CaitlÍn R. Kiernan
Books: Fantasy | Horror
Anthologies
The Sandman Book of Dreams (1996), Outsiders: 22 All-New Stories From the Edge (2005), By Blood We Live (2009), Vampires: The Recent Undead (2010), Naked City (2011), Weird Detectives: Recent Investigations (2013), Magic City: Recent Spells (2014), Street Magicks (2016)
The Sandman Book of Dreams (1996) edited by Neil Gaiman and Ed Kramer
- Masquerade and High Water by Colin Greenland
- Chain Home, Low by John M. Ford
- Stronger Than Desire by Lisa Goldstein
- Each Damp Thing by Barbara Hambly
- The Birth Day by B.W. Clough
- Splatter by Will Shetterly
- Seven Nights in Slumberland by George Alec Effinger
- Escape Artist by Caitlin R. Kiernan
- An Extra Smidgeon of Eternity by Robert Rodi
- The Writer's Child by Tad Williams
- Endless Sestina by Lawrence Schimel
- The Gate of Gold by Mark Kreighbaum
- A Bone Dry Place by Karen Haber
- The Witch's Heart by Delia Sherman
- The Mender of Broken Dreams by Nancy A. Collins
- Ain't You 'Most Done? by Gene Wolfe
- Valóság and Élet by Steven Brust
- Stopp't-Clock Yard by Susanna Clarke
- Afterword: Death by Tori Amos
It took me several months to read this book, not because it was boring, but because I was carrying it back and forth to work to read at lunch, or if I had to go somewhere for an appointment. This means that as I finished the last story in the book, I could barely remember the first story in the book.
I liked B.W. Clough's The Birth Day, a story of the beginning of an idea. I also liked Robert Rodi's An Extra Smidgen of Eternity, which is the second of two stories about Wanda from A Game of You. I liked A Bone Dry Place by Karen Haber, because it had several of the Endless interacting, although the story that tied everything together confused me, even on a second read. One of my favorite stories was Nancy A. Collin's The Mender of Broken Dreams. I quite liked the idea of the creatures of the realm of dream wondering about themselves. I of course loved Steven Brust's Valosag and Elet, but then I tend to love everything that Steven Brust writes, so you'll have to consider the source. One of the stories merits is that it is written as a folktale, and since I love folktales, that made it all the more endearing.
The horror tales were my least favorite. Will Shetterly's Splatter was set during The Doll's House collection in the Collectors, one of the more gruesome tales. The Writer's Child by Tad Williams is disturbing, although everything is alright in the end. But I don't particularly care for horror, so you'd best not take my opinion if you like it yourself. The stories were well written, but they were not anything that I particularly enjoy so take that as you will.
There was so much more that I wanted to say about these stories, but it's been over a month since I finished the collection, so I best say this for now, lest I forget everything.
These were stories written in the world of the Sandman, but they were not written by Neil Gaiman. If you liked Sandman and like short stories, then you'll like this collection. But if you are looking for more of Neil Gaiman's writing, or know little or nothing of The Sandman, then this collection is probably not for you.
Published by Harper Torch
Silver Birch, Blood Moon (1999) edited by by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling
- "Introduction" by Terri Windling and Ellen Datlow
- "Kiss Kiss" by Tanith Lee
- "Carabosse" by Delia Sherman
- "The Price" by Patricia Briggs
- "Glass Coffin" by Caitlín R. Kiernan
- "The Vanishing Virgin" by Harvey Jacobs
- "Clad in Gossamer" by Nancy Kress
- "Precious" by Nalo Hopkinson
- "The Sea Hag" by Melissa Lee Shaw
- "The Frog Chauffeur" by Garry Kilworth
- "The Dybbuk in the Bottle" by Russell William Asplund
- "The Shell Box" by Karawynn Long
- "Ivory Bones" by Susan Wade
- "The Wild Heart" by Anne Bishop
- "You Wandered Off Like a Foolish Child to Break Your Heart and Mine" by Pat York
- "Arabian Phoenix" by India Edghill
- "Toad-Rich" by Michael Cadnum
- "Skin So Green and Fine" by Wendy Wheeler
- "The Willful Child, the Black Dog, and the Beanstalk" by Melanie Tem
- "Locks" by Neil Gaiman
- "Marsh-Magic" by Robin McKinley
- "Toad" by Patricia A. McKillip
Publisher: Avon Books
Outsiders: 22 All-New Stories From the Edge (2005) edited by Nancy Holder & Nancy Kilpatrick
- The Empty Chambers by Neil Gaiman
- The Company You Keep by Steve Rasnic
- Tem Under the Needle by Léa Silhol
- Scarabesque: The Girl Who Broke Dracula by Tanith Lee
- Expanding Your Capabilities Using Frame/Shift(tm) Mode by David J. Schow
- Cat and the Cold Prince by Freda Warrington
- Faces in Revolving Souls by Caitlín R. Kiernan
- Lighten Up by Jack Ketchum
- Pit Boy by Elizabeth Massie
- The Country of the Blind by Melanie Tem
- Ruby Tuesday by Kathe Koja
- Running Beneath the Skin by Brett Alexander
- Savory Grim Peeper by Katherine Ramsland
- Craving by Yvonne Navarro
- Violent Angel by Thomas S. Roche
- ...And the Damage Done by Michael Marano
- Pop Star in the Ugly Bar by Bentley Little
- Miss Singularity by John Shirley
- The Working Slob's Prayer by Poppy Z. Brite
- If I Should Wake Before I Die by Brian Hodge
- Honing Sebastian by Elizabeth Engstrom
- The Shadows, Kith and Kin by Joe R. Lansdale
By Blood We Live (2009) edited by John Joseph Adams
- Snow, Glass, Apples by Neil Gaiman
- The Master of Rampling Gate by Anne Rice
- Under St. Peter's by Harry Turtledove
- Child of an Ancient City by Tad Williams
- Lifeblood by Michael A. Burstein
- Endless Night by Barbara Roden
- Infestation by Garth Nix
- Life is the Teacher by Carrie Vaughn
- The Vechi Barbat by Nancy Kilpatrick
- The Beautiful, The Damned by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
- Pinecones by David Wellington
- Do Not Hasten to Bid Me Adieu by Norman Partridge
- Foxtrot at High Noon by Sergei Lukyanenko
- This is Now by Michael Marshall Smith
- Blood Gothic by Nancy Holder
- Mama Gone by Jane Yolen
- Abraham's Boys by Joe Hill
- Nunc Dimittis by Tanith Lee
- Hunger by Gabriela Lee
- Ode to Edvard Munch by Caitlín R. Kiernan
- Finders Keepers by L.A. Banks
- After the Stone Age by Brian Stableford
- Much at Stake by Kevin J. Anderson
- House of the Rising Sun by Elizabeth Bear
- A Standup Dame by Lilith Saintcrow
- Twilight by Kelley Armstrong
- In Darkness, Angels by Eric Van Lustbader
- Sunrise on Running Water by Barbara Hambly
- Hit by Bruce McAllister
- Undead Again by Ken MacLeod
- Peking Man by Robert J. Sawyer
- Necros by Brian Lumley
- Exsanguinations by Catherynne M. Valente
- Lucy in Her Splendor by Charles Coleman Finlay
- The Wide, Carnivorous Sky by John Langan
- One for the Road by Stephen King
Naked City (2011) edited by Ellen Datlow
This collection of urban fantasy stories has several of my favorite authors, so it was a no-brainer to get. The bad thing is that I've been reading this collection for several months, so I now have no idea what the stories at the start of the anthology were about, which is dangerous, because it means I may end up accidentally rereading several of them.
- Curses by Jim Butcher
- How the Pooka Came to New York City by Delia Sherman
- On the Slide by Richard Bowes
- The Duke of Riverside by Ellen Kushner
- Oblivious by Calvin Klein by Christopher Fowler
- Fairy Gifts by Patricia Briggs
- Picking up the Pieces by Pat Cadigan
- Underbridge by Peter S. Beagle
- Priced to Sell by Naomi Novik
- The Bricks of Gelecek by Matthew Kressel
- Weston Walks by Kit Reed
- The Projected Girl by Lavie Tidhar
- The Way Station by Nathan Ballingrud
- Guns for the Dead by Melissa Marr
- And Go Like This by John Crowley
- Noble Rot by Holly Black
- Dady Longlegs of the Evening by Jeffrey Ford
- The Skinny Girl by Lucis Shepard
- The Colliers' Venus by Caitlan R Kiernan
- King Pole, Gallows Pole, Bottle Tree by Elizabeth Bear
Although there were several stories I didn't care for, I believe that was more a matter of personal taste than quality. And the stories I did like, I liked very much.
Published by St. Martin's Griffin
Rating: 8/10
Vampires: The Recent Undead (2011) edited by Paula Guran
- "The Coldest Girl in Coldtown" by Holly Black
- "This Is Now" by Michael Marshall Smith
- "Sisters" by Charles de Lint
- "The Screaming" by J.A. Konrath
- "Zen and the Art of Vampirism" by Kelley Armstrong
- "La Vampiresse" by Tanith Lee
- "Dead Man Stalking" by Rachel Caine
- "The Ghost of Leadville" by Jeanne C. Stein
- "Waste Land" by Stephen Dedman
- "Gentleman of the Old School" by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
- "No Matter Where You Go" by Tanya Huff
- "Outfangthief" by Conrad Williams
- "Dancing with the Star" by Susan Sizemore
- "A Trick of the Dark" by Tina Rath
- "When Gretchen was Human" by Mary Turzillo
- "Conquistador de la Noche" by Carrie Vaughn
- "Endless Night" by Barbara Roden
- "Dahlia Underground" by Charlaine Harris
- "The Belated Burial" by Caitlin R. Kiernan
- "Twilight States" by Albert Cowdrey
- "To the Moment" by Nisi Shawl
- "Castle in the Desert: Anno Dracula 1977? by Kim Newman
- "Vampires in the Lemon Grove" by Karen Russell
- "Vampires Anonymous" by Nancy Kilpatrick
- "The Wide, Carnivorous Sky" by John Langan
It has taken me an almost embarrassingly long time to finish this. How long you ask? I purchased it a couple months after it was published–that long ago.
The problem is I hit a point where I wasn't interested in a story, and instead of just skipping to the next story, I put the whole thing down. I know, rookie mistake. (But you'll see I made it several times, so I decided to just finish off these anthologies, and if I didn't like a story? SKIP.)
"The Belated Burial" by Caitlin R. KiernanBrylee did object to the casket, and also to the hole in the frozen earth. She did object, in a hesitant, deferential sort of way. But, as they say, her protestations fell upon deaf ears, even though Miss Josephine fully acknowledged that none of it was necessary.
"It will do you good," the vampire said, and, too, she said, "One day you'll understand, when you are older." And, she added, "There is far too little respect for tradition these days."
...
So, it was an uneven anthology for me, but there were some very good stories that are well-worth the price of the anthology.
Published by Prime Books
Rating: 7/10
Weird Detectives: Recent Investigations (2013) edited by Paula Guran
This is a collection of short stories previously published elsewhere, so I'd already read several of these stories. But there were several I had not, and several of the ones I'd read before were well worth reading again.
This book has been sitting around for awhile, waiting to be read, primarily because I got it in trade paperback, and it's huge and heavy–just the kind of book I hate reading. Too heavy and too bulky for comfortable reading. But the stories drew me in and didn't let me go. (Though the book itself was why I lacked patience for stories I'd recently read or didn't catch my interest immediately.)
- "The Key" by Ilsa J. Blick
- "The Nightside, Needless to Say" by Simon R. Green
- "The Adakian Eagle" by Bradley Denton
- "Love Hurts" by Jim Butcher
- "The Case of Death and Honey" by Neil Gaiman
- "Cryptic Coloration" by Elizabeth Bear
- "The Necromancer's Apprentice" by Lillian Stewart Carl
- "The Case of the Stalking Shadow" by Joe R. Lansdale
- "Hecate's Golden Eye" by P.N. Elrod
- "Defining Shadows" by Carrie Vaughn
- "Mortal Bait" by Richard Bowes
- "Star of David" by Patricia Briggs
- "Imposters" by Sarah Monette
- "Deal Breaker" by Justin Gustainis
- "Swing Shift" by Dana Cameron
- "The Beast of Glamis" by William Meikle
- "Signatures of the Dead" by Faith Hunter
- "Like a Part of the Family" by Jonathan Maberry
- "Fox Tails" by Richard Parks
- "Death by Dahlia" by Charlaine Harris
- "Sherlock Holmes and the Diving Bell" by Simon Clark
- "See Me" by Tanya Huff
- "The Maltese Unicorn" by Caitlín R. Kiernan
Initially, I was just going to flip through and read stories by authors I love, but then I ended up just reading straight through. Having no patience, if I story didn't immediately grab hold, I didn't finish it, and if I hadn't thoroughly enjoyed it the first time (or had read the story very recently), I didn't give it a second read.
As I said, this contained a lot of stories I'd read previously, but they are for the most part good stories, so if you don't have the original anthologies, this would be well worth getting.
Rating: 8/10
Magic City: Recent Spells (2014) edited by Paula Guran
- "Street Wizard" by Simon R. Green
- "Paranormal Romance" by Christopher Barzak
- "Grand Central Park" by Delia Sherman
- "Spellcaster 2.0" by Jonathan Maberry
- "Wallamelon" by Nisi Shawl
- "-30-" by Caitlín R. Kiernan
- "Seeing Eye" by Patricia Briggs
- "Stone Man" by Nancy Kress
- "In the Stacks" by Scott Lynch
- "A Voice Like a Hole" by Catherynne M. Valente
- "The Arcane Art of Misdirection" by Carrie Vaughn
- "Thief of Precious Things" by A.C. Wise
- "The Land of Heart's Desire" by Holly Black
- "Snake Charmer" by Amanda Downum
- "The Slaughtered Lamb" by Elizabeth Bear
- "The Woman Who Walked with Dogs" by Mary Rosenblum
- "Words" by Angela Slatter
- "Dog Boys" by Charles de Lint
- "Alchemy" by Lucy Sussex
- "Curses" by Jim Butcher
- "De la Tierra" by Emma Bull
- "Stray Magic" by Diana Peterfreund
- "Kabu Kabu" by Nnedi Okorafor
- "Pearlywhite" by Mark Laidlaw and John Shirley
"-30-" by Caitlín R. Kiernan surprised me, as much of what she writes is horror. This is horror, but of a rather different type, about one way to get past writer's block.
All in all this is a marvelous collection, that I highly recommend.
Published by Prime Books
Rating: 8.5/10
Street Magicks (2016) edited by Paula Guran
I believe it took me less than a year to finish this anthology. Hopefully this is a new trend for me.
- "Freewheeling" by Charles de Lint
- "A Year and a Day in Old Theradane" by Scott Lynch
- "Caligo Lane" by Ellen Klages
- "Socks" by Delia Sherman
- "Painted Birds and Shivered Bones" by Kat Howard
- "The Goldfish Pond and Other Stories" by Neil Gaiman
- "One-Eyed Jack and the Suicide King" by Elizabeth Bear
- "Street Worm" by Nisi Shawl
- "A Water Matter" by Jay Lake
- "Last Call" by Jim Butcher
- "Bridle" by Caitlín R. Kiernan
- "The Last Triangle" by Jeffrey Ford
- "Working for the God of the Love of Money" by Kaaron Warren
- "Hello, Moto" by Nnedi Okorafor
- "The Spirit of the Thing: A Nightside Story" by Simon R. Green
- "A Night in Electric Squidland" by Sarah Monette
- "Speechless in Seattle" by Lisa Silvverthorne
- "Palimpsest" by Catherynne M. Valente
- "Ash" by John Shirley
- "In Our Block" by R. A. Lafferty
"Bridle" by Caitlín R. Kiernan I didn't bother to read, since I don't like her writing (she writes horror, which I dislike; It's nothing personal).
An interesting collection, although there were a lot of stories that were not for me.
Published by Prime Books
Rating: 7/10