Synopsis
The first short story collection by the acclaimed author of The Prodigal Troll.
Contents:
Wild thing --
Pervert --
Still life with action figure --
A Game of chicken --
Lucy, in her splendor --
The Frontier archipelago --
The Seal hunter --
The Smackdown outside Dedham --
Footnotes --
The Political officer --
Fading quayle, dancing quayle --
After the gaud chrysalis --
The Factwhore proposition --
We come not to praise Washington.
Reviews
Finlay shows himself to be a versatile writer of imaginative fiction in his first story collection. A Lake Erie couple must deal with the aftermath of their kinky proclivities in the unusual vampire story "Lucy, in Her Splendor." A wrestling fan finds Lovecraftian weirdness in "The Smackdown Outside Dedham." The literate, if only slightly fantastic, "Still Life with Action Figure" explores the relationship between an artistic father and son. A theocratic future in which men and women never commingle is the basis of "Pervert." Examining the meaning of freedom, "We Come Not to Praise Washington" is set in an alternative past in which George Washington died in 1793, Alexander Hamilton is the new "Washington," and Aaron Burr pleads that Thomas Jefferson be allowed to return from his exile at Napoleon's court. The brief, teasing "Footnotes" consists entirely of footnotes. The title story takes a different look at a character from Arthurian legend as well as the world of faerie. Solidly told and occasionally memorable, these 14 tales display an insightful knowledge of human nature. (Sept.)
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Finlay says he thinks of these 14 stories as apprentice work toward his novel The Prodigal Troll (2005), yet all are at least of journeyman quality. They show Finlay exploring a variety of genres, bringing freshness and intelligence to them all. His Lovecraft tribute artfully refrains from disclosing itself as such, especially stylistically, until the penultimate page. His zombie adventure ends not in horror or triumph but in dreadful doubt, especially for readers. Despite their military milieus and in-space settings, "The Seal Hunter" and "The Political Officer" are as focused on characters and interactions rather than slam-bang histrionics as any mainstream novel of suburbia. "Still Life with Action Figure," a particularly realist exercise, actually occurs in suburbia, where an artist son visits his artist father, who has resumed painting despite suffering from parkinsonism. The satires "Pervert" and "A Game of Chicken" take lively and imaginative aim at already shot-riddled targets (straight-male bashing and bioengineering, respectively), and "Wild Thing" exposes the fairy-addled backstory of the chivalric hero Perceval. In all, an absorbing, often-surprising collection. Ray Olson
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