Chain Reading

Thirteen Phantasms and Other Stories by James P. Blaylock is a book that jumped out at me last year as I was walking through my local Barnes and Noble bookstore; I recognized the cover art as a work by Greg Spalenka. As I picked up the book to examine the cover I felt like the proverbial fish being caught by the shiny worm…there on the front cover was a quote of recommendation from none other than Neil Gaiman. Flipping the book over was like biting down harder on the hook as there was an even longer quote from Patricia A. McKillip! Needless to say this little unassuming paperback book of short stories ended up coming home with me. And I am so glad that it did.

Patricia A. McKillip’s quote alone makes a perfect review of the book: “[James Blaylock’s] range is quite wonderful…He brings magic into urban fantasy…His characters are people who might occupy the house next door to us; they might be spooky or unkind or even dead, but they are always fully realized. His instinict for the quirky detail is unerring; he takes a clear look at the marvels in his world and makes us remember the marvels in ours.”

Herein Blaylock gives us 16 engrossing tales that find their home in no one set genre: within these pages lie modern fantasy, science fiction, mystery, horror, steampunk, comedy, and suspense. The titular story alone was worth the $6.99 cover price. Like any book of short stories there are some that make more of a connection than others, however each was worth reading at least once and several were so good that I turned around and immediately read them aloud to my wife. Two tales in the later half of the book, Two Views of a Cave Painting and The Idol’s Eye, featured a cast of early 20th century English scientific adventurers that read like a cross between P.G. Wodehouse, G.K. Chesterton, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and H.G. Wells. Needless to say I was thrilled to later find out that these characters are featured in two Blaylock novels, Homunculus and Lord Kelvin’s Machine: A Novel. Another favorite was the World Fantasy Award winning story, Paper Dragons. The language of Paper Dragons evoked reminiscences of the beautiful language found in Patricia A. McKillip’s work. There is even a story celebrating the wonder of doughnuts.

At the risk of sounding like Forrest Gump, reading a book of short stories is like eating a box of chocolates. If short stories are not to your taste I would venture to say that you have just cracked open too many coconut filled ones. The short stories of Neil Gaiman, Patricia McKillip, Roald Dahl, Gene Wolfe, P.G. Wodehouse (the list could go on and on) and now James P. Blaylock are like sitting down to a large assortment of the best Godiva truffles with each bite better than the last…where each is a favorite to be savored and treasured and the memory shared with friends. Take a bite…you won’t be disappointed.