Abbreviated Epics!

     I got my copy of Third Flatiron’s Abbreviated Epics in the mail a few weeks ago, and I’ve really been enjoying it.  The stories so far have been fun and thought-provoking, from the very well-presented alternate history of Iain Ishbel, “HMS Invisible and the Halifax Slaver,” which presents a living Caribbean world suffused with politically charged magic, to the genuinely funny and literal war of the sexes poignantly depicted in Manuel Royal’s “Heart-Shaped."  The anthology has a killer sense of purpose and is a great read.  The cover art is also fantastic; inspired by the mythic Japanese contents of its first story, Siobhan Gallagher’s "Blade Between Oni and Hare", the manga-influenced style really strikes a chord with me, as a comics fan and sometime comic artist myself. 

     I’ve enjoyed every story so far, but I will admit one story has stood out among the rest.  From the opening sentences I was floored by Deborah Walker’s "Beyond the Turning Orrery."  A beautiful, intimate, subtly told story of an inner mechanical world locked away from the rest of creation, its religious and even Gnostic overtones really resonated with me.  It reminded me of my two favorite authors, Gene Wolfe and Ursula K. Le Guin, with its strong first-person narrator and closely guarded secrets.  

     So yeah, please check out the anthology.  It includes stories from Siobhan Gallager, Iain Ishbel, Deborah Walker, Manuel Royal, Martin Clark, Ben Solomon, Margarita Tenser, Gustavo Bondoni, Adria Laycraft, Daniel Coble, Steve Coate, Jo Walton, Elliotte Rusty Harold, Marissa James, Jake Teeny, Alison McBain, Patricia S. Bowne, Stephen D. Rogers, and Robin Wyatt Dunn.  And please tell me what you think if you check out my story, "A Wolf Is Made."