Monday, December 13, 2004

Gothic! Ten Original Dark Tales - Various Authors

Having only heard of three of the ten authors and having read only one of the ten authors I didn't know what to expect. I kept an open mind about these short stories and enjoyed all of them except the first short story Lungewater by Joan Aiken. It is about a messenger boy delivering notes to a woman his master is attracted to. The boy dies in the river, and the brother takes it upon himself to deliver the final letter. The style of the story along with the time placement (not set in the present, more like the early 1900's) made this one unenjoyable. I knew what was going to happen half way through the story. The other nine short stories were a great read. All of the authors drew upon the Victorian style of writing done by Mary Shelly and Edgar Allen Poe. They were also set in the modern times, which makes them more appealing to teens, and the main character is a teenager. Overall this was a good read and I would recommend it to anyone who likes dark tales, Poe, or Mary Shelly.

The authors of the short stories in this collection are Joan Aiken, M.T. Anderson, Neil Gaiman, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Gregory Maguire, Garth Nix, Celia Rees, Janni Lee Simner, Vivian Vande Velde, and Barry Yourgrau

Tom Burnham

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