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A review by michelle_e_goldsmith
Bluegrass Symphony by Lisa L. Hannett
5.0
Lately I've become a bit addicted to short fiction and have been on the lookout for anthologies and collections containing the kind of offbeat, lyrically written speculative fiction that I tend to enjoy. As I really enjoyed the Lisa L. Hannett stories I read in The Year's Best Australian Fantasy and Horror and have heard great things about her other stories I thought I might give her debut collection a try.
I think I'll try something different this time and rate and comment on each story as I go.
(Apologies for any dodgy grammar. I've been a bit sick and worn out lately and am writing this in spare time after work so it probably isn't too polished. I'll probably rewrite it when I'm finished the whole thing).
Carousel - A wonderfully written and bizarre story involving a girl, her father and a shed full of moths. The powerful imagery, equal parts beautiful and disturbing, gives the story a strange mesmeric quality, drawing you right in until you can almost smell the blood and sawdust. 5/5
Down the Hollow - Eerie and sad, Down the Hollow tells a story of love, sacrifice, loss and a desperate, all-consuming yearning for approval. Told from the perspective of a young man suffering from a taboo love, Hannett creates something both essentially morbid and beautiful. 5/5
Them Little Shinin’ Things - A strange and brutal changeling story telling a story of jealousy, desire and the lengths people will go to claim what they believe is theirs. The story is given a unique spin in being told in the first person by a human accomplice to the baby-snatching faerie folk. The protagonist's voice is both memorable and distinctive, elevating what might otherwise have been a good story, into a great one. 5/5
Fur and Feathers - I loved this one. Has all the elements of a great story-fox men, magic eggs and human-headed oracle chickens. Great fun, but not without its share of pathos. 5/5
From the Teeth of Strange Children - A truly disturbing vampire tale that actually manages to do some new and interesting things with the genre. 5/5
The Wager and the Hourglass - A short but effective story with a strong feminist message. A young woman must win a wager against a cruel and literally soulless Mayor to save both herself and the life of the man she loves. A bit more straightforward than some of the other stories but still very good. 4/5
The Short Go: A Future in Eight Seconds - Told in a style reminiscent of the oral tradition, this story chronicles the possible future/s of a young couple in a town with some err...interesting customs involving minotaurs, and examines the far reaching consequences of their choices. 4.5/5
To Snuff a Flame - 4/5
Depot to Depot - 4.5/5
Commonplace Sacrifices - 5/5
Wires Uncrossed - 4.5/5
Forever, Miss Tapekwa County - 4.5/5
I think I'll try something different this time and rate and comment on each story as I go.
(Apologies for any dodgy grammar. I've been a bit sick and worn out lately and am writing this in spare time after work so it probably isn't too polished. I'll probably rewrite it when I'm finished the whole thing).
Carousel - A wonderfully written and bizarre story involving a girl, her father and a shed full of moths. The powerful imagery, equal parts beautiful and disturbing, gives the story a strange mesmeric quality, drawing you right in until you can almost smell the blood and sawdust. 5/5
Down the Hollow - Eerie and sad, Down the Hollow tells a story of love, sacrifice, loss and a desperate, all-consuming yearning for approval. Told from the perspective of a young man suffering from a taboo love, Hannett creates something both essentially morbid and beautiful. 5/5
Them Little Shinin’ Things - A strange and brutal changeling story telling a story of jealousy, desire and the lengths people will go to claim what they believe is theirs. The story is given a unique spin in being told in the first person by a human accomplice to the baby-snatching faerie folk. The protagonist's voice is both memorable and distinctive, elevating what might otherwise have been a good story, into a great one. 5/5
Fur and Feathers - I loved this one. Has all the elements of a great story-fox men, magic eggs and human-headed oracle chickens. Great fun, but not without its share of pathos. 5/5
From the Teeth of Strange Children - A truly disturbing vampire tale that actually manages to do some new and interesting things with the genre. 5/5
The Wager and the Hourglass - A short but effective story with a strong feminist message. A young woman must win a wager against a cruel and literally soulless Mayor to save both herself and the life of the man she loves. A bit more straightforward than some of the other stories but still very good. 4/5
The Short Go: A Future in Eight Seconds - Told in a style reminiscent of the oral tradition, this story chronicles the possible future/s of a young couple in a town with some err...interesting customs involving minotaurs, and examines the far reaching consequences of their choices. 4.5/5
To Snuff a Flame - 4/5
Depot to Depot - 4.5/5
Commonplace Sacrifices - 5/5
Wires Uncrossed - 4.5/5
Forever, Miss Tapekwa County - 4.5/5