Short Stories | Raging Biblio-holism

Roundup: January 2017

January 31, 2017 by Drew

Neuromancer by William Gibson Rating: 3 out of 5 The Short Version: A former hacker, crippled by a job gone wrong, is given a second chance at what he does best by a mysterious benefactor. Soon, he’s teamed up with an programmed version of his former mentor and a badass samurai girl to launch a major hack – but what is the real target of this operation? The Review: Neuromancer is one of those books that even non-speculative-fiction-reading folks have heard […]

Categories: Essays, Fantasy, Fiction, History, Literature, Mystery, Non-Fiction, Sci-Fi, Short Stories

The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2016

November 16, 2016 by Drew

The Short Version: A twist on the tale of the Mad Hatter, stories of human evolution gone awry, scenes of warfare turned endless, and all manner of creatures (including but not limited to the Daydreamer-by-Proxy and djinns) feature in this collection of the year’s best Science Fiction and Fantasy, compiled by Karen Joy Fowler. The Review: It’s interesting to think about how a collection is often a manifest representation of its editor. Joe Hill’s work guest-editing the first annual installment […]

Categories: Fantasy, Fiction, Sci-Fi, Short Stories • Tags: BASFF2016, Best American, Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy, Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2016, Best American SFF, Book, Book Review, Book Reviews, Books, Fantasy, John Joseph Adams, Karen Joy Fowler, review, Reviews, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction, Short Stories

In Our Time

September 21, 2016 by Drew

The Short Version: Featuring several stories following protagonist Nick Adams as well as a grab-bag of standalone stories, many of which revolve around the war and returning home, Ernest Hemingway burst onto the scene with this startling, slim collection in 1925. The Review: I’m in a waning phase of short stories right now and I think Hemingway’s first collection – 1925, his first major publication – might be the thing that tells me to keep away from them for a […]

Categories: Fiction, Literature, Short Stories • Tags: Book, Book Review, Book Reviews, Books, Ernest Hemingway, Fiction, Hemingway 2016, In Our Time, Literature, review, Reviews, Short Stories

The Complete Stories

September 5, 2016 by Drew

The Short Version: Compiling, as the title would imply, all of Truman Capote’s short stories – from his debut pieces (1943 is the earliest) to stories from the 1980s and even a lost story only published in 2012. Some are spooky, many are heartfelt, and all capture some amount of the essence that makes Capote such a curiously lasting figure in our literary canon. The Review: Everyone knows Truman Capote – he’s got not one but two entries in the ranks of true […]

Categories: Fiction, Literature, Short Stories • Tags: Book Review, Book Reviews, Books, Fiction, Literature, Reviews, Short Stories, Southern Gothic, The Complete Stories, Truman Capote

Roundup, August 2016

August 31, 2016 by Drew

A monthly round-up of any books that didn’t get a full review! Paper Girls, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang 3 out of 5 The Short Version: On Nov. 1, 1988, four paper girls are doing their early morning route when they encounter strange creatures. What seems like leftovers from Halloween quickly turns out to be something else entirely: some kind of invasion from across time and space. So they fight back. The Review: I’m a sucker […]

Categories: Fiction, Graphic Novel, History, Literature, Non-Fiction, Sci-Fi, Short Stories • Tags: August 2016, Book, Book Review, Book Reviews, Books, Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang, Fiction, Frederic Morton, Graphic Novel, History, Judaism, Literature, Non-Fiction, Paper Girls, Rebecca Schiff, review, Review Roundup, Reviews, Roundup, Science Fiction, Short Stories, The Bed Moved, Thunder at Twilight

Pricksongs and Descants

August 29, 2016 by Drew

The Short Version: A series of strange and wild tales, with elements of fairy tales, mythology, horror, and more – but all wrapped up in a puzzle-box of metafictional style, creating one of the most distinct reading experiences readers have ever had. The Review: It’s a little strange to think about metafiction as a “new” concept, as for a reader today it seems to’ve always been around. Just off the top of my head, Mark Z. Danielewski, Alexandra Kleeman, César Aira, […]

Categories: Fiction, Literature, Short Stories • Tags: Book, Book Review, Book Reviews, Books, Fantasy, Fiction, Fictions, Literature, Metafiction, Pricksongs and Descants, review, Reviews, Robert Coover, Short Stories, Stories

Intimations

August 22, 2016 by Drew

The Short Version: A house that holds its own weather systems. A woman, struggling to come to terms with love and motherhood. An apocalypse of things disappearing. An attack by lobsters. These are just a few of the strange, lovely, curious tales in Alexandra Kleeman’s first collection. The Review: Alexandra Kleeman’s You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine remains one of the single most affecting reading experiences I’ve ever had. The oddity of the story, of the voice, of the way it […]

Categories: Fiction, Literature, Short Stories • Tags: Advance Review, Alexandra Kleeman, Book, Book Review, Book Reviews, Books, Fiction, Intimations, Literature, review, Reviews, Short Stories, Weird, Weird Fiction

What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours

March 2, 2016 by Drew

The Short Version: Bewitching tales of doors, keys, locks, and the pursuit of understanding other people. A mysterious library and a mysterious garden of roses are more linked than is first apparent, a school for puppetry is more than just learning hand movements, a company develops a way to relive moments with lost loved ones, and more – all crafted by Oyeyemi’s keen magical eye. The Review: Short stories, I find, are often a great way to get a taste of […]

Categories: Fantasy, Fiction, Literature, Short Stories • Tags: Advance Review, Book Review, Book Reviews, Books, Fantasy, Fiction, Folklore, Helen Oyeyemi, Literature, Magic, Magical Realism, Reviews, Short Stories, What is Not Yours is Not Yours

The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2015

January 27, 2016 by Drew

The Short Version: From a trip to Neil Gaiman’s London Below to a compendium of the ogres of East Africa, from a scientist racing to his daughter before a black hole consumes the Earth to a man attempting to clone his wife, this first installment of the latest Best American series compiles 20 of the best science fiction & fantasy tales of the last year. The Review: It’s astounding to me that this past year was the first with a […]

Categories: Fantasy, Fiction, Literature, Sci-Fi, Short Stories • Tags: A. Merc Rustad, Adam-Troy Castro, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Best American, Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy, Best American Series, Best American SFF, Best American Short Stories, Carmen Maria Machado, Cat Rambo, Daniel H. Wilson, Fantasy, Jess Row, Jo walton, Joe Hill, John Joseph Adams, Karen Russell, Kelly Link, Kelly Sandoval, Nathan Ballingrud, Neil Gaiman, Sam J. Miller, Science Fiction, Seanan McGuire, Short Stories, Sofia Samatar, Susan Palwick, T.C. Boyle, The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2015, Theodora Goss

Raging Biblio-holism

The overwhelming urge to collect, consume, and consider books

Category Archives: Short Stories