All agree that Davidson (1923—93) was a gifted and technically accomplished writer with a good ear for dialogue. He won awards in several categories and genres: a Hugo, an Ellery Queen, an Edgar, and a Howard (world fantasy), and he also edited The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, 1962—64. These 37 tales, arranged in four sections by decade (beginning in the 1950s, ending with the 1980s/—90s), with each introduced by a more or less famous writer or luminary (such as Gregory Benford, Damon Knight, John Clute, and Ursula K. LeGuin), offer an excellent overview of his output. Many, indeed, are famous, often reprinted, and have appeared in previous anthologies or single-author collections. If some of Davidson’s ideas seem familiar today, that’s because he invented or reinvented many of them, or adopted an independent and unexpected approach. Some of his most cherished tales, reprinted here: “The Golem,” offering Davidson’s own slant on the traditional Jewish legend; “Now Let Us Sleep,” a devastating commentary on racism; and his most famous yarn, “Or All the Seas with Oysters,”explaining why safety pins and coat hangers disappear. Other immediately recognizable titles include “The Goobers,” “Goslin Day,” “The Tail-tied Kings,” “Take Wooden Indians,” “Author, Author,” and “Dagon.” There are two afterwords that really aren’t: Ray Bradbury’s is a recycled introduction to a Davidson collection that appeared 25 years ago; and Harlan Ellison’s, penned in 1993 after receiving news of Davidson’s death, is more revealing of Ellison than of Davidson. Dense, erudite, and literary, these stories seem destined to find a small but highly appreciative audience.
Pub Date: Oct. 14, 1998
ISBN: 0-312-86729-8
Page Count: 447
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1998
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An enjoyable, worthwhile end to an immersive series.
Cerúlia takes back her throne, but her troubles are just beginning in Kozloff’s (A Broken Queen, 2020, etc.) fourth and final Four Realms novel.
It only takes five chapters for Cerúlia to successfully overthrow Matwyck and take her throne. At first it feels a bit pat for a four-book series to resolve its main plotline so early in its final volume, but it turns out there’s more to successfully ruling a kingdom than putting a crown on your head. Queen Cerúlia has to root out the network of people who supported Matwyck’s coup; she must discern which people genuinely wish to serve her and which are liars waiting to end her reign before it gets going. What’s more, she must address political issues like the growing resentment among the common people toward the aristocracy and deal with thorny issues of international diplomacy. All the while, she has to figure out how to finally be herself when she was forced to spend almost her entire life pretending she was not the rightful queen. Kozloff has great instincts when it comes to pacing, and the novel flies by with a good mix of action sequences and emotional, character-developing beats. Her villains are never one-note, and her heroes are complicated and fallible. Still, it all starts to feel a little paint-by-number. It’s not that there are never any consequences or losses, but eventually it feels a bit too certain that Cerúlia will get it right and things will go her way. Even so, the series ender is just as much fun as the rest of the books.
An enjoyable, worthwhile end to an immersive series.Pub Date: April 21, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-16896-2
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
Fans will love the second installment of this dark fantasy about very human characters beset by inhuman dangers.
When the world changes, will you change with it?
A boy who takes pleasure in causing pain meets a monster who can teach him to do much more. A Soulkeeper puts his reputation on the line to stop the abuse of soulless humans—while concealing his relationship with an "awakened" formerly soulless woman. A religious woman given unimaginable power over human souls by a monster struggles to determine right from wrong, faith from blasphemy. In a world where mountains walk, prayers can change the physical world, and magical creatures like talking rabbit-soldiers have awoken from a centurieslong slumber, no choice is simple. The Soulkeeper Devin has chosen to befriend creatures like the faery Tesmarie while his spellcasting brother-in-law, Tommy, believes the newly awakened magical creatures have as much right to the land as humans do. In a time when most humans are reacting with fear and anger to their changing world, seeing the world in shades of gray can be dangerous. Meanwhile, Devin’s sister, Adria, finds that her new powers are testing her faith and bringing up questions she’d rather not confront. As new magical threats to the human population arise, all of these characters will be pushed to their limits, and the decisions they make may determine the fate of humanity. Picking up where Soulkeeper (2019) left off, this second book in a planned trilogy raises the stakes for every character, complicating the moral choices they face. The plot rockets along from one magical battle to the next, but Dalglish deftly weaves in rich character development alongside all this action.
Fans will love the second installment of this dark fantasy about very human characters beset by inhuman dangers.Pub Date: March 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-316-41669-6
Page Count: 624
Publisher: Orbit/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
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