Helpful Score: 1
Quicksomeone teach me how to review a short story collection. Im afraid I didnt take notes on individual stories as I read this, so just a few words on the collection as a whole.
The books afterword explains not only Lanagans inspiration for each of these stories, which I found interesting to read, but also that the majority of these stories have been previously published elsewhere. If youve been a dedicated YA short story anthology reader, particularly of the SFF kind, then you may have read some of these stories already. Its probably a good idea to know this, in order to avoid buyers disappointment.
The best audience for YELLOWCAKE is devoted Lanagan fans, or readers who have read a book or two by her and are curious for more. I fall into the latter, perhaps moving into the former. Like her other books, the stories in YELLOWCAKE dont seem like they should work, but they do. In each of them is a vague echo of something familiar: I felt like I had read the essence or the ideas of some of them before. But in Lanagans uniquely skillful hands, the ideas turn into phantasmal sights, old and new at the same time.
Im not sure if theres a connecting thread running through all these stories. Sometimes I felt like I could catch hold of a connection, but then the next story comes along and dashes my tentative theories into pieces. The best I can come up with is that this short story collection persuasively argues, in a peripheral, is-it-or-is-it-not kind of way, the importance of having a little more magichowever you define itin our lives.
The books afterword explains not only Lanagans inspiration for each of these stories, which I found interesting to read, but also that the majority of these stories have been previously published elsewhere. If youve been a dedicated YA short story anthology reader, particularly of the SFF kind, then you may have read some of these stories already. Its probably a good idea to know this, in order to avoid buyers disappointment.
The best audience for YELLOWCAKE is devoted Lanagan fans, or readers who have read a book or two by her and are curious for more. I fall into the latter, perhaps moving into the former. Like her other books, the stories in YELLOWCAKE dont seem like they should work, but they do. In each of them is a vague echo of something familiar: I felt like I had read the essence or the ideas of some of them before. But in Lanagans uniquely skillful hands, the ideas turn into phantasmal sights, old and new at the same time.
Im not sure if theres a connecting thread running through all these stories. Sometimes I felt like I could catch hold of a connection, but then the next story comes along and dashes my tentative theories into pieces. The best I can come up with is that this short story collection persuasively argues, in a peripheral, is-it-or-is-it-not kind of way, the importance of having a little more magichowever you define itin our lives.
Helpful Score: 1
I got a copy of this book to review through the Amazon Vine program. Previously I had read Lanagans Brides of Rollrock Island and really loved it. This was a collection of short stories that I enjoyed overall. Some stories were spectacular and some were a bit hard to follow.
This is a collection of stories that span fantasy, horror, and paranormal genres. Some of the stories are really well done, a couple I had to reread to figure out exactly what was going on. In general Lanagan tends to be a bit vague in her writing, leaving the reader to draw their own conclusions about what really happened. This can lead to the reader having more questions than answers by the time they get to the end of a story.
This is aimed at young adults, but there is one story Catastrophic Disruption of the Head that was very adult. This story had a ton of violence including a rape scene and discussion of mutiple rapes on a young woman...so just be aware of that.
My favorite stories of the bunch were: The Golden Shroud (a beautiful retelling of Rapunzel with a happier ending than the traditional fairy tale0, Into the Clouds (a story about a young boy whose mother gets called to go somewhere else), Ferryman (a story about how the young Sharon got the job as Ferryman of the dead) and Eyelids of the Dawn (in which a building decides it needs a vacation).
All of the stories included are listed below along with ratings and brief descriptions. I havent read any of Lanagans other short story collections yet, so I dont know how they compare to this one. I did enjoy The Brides of Rollrock Island a lot more than this story collection.
Overall it was a decent collection of stories. I will be checking out more of Lanagans short story collections. I recommend to those who love quirky and slightly ambiguous fantasy/horror stories. A lot of these stories are very creative and very different.
The Point of Roses (3/5 stars)
The first story is about a boy who can make things come true from objects. Very vague and a bit hard to follow.
The Golden Shroud (5/5 stars)
A retelling of Rapunzel with a happier ending than the traditional fairy tale
A Fine Magic (4/5 stars)
When two young girls reject the attentions of an old wizard, he gets his revenge on them.
A Honest Days Work (4/5 stars)
About a town where the workers harvest creatures of gelatinous goo from the ocean.
Into the Clouds on High (5/5 stars)
Story about a boy whose mother is called to the sky.
Night of the Firstlings (3/5 stars)
About a family who survives a sickness and an attack, only to be forced to journey from their home. Another story that is very vague and was a bit hard to follow.
Catastrophic Disruption of the Head (4/5 stars)
Story about a soldier who comes across an old woman with magical dogs. A bit hard to follow since it jumps around in time, also very graphic violence.
Ferryman (5/5 stars)
Story about how Sharon came to be the Ferryman. Wonderfully done and clever.
Living Curiosities (4/5 stars)
A story about people living at a circus and a suicide.
Eyelids of the Dawn (5/5 stars)
When a building gets uncomfortable it decides to take a vacation out to sea. This was a fun story that was easy to follow and very creative.
This is a collection of stories that span fantasy, horror, and paranormal genres. Some of the stories are really well done, a couple I had to reread to figure out exactly what was going on. In general Lanagan tends to be a bit vague in her writing, leaving the reader to draw their own conclusions about what really happened. This can lead to the reader having more questions than answers by the time they get to the end of a story.
This is aimed at young adults, but there is one story Catastrophic Disruption of the Head that was very adult. This story had a ton of violence including a rape scene and discussion of mutiple rapes on a young woman...so just be aware of that.
My favorite stories of the bunch were: The Golden Shroud (a beautiful retelling of Rapunzel with a happier ending than the traditional fairy tale0, Into the Clouds (a story about a young boy whose mother gets called to go somewhere else), Ferryman (a story about how the young Sharon got the job as Ferryman of the dead) and Eyelids of the Dawn (in which a building decides it needs a vacation).
All of the stories included are listed below along with ratings and brief descriptions. I havent read any of Lanagans other short story collections yet, so I dont know how they compare to this one. I did enjoy The Brides of Rollrock Island a lot more than this story collection.
Overall it was a decent collection of stories. I will be checking out more of Lanagans short story collections. I recommend to those who love quirky and slightly ambiguous fantasy/horror stories. A lot of these stories are very creative and very different.
The Point of Roses (3/5 stars)
The first story is about a boy who can make things come true from objects. Very vague and a bit hard to follow.
The Golden Shroud (5/5 stars)
A retelling of Rapunzel with a happier ending than the traditional fairy tale
A Fine Magic (4/5 stars)
When two young girls reject the attentions of an old wizard, he gets his revenge on them.
A Honest Days Work (4/5 stars)
About a town where the workers harvest creatures of gelatinous goo from the ocean.
Into the Clouds on High (5/5 stars)
Story about a boy whose mother is called to the sky.
Night of the Firstlings (3/5 stars)
About a family who survives a sickness and an attack, only to be forced to journey from their home. Another story that is very vague and was a bit hard to follow.
Catastrophic Disruption of the Head (4/5 stars)
Story about a soldier who comes across an old woman with magical dogs. A bit hard to follow since it jumps around in time, also very graphic violence.
Ferryman (5/5 stars)
Story about how Sharon came to be the Ferryman. Wonderfully done and clever.
Living Curiosities (4/5 stars)
A story about people living at a circus and a suicide.
Eyelids of the Dawn (5/5 stars)
When a building gets uncomfortable it decides to take a vacation out to sea. This was a fun story that was easy to follow and very creative.
