ubtitled "New Canadian Fantastic Fiction," this volume brings 21 heretofore unfamiliar voices to the attention of a wider audience. Although the vast majority of these writers have appeared in numerous small-press publications (one story, however, is a first sale), this original anthology showcases them to greater effect.
After an introduction by one of Canada's most famous SF writers, Cory Doctorow, the volume opens with Melissa Yuan-Innes' "Growing Up Sam," the tale of a bioengineered ape-human and the troubles attendant on his unique status. "Leavings of Shroud House: An Inventory," by Richard Gavin, details the bizarre effects produced by the artifacts left behind by an extinct cursed family. In a world overrun by zombies, the surviving humans must enforce a cruel education on their children in "The Traumatized Generation," by Murray Leeder. A woman named Chandi was consecrated centuries ago to Kali. Now, in the present, she faces the limits of her powers, in Colleen Anderson's "Hold Back the Night." The mortality-laden Irish exodus of the 19th century produces "The Banshee of Cholera Bay," by Jes Sugrue.
On a distant planet, the warped legacy of the colonists' journey across the stars has resulted in perpetual religious warfare, according to Mark Anthony Brennan's "March on the New Gomorrah." An assemblage of mini-stories ranging across the fantastical spectrum constitutes Catherine MacLeod's "Postcards from Atlantis." On a far-future Earth, where even the moon has been shifted, a hybrid mercenary struggles to find a patron in "The Image Breakers," by John Park. Shane Michael Arbuthnott's "Of Wings" follows the plight of a homeless man who longs to escape his reality after witnessing the birth of an angel. "The Woman Who Danced on the Prairie," by Steve Vernon, tells of one woman's gruesome vengeance on the lover who jilted her.
Ahmed Khan's "The Curse of the Science Fiction Writer" is a short-short that illustrates that the imagination is mightier than the sword. A man and a woman find love when presented with a miraculous talisman in "A Gift of Power," by Janet Marie Rogers. The sideshow boasted a real werewolf—but the protagonist of Nicholas Knight's "Appetite" had no notion of how intimate with the beast he would become. Challenging the river that killed her husband, a woman encounters the occult answer to his death in "La Rivière Noire," by Leslie Brown. Her mother's legacy was the jealous protection of a supernatural guardian, but the protagonist of Marcelle Dubé's "Chimère" finds that such a guardian can spell death for those she loves.
"Help," by Matthew Costaris, tracks the ill-starred life of an adolescent who has the ability to usher people off the mortal plane in gruesome ways. A short Aztec legend is recounted in Drew Karpyshyn's "Feast of the Gods." Aaron V. Humphrey blends rock 'n' roll with supernatural effects in "The New Paranoia Album." In a lonely lighthouse in the midst of a gale, a lonely woman receives an impossible visitor in "Eye of the Storm," by Marcie Lynn Tentchoff. Vincent W. Sakowski delivers a surreal armageddon in "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Ragnarok." And closing out the volume is Derryl Murphy's "More Painful Than the Dreams of Other Boys," which is a blend of mystery and elf-hill-style time distortions.
Great new voices from the Great White North
Two men not yet mentioned—publisher John Rose and editor Claude Lalumière—deserve immediate plaudits for assembling such a fine volume. Compared to the typical original anthology from, say, DAW, or to the average contents of any of the SF magazines, this collection stands equally tall, despite the lack of any big names. The arrangement of the stories is intelligently varied, and the physical design of the package is professional and attractive. This is a classy effort, typical of what the small presses do best.
As with any gathering of tales, there are bound to be standouts. My particular favorites in terms of uniqueness of vision and excellence of execution are the Gavin, which delivers some fine Lovecraft/Ligotti eerieness; the Brennan, which reminds me of Adam Roberts and his fascination with the effect of warfare on young minds; the Park, which mixes Van Vogt and Vance; the Brown, for its adherence to classical ghost-story traditions; the Sakowski, for its surreal satire; and the Murphy, which puts a hard-boiled spin on the notion of never-never land. But all of the other tales—even the Frederic-Brown-style short-shorts—are worthy of praise. It should be noted also that the author of "Help," Matthew Costaris, is a mere 15 years old, carrying on the tradition of SF prodigies.
But what's most interesting about this volume is what it reveals about the tastes and trends among newer writers. The paucity of pure SF—really just two or three stories out of 21—seems to reflect the marketplace decline of that genre in the face of fantasy. Yet there are no commodified-trilogy-type entries here either (perhaps excluded by the discerning tastes of the editor), but rather fabulist tales along the lines of Charles de Lint or Jonathan Carroll or Kelly Link. This definitely seems the preferred mode these days. As for experimentalism in narrative structure, only a few brave stalwarts—Gavin, MacLeod and Sakowski—strive to break out of the linear form or strict immersion in limited points of view. It seems as if most writers these days are content with the old ways of tale-telling. And among the horror writers, there seems more adherence to the older writers such as Richard Matheson ("Help," "The Traumatized Generation") than to modern gore-meisters such as Stephen King.
Upon closing the covers of this volume, the reader will feel amply rewarded, not only by the individual stories but by the sense that the future of fantastical literature in North America is in good hands.
