STORIES: REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY ENDED
STORIES
All-New Tales
Edited by
NEIL GAIMAN
and AL SARRANTONIO

ABOUT THE BOOK:

"The joy of fiction is the joy of the imagination. . . ."

The best stories pull readers in and keep them turning the pages, eager to discover more—to find the answer to the question: "And then what happened?" The true hallmark of great literature is great imagination, and as Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio prove with this outstanding collection, when it comes to great fiction, all genres are equal.

Stories is a groundbreaking anthology that reinvigorates, expands, and redefines the limits of imaginative fiction and affords some of the best writers in the world—from Peter Straub and Chuck Palahniuk to Roddy Doyle and Diana Wynne Jones, Stewart O'Nan and Joyce Carol Oates to Walter Mosley and Jodi Picoult—the opportunity to work together, defend their craft, and realign misconceptions. Gaiman, a literary magician whose acclaimed work defies easy categorization and transcends all boundaries, and "master anthologist" (Booklist) Sarrantonio personally invited, read, and selected all the stories in this collection, and their standard for this "new literature of the imagination" is high. "We wanted to read stories that used a lightning-flash of magic as a way of showing us something we have already seen a thousand times as if we have never seen it at all."

Joe Hill boldly aligns theme and form in his disturbing tale of a man's descent into evil in "Devil on the Staircase." In "Catch and Release," Lawrence Block tells of a seasoned fisherman with a talent for catching a bite of another sort. Carolyn Parkhurst adds a dark twist to sibling rivalry in "Unwell." Joanne Harris weaves a tale of ancient gods in modern New York in "Wildfire in Manhattan." Vengeance is the heart of Richard Adams's "The Knife." Jeffery Deaver introduces a dedicated psychologist whose mission in life is to save people in "The Therapist." A chilling punishment befitting an unspeakable crime is at the dark heart of Neil Gaiman's novelette "The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains."

As it transforms your view of the world, this brilliant and visionary volume—sure to become a classic—will ignite a new appreciation for the limitless realm of exceptional fiction.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS/EDITORS:

Bestselling author Neil Gaiman has long been one of the top writers in modern comics, and has also penned many books for readers of all ages, including American Gods, Anansi Boys, Coraline, and M Is for Magic. He is listed in the Dictionary of Literary Biography as one of the top ten living post-modern writers, and is a prolific creator of works of prose, poetry, film, journalism, comics, song lyrics, and drama. He has written multiple New York Times bestselling books, and is a Hugo, Nebula, Bram Stoker, SFX, and Locus Award winner. He has also worked in support of First Amendment rights, and was awarded the Defender of Liberty Award in August 1997 by the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund for his efforts. Born and raised in England, Neil now lives near Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has somehow reached his forties and tends to always need a haircut.


Award winner Al Sarrantonio is the author of forty previous books, including several highly acclaimed novels. He has edited numerous collections, including the groundbreaking 999: New Stories of Horror and Suspense and Flights: Extreme Visions of Fantasy. He lives in Newburgh, New York.

MY REVIEW:

STORIES is a decidedly varied anthology of short stories written by some of our most popular authors today and done so using various genres. This wonderful collection is filled with engaging stories that are as well written as they are enjoyable to read. STORIES is edited by Al Sarrantonio, who is not only an author in his own right (and contributes his own ’The Cult of the Nose‘) but is also well known for editing several other fine collections. Joining Sarrantonio in editing is the inimitable Neil Gaiman who also writes a wonderful introduction and treats readers by including a story himself with ’The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains‘. This short story alone would make the book worth buying/reading, but add in some twenty-six other great stories and you have an anthology of stories that are the kind that make you want to keep reading until you finish. One thing I usually find with a book of short stories is that it is nice because I can finish a story easily in a short time and not be left waiting to find out what happens next. However, with these stories, you mostly do want to know “what happens next” as Gaiman alludes to in his introduction.

That is part of what makes this book so compelling and the rest lies in the stories and authors themselves. STORIES includes narratives that are written with many sharing a hint of fantasy and some science fiction as well as folktales, spooky stories, alternative realities, and of course, realities as well. With authors from Gaiman to Joyce Carol Oates, Walter Mosley, Joe Hill and Jodi Picoult to Jeffrey Deaver, Chuck Pahlaniuk, Peter Straub, and Joe R. Lansdale, this is to me a perfect summer read. Allowing one to sample authors they love or wish to be introduced to, STORIES will be a book you keep handy and read over again and surely want to share with others. If you aren’t a short story fan before, or if you haven’t read a collection recently, you will be glad that STORIES is one you invested in. A bonus about the authors is included in the back of the book!

GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO MEGAN AND GOOD PEOPLE
AT HARPER COLLINS PUBLISHING,
I HAVE 3 COPIES OF THIS EXCITING
BOOK TO GIVE AWAY. HERE IS WHAT
YOU NEED TO DO TO WIN A COPY!

--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO
COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!

HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT READING A BOOK OF SHORT STORIES. YOU MAY WANT TO TELL IF YOU LIKE THEM OR NOT AND PERHAPS WHY

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND LEAVE A LINK I CAN FOLLOW IN THE ENTRY

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GIVEAWAY ENDS

6 PM, EST, JULY 7!

GOOD LUCK