tories for an Enchanted Afternoon, a new collection by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, is a sampler of the work of one of SF's most prolific authors. In its pages, readers can voyage to a far-off world or stay right at home on a modern Earth where Mount Rushmore has inexplicably disappeared. These stories offer transport to many places that look familiar, at least until a sober second look reveals a darker reality: angels who swoop down over Earth, bringing violent death with them, or colonists who hunt aliens to punish them for murders that never happened.
A good number of the stories deal with dysfunctional upper-class families. In "Echea," a wealthy clan of Earthers adopts an orphan from the moon ... and realizes that they are completely unprepared for her memories of poverty and war. Brooke Cross of "Millenium Babies" is a survivor of a different kind, taunted by an avaricious mother for failing to be the first child born in the year 2000. In "Coolhunting," a woman who lives on the streets of New York is forced to return home to help her sister, who was genetically altered in a gross act of conspicuous consumption.
Other stories appear in thematic pairs: "Burial Detail" and "The Gallery of his Dreams" are both tales of the U.S. Civil War. In the former, a freed slave is burying fallen Union soldiers while a photographer takes his picture. "The Gallery of His Dreams" is an astounding SF take on the life of Matthew B. Brady. "Skin Deep" and "Monuments to the Dead" are another such pair, one which deals with issues surrounding colonialism.
Behind gentle smiles, sharp teeth
Kristine Katherine Rusch may be one of the most sure-footed authors in science fiction, never straying from the path of good storytelling as she dissects her characters and their situations for the reader's benefit. Whether she is on the faraway planet of the Riiame people or a human society subtly altered by teleportation, Rusch provides the diamond-sharp details needed to bring these places alive. She integrates the fantastic elements of her stories so rigorously into her story that it is often hard to remember she is not merely recording the here and now.
Even so, Stories for an Enchanted Afternoon, is generally a melancholy book, and may not be for everyone. Its emotionally crippled families and broad portrayal of human cruelty leave little room for joy, humor or the spirit of adventure. Readers looking for cheerful escapism may, therefore, find this collection to be more disturbing than uplifting. It looks unflinchingly into the ugliest aspects of human behavior--parents who casually victimize their children, corporate hunters who steal fashion trends from unsuspecting pedestrians, and random, homicidal madmen. The victories of a Rusch protagonist--whether moral or material--are usually outweighed by the dark worlds in which they move.
Grim outlook aside, Stories for an Enchanted Afternoon provides everything readers should expect from their SF as a matter of course: good science, exacting social extrapolation, graceful writing and memorable characters. The stories Rusch offers in this collection will linger in the consciousness, leaving distinct traces upon every mind they touch.
