Book Review - Fantastical Visions III
December 6th, 2006 by SCBryce |
Edited by: W. H. Horner, Christina Stitt
Cover Artist: Stephanie Pui-Man Law
Publisher: Fantasist Enterprises
Binding: Paperback
Publication Date: July 2005
The anthology “Fantastical Visions III” contains an introduction by Elizabeth Swanstrom and fourteen short stories by Cindy Ellen Hill (“Singing Dragon”), Jeremy Yoder (“Always Greener on the Other Side”), Eliza Chan (“Blood of the Blade”), Michail Velichansky (“Paper Shadows”), Michael Penncavage (“Affliction”), Christine Ricketts (“Thick as Thieves”), Jane Guill (“No One Marks My Passage”), Carole McDonnell (“Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair”), Dennis C. Wilson (“Red Silk, Silver Dagger”), Traci Normandeau (“The Mordred Hour”), Sarah Totton (“The Pear Thief”), James Cain (“Happy Birthday, Pinko”), Kimberly Eldredge (“Cuts and Folds”), and Tom Steckert (“Calico”). All illustrations are by Stephanie Pui-Man Law.
With its eclectic, well written stories and beautiful cover illustrations, “Fantastical Visions III” easily rivals better known anthologies put out by major publishing houses. In fact, these stories and characters are arguably more memorable and—a rarity, it seems—there was not a single bad story in the book.
Stand-outs include the clever “Affliction,” in which a surgeon risks stony death to try to cure a patient suffering from her family’s curse in a combination of mythology and science fiction. A recurring typo (it’s “TriBeCa” or Tribeca,” not “Tribecca”) was distracting, but the tale was entertaining enough to survive it.
“Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair,” the story of a battered knight’s return from the Crusades, has a wonderful fairy tale rhythm. In contrast, the strength of “Happy Birthday, Pinko” is its cast of struggling mental patients.
The best two stories of the anthology are Guill’s “No One Marks My Passage” and Eldredge’s “Cuts and Folds.” These two stories alone make “Fantastical Visions III” a worthwhile purchase.
“No One Marks My Passage” features Gervais the Dwarf, an ill-treated and disfigured fellow who sold by his father to be a temple servant. Gervais’s first-person narrative is vivid, but also has the distanced emotion of one accustomed to abuse. The beauty of this tale is its conversational tone—complete with digressions—rather than a straight-forward plot. Gervais is a unique and fascinating protagonist and his story never ceases to surprise.
In “Cuts and Folds,” an unappreciated master scientist seeks to make real a myth of sorcerers folding time matter to create dark and powerful creatures. Eldredge skillfully mixes traditional Japanese culture, futuristic science, fantasy, and ambition into a superb story.
*** I found this review online today. TOTALLY made my day! ***
