Taste the Books: Review Morsels #32 James Aquilone et al., Joshua Palmatier et al., Steven L. Peck

Intro

Hello beauties!

Welcome again to my own brand of mini reviews! I never thought I'd do minis, until I recapped a few of my long reviews in some digest post in 2014, and then guest-posted some shorties for a blogging event in 2015. And Karen from For What It's Worth started praising my short recs/recaps 😊. Just to be clear,  I'm NOT taking a break from writing long reviews - no such luck LOL (though for anthologies, shorter books or books that I didn't enjoy/I don't have enough to say about, I decided to stick to minis). But while I'm making up my mind about a new book I've read, I might as well give you the short version 😉. Just be warned - this feature will be VERY random!

Note: all the mini blurbs (in italics) are of my own creation.

Classic Monsters Unleashed by James Aquilone et al. (ARC Review)

★★

From Dracula to The Wolfman, from The Mummy to Frankenstein's Monster and his Bride, from The Wicked Witch of the West to The Headless Horseman, a collection of stories about/inspired by seminal monsters/archetypes from books/movies, set in different centuries/decades.

***

Rated 2.5 really.

First off...DISCLAIMER:  this title was up for grabs on NetGalley (in the Read Now section). Thanks to Black Spot Books for providing a temporary ecopy. This didn't influence my review in any way.

When I saw Seanan McGuire's name in this anthology's line-up, and found out that the book was "Read Now" on NetGalley, I acted on impulse and downloaded it, no questions asked. I realised only later that 1) I don't have an extensive knowledge of "classic monsters" (besides the bones of their stories, that is, and that's not even true for all of them), and 2) these stories weren't all modernised versions of the old myths like I expected, which posed a problem, since I tend to get bored and impatient with narratives set in the long-gone past. So, I'll admit skimming/skipping a dozen of these stories (plus the introductory poem, because that's not the kind of poetry I like), and not being the right audience for this book like I thought I would. Add to it the ebb-and-flow of the writing's quality, and eh...on the whole, I wasn't impressed. But as I said, this was probably more a case of bad matching than anything, so I encourage you to read the other reviews if you think this can be your jam.
I have to point out, though, that I found the author roster a bit ill-assorted...you can't have women-empowering tales go hand in hand with Badly-Written-Woman-By-Male-Author examples ("Such a relief to be back to reality, back in my own body - young, lithe, smaller, smoother, with slim legs, dainty fingers, and firm, compact breasts". Seriously???).
Besides enjoying Seanan McGuire's story (a fresh reversal of the mad scientist trope - I wonder why she didn't use her Mira Grant alias for this one) and quite liking a few others, I LOVED LOVED LOVED Carlie St. George's feminist take on The Frankenstein's Monster's Bride. Both the content and the writing style are top-notch. She deserved better company IMO.

Note: definitive review (I don't have enough to say to justify writing a full-length one later, and of course I don't plan to reread this book; also, due to time commitments, I've decided not to write full-length reviews anymore for short stories, novellas and anthologies, except in special cases or unless they're part of a series).

Temporally Out of Order by Joshua Palmatier et al.

 

★★★

17 stories dealing with time misplacement (more than with actual time travel), where everyday objects act as catalysts by bringing a piece of the past (or the future) with them...and sometimes change lives.

***

Rated 3.5 really.

As it often happens with anthologies, despite the unifying theme, the styles and genres are all over the place, and some of these didn't really work for me - though as a rule I love everything that's got to do with time travel or (in this case) time misplacement. (Then again, I'm probably more of a time-travel gal...🤔). Also, like other Goodreads reviewers have noted, there are a couple of series-tie-ins in here that don't quite belong with the theme itself (vampires??? seriously???). Lastly, I skipped two of these stories: The Passing Bell because I don't like historical fiction, and Alien Time Warp because - despite its being one of the most sci-fi-oriented of the bunch, which would make it my cup of tea  - the narrator got on my nerves from the start. 

On the whole, the quality is more than decent, and the worst thing I can say it's that some of these stories are twists on overused tropes, like the navigator that points you to the past or the camera/phone that takes photographs of/receives messages from it. Some are definitely wild and/or absurdist, but in a good way, like Dinosaur Stew (on the funny side) and Temporally Out of Odor (inventive premise, both sad and heartwarming in the end - it went in a direction that I didn't expect). Some deal with family (conventional and not - I appreciated their having gay and trans main characters) and maybe force the happy ending's hand a tiny bit...One goes in the totally opposite direction, but still in order to guarantee a happy ending of sorts (family reunion) that shouldn't have come at the cost of the main character's sacrifice. Ultimately, Seanan McGuire's Reading List (the reason why I read this book) steals the scene. It's a lovely variation on casuality and being in the right place at the right moment with the right person to help you make the right choice, and a love letter to libraries - seriously, you can't ask for more.

Note: definitive review (due to time commitments, I've decided not to write full-length reviews anymore for short stories, novellas and anthologies, except in special cases or unless they're part of a series).

A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck

★★★

Observant Mormon Soren finds himself in a very different afterlife than the one he used to believe in, and learns that "Hell" doesn't necessarily mean fire and brimstone. Can he find the book that recounts his "true" life story among the billions of gibberish ones contained in an endless library, and finally escape his personal hell?

***

I've been wanting to read this one since I got the chance to review the Windows into Hell anthology, which it inspired (the first short story was even loosely based on the first pages of this novella, and Peck himself contributed to WIH with a story of his own). I can't say I loved ASSIH - also because it's written in a strangely formal style - but it did provide me with some food for thought when it comes to the meaning of love, growth, morality and life itself in the absence of time (or, well, of a measurable one and its consequences) and of a cosmic structure (though the latter doesn't hold a religious meaning for me). Soren's adventures ultimately take on an absurdist tinge, and yet the story remains philosophical and sad. I wish I could have cared more about him - I felt for his predicament, but the whole thing came across a bit dry. The open ending won't sit well with everyone, but to me, it fit with the general tone and the message Peck wanted to convey. A nice, thought-provoking twist on Jorge Luis Borges' The Library of Babel, but not what I would call an exciting read.
(By the way, the title IS supposed to be ironic).

Note: definitive review (due to time commitments, I've decided not to write full-length reviews anymore for short stories, novellas and anthologies, except in special cases or unless they're part of a series).

So, have you read/are you planning to read any of the above? And if you have, what do you think of them? Do you post mini reviews? Do you like to read them?