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paneerakbari's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
It's a massive anthology of works spanning years of the author's writing career.
Her prose is sometimes dense, but always sharp.
The way Valente weaves folklore, science fiction, mythology, and literature into something entirely new is exquisite beyond belief; truly chimeric.
Her prose is sometimes dense, but always sharp.
The way Valente weaves folklore, science fiction, mythology, and literature into something entirely new is exquisite beyond belief; truly chimeric.
magicalmysmalin's review
4.0
I love how much depth and feeling Valente can impart in such short stories. Many of the titles in this collection were fantastic and hit just right, but I think “The Bread We Eat in Dreams” was by far my favorite. Overall, there’s something for everyone in this, and I highly recommend it!
wanderlustlover's review against another edition
5.0
Thank you to Catherynne M. Valente, Subterranean Press, and Netgalley for an advanced reader copy of "The Best of Catherynne M. Valente, Volume One" for an honest review.
I have been reading Valente for eons, it feels like now. I was one of the people to play 'The Ice Queen' when it was originally released on the internet, and I still own all my letters from the subscriptions when Valente would mail a letter, under a gorgeous red wax seal, of a brand new short story to her fans each month. I have been collecting every new and old story of hers since that time, and this publication feels like a godsend.
I was very interested when I saw it would be a 'best of' volume, and then incredibly blown away the moment I opened it and saw the index. It was so much bigger than I'd ever predicted. From far-back pieces up to those of last year's releases. There is something between these covers for every reader, stories of love, family, passion, drive, and inspiration, what makes a narrative and breaks a narrative. There are multifaceted characters of every assortment, who will speak honey into your ear, whether sweet or sour, and then you'll find yourself ten pages later weeping for them, no matter who or what you thought at the beginning.
I advise this to everyone and will be purchasing a copy for myself and my classroom (and maybe a few birthday's this year!).
I have been reading Valente for eons, it feels like now. I was one of the people to play 'The Ice Queen' when it was originally released on the internet, and I still own all my letters from the subscriptions when Valente would mail a letter, under a gorgeous red wax seal, of a brand new short story to her fans each month. I have been collecting every new and old story of hers since that time, and this publication feels like a godsend.
I was very interested when I saw it would be a 'best of' volume, and then incredibly blown away the moment I opened it and saw the index. It was so much bigger than I'd ever predicted. From far-back pieces up to those of last year's releases. There is something between these covers for every reader, stories of love, family, passion, drive, and inspiration, what makes a narrative and breaks a narrative. There are multifaceted characters of every assortment, who will speak honey into your ear, whether sweet or sour, and then you'll find yourself ten pages later weeping for them, no matter who or what you thought at the beginning.
I advise this to everyone and will be purchasing a copy for myself and my classroom (and maybe a few birthday's this year!).
roseparis's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
An eclectic box of wonders from one of the queens of speculative fiction. This collection spans Vaelente's career and includes stories that have been previously anthologied but are now hard to find, particularly those published in Ventriloquism which is out of print and not available as an e-book, as far as I am aware.
Stand out stories:
The Consultant- detective noir does fairytales.
The Difference between Love and Time- an absolute star of time travel romance fiction, totally original, packs an emotional punch without ever being trite or sentimental.
White Lines on a Green Field- Coyote and Rabbit in small town USA
The Lily and the Horn- gorgeously described, literally poisonous love affair
Badgirl, Deadman and the Wheel of Fortune- bleak Armless Maiden retelling
But honestly, for such a huge collection there are very few skips for me. The Vol 1 gives me hope that we might see a Vol 2 in the not-too-distant future, hopefully with some more rare or previously unpublished stories.
Stand out stories:
The Consultant- detective noir does fairytales.
The Difference between Love and Time- an absolute star of time travel romance fiction, totally original, packs an emotional punch without ever being trite or sentimental.
White Lines on a Green Field- Coyote and Rabbit in small town USA
The Lily and the Horn- gorgeously described, literally poisonous love affair
Badgirl, Deadman and the Wheel of Fortune- bleak Armless Maiden retelling
But honestly, for such a huge collection there are very few skips for me. The Vol 1 gives me hope that we might see a Vol 2 in the not-too-distant future, hopefully with some more rare or previously unpublished stories.
booknerd7820's review against another edition
3.0
As a huge Catherynne M. Valente fan, I was thrilled to be able to read this compendium with many of her works that I had previously not had the opportunity to read. Unfortunately, at 800 pages this anthology felt like a slog to get through. It would have been better to release it in half the size, especially due to Valente’s unique and highly descriptive writing style.
The stories themselves are exquisite, favorites including The Difference Between Love and Time, Reading Borges in Buenos Aires, The Future is Blue, and Daisy Green Says I Love You. However, however for every amazing short story, I felt like there were two or three filler stories that just seemed like unformed ideas or scenarios.
One other issue I had with my digital ARC through NetGalley was the formatting. Although no fault of the author, it did make reading a bit of a challenge and words and sentences seemed to form run on paragraphs with no natural breaks. There were even a few times that I had not realized that I was reading a completely different short story from the previous one.
Overall, a must for die hard Valente fans, but I fear the sheer size and breadth of her works in this anthology will deter any new readers from discovering her novels like The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making and Space Opera, two books that any sci-fi fantasy fan should most definitely read.
Thank you to NetGalley, Subterranean Press, and Catherynne M. Valente for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.
The stories themselves are exquisite, favorites including The Difference Between Love and Time, Reading Borges in Buenos Aires, The Future is Blue, and Daisy Green Says I Love You. However, however for every amazing short story, I felt like there were two or three filler stories that just seemed like unformed ideas or scenarios.
One other issue I had with my digital ARC through NetGalley was the formatting. Although no fault of the author, it did make reading a bit of a challenge and words and sentences seemed to form run on paragraphs with no natural breaks. There were even a few times that I had not realized that I was reading a completely different short story from the previous one.
Overall, a must for die hard Valente fans, but I fear the sheer size and breadth of her works in this anthology will deter any new readers from discovering her novels like The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making and Space Opera, two books that any sci-fi fantasy fan should most definitely read.
Thank you to NetGalley, Subterranean Press, and Catherynne M. Valente for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.
booknerd7820's review
3.0
As a huge Catherynne M. Valente fan, I was thrilled to be able to read this compendium with many of her works that I had previously not had the opportunity to read. Unfortunately, at 800 pages this anthology felt like a slog to get through. It would have been better to release it in half the size, especially due to Valente’s unique and highly descriptive writing style.
The stories themselves are exquisite, favorites including The Difference Between Love and Time, Reading Borges in Buenos Aires, The Future is Blue, and Daisy Green Says I Love You. However, however for every amazing short story, I felt like there were two or three filler stories that just seemed like unformed ideas or scenarios.
One other issue I had with my digital ARC through NetGalley was the formatting. Although no fault of the author, it did make reading a bit of a challenge and words and sentences seemed to form run on paragraphs with no natural breaks. There were even a few times that I had not realized that I was reading a completely different short story from the previous one.
Overall, a must for die hard Valente fans, but I fear the sheer size and breadth of her works in this anthology will deter any new readers from discovering her novels like The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making and Space Opera, two books that any sci-fi fantasy fan should most definitely read.
Thank you to NetGalley, Subterranean Press, and Catherynne M. Valente for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.
The stories themselves are exquisite, favorites including The Difference Between Love and Time, Reading Borges in Buenos Aires, The Future is Blue, and Daisy Green Says I Love You. However, however for every amazing short story, I felt like there were two or three filler stories that just seemed like unformed ideas or scenarios.
One other issue I had with my digital ARC through NetGalley was the formatting. Although no fault of the author, it did make reading a bit of a challenge and words and sentences seemed to form run on paragraphs with no natural breaks. There were even a few times that I had not realized that I was reading a completely different short story from the previous one.
Overall, a must for die hard Valente fans, but I fear the sheer size and breadth of her works in this anthology will deter any new readers from discovering her novels like The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making and Space Opera, two books that any sci-fi fantasy fan should most definitely read.
Thank you to NetGalley, Subterranean Press, and Catherynne M. Valente for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.
lysippos's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
hjswinford's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars. This sprawling collection of short stories from the mind of Catherine M Valente is really something. There is a lot of *weird* meshed with a lot of poignant emotions and observations. I loved how creative and smart so many of these stories were, and how different each one was from another. It's a huge collection, but I don't think there was a single story that bored me. I will definitely be grabbing a physical copy of this collection when it is released.
hjswinford's review
4.0
4.5 stars. This sprawling collection of short stories from the mind of Catherine M Valente is really something. There is a lot of *weird* meshed with a lot of poignant emotions and observations. I loved how creative and smart so many of these stories were, and how different each one was from another. It's a huge collection, but I don't think there was a single story that bored me. I will definitely be grabbing a physical copy of this collection when it is released.