Alabaster

First, a confession ... I am a huge Caitlin R. Kiernan fan. Having said that, and adding that I own as many of her books and short-story collections as I could get my hands on, I can tell you that this is easily my favorite book by this author! For long time fans, it's a fantastic addition. It adds to the growing mythos and explores one of the most fascinating characters that Kiernan has ever created. For those that have never read Kiernan before, this book is a very easy introduction to her work and presents it in easy-to-digest chunks - a series of short-stories with one primary protagonist. Another really nice feature is two (2) tables of contents, one in the order the stories were first produced and another in the order the stories actually take place. I chose to follow that second index, others may prefer to keep with the way the author originally presented these stories. In summary, I can highly recommend this book for fans and fans-to-be alike. If you like dark fantasy, Lovecraftian horror through a uniquely American-gothic filter, a gorgeous use of language, intensely deep and deeply fascinating characters, and stories that stick with you long after you read them - then this is the book for you. Buy it. Read it. Love it.

I am a second hand books junkie. Very rarely will I buy something for this price but it has been on my want list for years and I finally took the plunge. I was definitely not disappointed. Not only was this book in absolutely perfect condition but the seller made sure to wrap it in plastic to assure it arrived in said condition. I was already thrilled about how this packaged and the condition of the book but the icing on the cake was that it was signed! I would buy this again in a heartbeat.

This is one of my absolute favourite collection of short stories second only to Neil Gaiman's Smoke and Mirrors, but no matter how good it is do not be swindled for a copy by giving into these two ridiculous sellers who want you to spend $1000 on a used hardcover. If this were something exceptionally rare, like a first edition Arkham House printing of At The Mountains of Madness, or a signed UK first edition of Neuromancer then I would say a price like that is deserving, but this book won't be worth that price tag unless this book in the distant future goes on to pioneer its own subgenre of fiction, and maybe not even then.

A collection of short stories and a novella covering the early years of Dancy Flammarion, the young albino servant/avatar of divine wrath who first appeared in the novel Threshold. Wikipedia defines Southern Gothic as a literary genre dealing with "deeply flawed, disturbing or disorienting characters, decayed or derelict settings, grotesque situations, and other sinister events relating to or coming from poverty, alienation, racism, crime, and violence"; this book is fantasy Southern Gothic with the social themes de-emphasized and the disturbing, decayed, and grotesque dialed up to 11 (settings are in rural Georgia and Florida, so yes, definitely Southern). There are two tables of contents: one in the order the stories appear in the book, which is also the order they were written, and one in the order of internal chronology for the people who would rather read that way. The stories are wonderfully well written if you like that sort of thing. Do I like that sort of thing? Let me put off a direct answer with an analogy: Once upon a time (more than once, actually), my wife made something called 'leches', a sort of rosewater-flavored Elizabethan milk jello. They tasted...interesting. After one time she served them, a friend gave this verdict: "I couldn't really decide if I liked them or not. But then I noticed that I'd eaten like ten of them while I was trying to make up my mind, so I guess that answers that." That's sort of how I feel about the Dancy Flammarion stories: normally I like my stories to be more about the plot, but these are all about the setting and the atmosphere and the supporting characters, and avert their eyes when the actual plot happens. I found the explanation of where the angel comes from to be more disappointing than no explanation at all, and awfully reminiscent of Scientology at that. And yet I read them all, and will probably read more.

My wife loved this book. She read it within one day from cover to cover. Surprise birthday gift score!