (Moby Dick) by Allen M Steele
A Moby Dick story about a PI. Good story and was set in the actual world of it so...
Begone (David Copperfield) by Daryl Gregory
A man is usurped by another. Great story, I should try more from this author.
The red menace (The communist manifesto) by Lavie Tidhar
An alternative history where Soviet became Soviet first in the 30s. Maybe they did not kill 50 mil of their own people then, one can always hope. It was a scary world filled with bombs.
Muse of Fire (Henry V) by John Scalzi
A man and his strange girlfriend. I liked the twist of it all.
Writer's block (Paul Clifford) by nancy Kress
A writer with a messy life, that takes a turn for the worst. This one got interesting.
Highland Reel (McBeth) by Jack Campbell
A historical about the Highlands. Awesome story, my fav of them all.
Karen Coxswain (Huckelberry Finn) by Paul Di Filippo
A captain in hell tells her story, and I was bored.
The Lady Astronaut (The wizard of oz) by Mary Robinette Kowal
People settled on Mars and an Astronaut gets another chance. Nice story, I liked how it all tied together.
Every fuzzy beast of the earth, every pink fowl of the air (Bible) by Tad Williams
Amazing story about the creation of the world...ok so this is my second fav of these stories. it was fantastic and funny. Hilarious.
Amazing story about the creation of the world...ok so this is my second fav of these stories. it was fantastic and funny. Hilarious.
Decleration (the decleration of independence) by James Patrick Kelly
Kids wants to live in virtual reality. I did not really get it
Some good, some funny, some kind of meh, some, well you get the point. They were all different genres. I also liked how it was a fast read
Conclusion:
A good anthology
Some good, some funny, some kind of meh, some, well you get the point. They were all different genres. I also liked how it was a fast read
Conclusion:
A good anthology
Paperback, 432 pages
Published June 7th 2016 by Titan Books
Anthology
For review
That's how most anthologies go. At least it was more good than meh
ReplyDeleteKaren @For What It's Worth
I love that anthologies like this let you sample authors without a huge commitment.
ReplyDeleteAnd most were new to me )
DeleteSounds like a good mix of stories!
ReplyDeleteWell if the P&P inspired story was meh, I'll be skipping this one.
ReplyDeleteI was the most sad about that one
DeleteA good anthology is hard to come by so maybe :)
ReplyDeleteSO true
DeleteFriday!!!!!
ReplyDeleteOh I enjoy mashups so that already has my attention. Looks like most of them are winners. Too bad you didn't care for the P&P one.
ReplyDeleteIt was only a first line anyway
Deleteoh this is so unique and different.
ReplyDeleteThat is certainly was
DeleteShort stories inspired by classics?
ReplyDeleteI've been waiting for this anthology all my life :D
Lol, but yes I get that
DeleteI'm not a big short story person, but wow, I can't believe I haven't heard of this anthology. That's an incredible line up of authors, I have read most of them and liked their books so maybe this would work well for me. The idea of being inspired by first lines of classics is really cool too.
ReplyDelete~Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum
When I finished the book I looked at the back where they had other anthologies and damn, this other one had so many of my favs ones too. I do like that
DeleteWhat a fabulous idea! I do this with my creative writing students all the time. The authors are very appealing.
ReplyDeleteIt would be fun to try
DeleteWhat a creative idea to inspire the stories. I would definitely snag this for that alone even if I had to wade through some meh stories for the good ones.
ReplyDeleteI have never read an anthology with only good ones ;) There will always be the ones that are meh, and I can live with that as long as there are many good ones:D
DeleteSounds like a great mix and sort of a cannon retelling. Curiouser and curiouser.
ReplyDeleteTotally
DeleteWow! What an array of interesting short stories!
ReplyDeletetotally right
DeleteI love when an anthology is good. These are perfect bedside reads
ReplyDelete:)
DeleteI haven't read any of these authors before. Sounds like it'd be a good sample of them. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThat it would
Delete