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Ryan's Reviews > Songs of Love and Death: All-Original Tales of Star-Crossed Love
Songs of Love and Death: All-Original Tales of Star-Crossed Love
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by more…
Assorted work by multiple writers and edited by George R.R. Martin & Gardner Dozois. Being familiar with multiple anthologies edited by Martin, I was instantaneously interested. I picked this up after misplacing my current read "Latro in the Mist" and figured it would be the perfect opportunity to carve through some shorts while I wait for its return and/or rediscovery.
They are all quick reads and as the title suggests, all are around the disasters that love and death can bring. Some are uniquely written to leave the reader remorseful and contemplative while others are simply written to entice the reader to buy their other works. The later uses characters that the reader would only know from reading the authors other works. This is of course disappointing to me as I feel a standalone anthology like this shouldn’t be a spring board to sell your other works. It does not make me want to read the other works but I pretty jaded when people try to sell literature to me. The stories that were written especially for this collection without borrowed elements are my favorites. I think producing works that can stand alone in an anthology proves your writing ability and makes me want to read more of your works as I have faith that they will be written specifically for that audience.
Below is the list of shorts, a brief description of them, and some of my thoughts on them. Skim at your pleasure. I believe most of these shorts should be able to be found via a quick search on the web. If you are interested in reading the whole book, as usual, let me know.
Kaskia - Peter S. Beagle
Sometimes love isn't tactile. In this story Martin lives a boring life with a boring job and an uninterested wife. His life is so dismal that his only real friend is a cousin who just shows up to sell Martin assorted things from hazy origins. In this particular instance he sells Martin a laptop with a mysterious button.
The Marrying Maid - Jo Beverley
A unique spin on an old story, a man must marry his marrying maid to prevent the death of his historical family. Of course love isn't easy and the one you’re destined to be with isn't always on the same page. The story itself was good but not set in a time period (1758) I like all that much. The outfits, the proper English and over use of etiquette generally drives me crazy and in my opinion adds little to the story.
Love Hurts - Jim Butcher
Drawn from characters and situations in a series that made him famous, Jim forces us into the world of Dresden. A private investigator that works close to the police to solve crimes, Dresden also happens to be a mage. This allows him to tap into the supernatural underground which is vast and living parallel to us normal people. The story itself felt like a full length Dresden books that was compacted into a single chapter for this anthology. In this specific story Dresden pairs up with a colleague to hunt down a series of "loving couple" suicides that all have a common denominator.
You, and You Alone - Jacqueline Carey
I didn’t care. I wasn’t sure of the period the story was meant to convey, I assume somewhere between medieval to early renaissance France. I am not thrilled with gay sex which was at least a brief glimpse with no indigestible bits. A man sent to speak for a Madame falls in love with the prince. The man becomes a trusted lover of the prince and follows him all around until a series of tragedies strike.
A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows - Diana Gabaldon
An interesting story about an RAF pilot during World War 2 who experiences mechanical failure, while on a training mission. When the pilot comes crashing down from the sky, he finds himself somewhere else and some other time, and must find his way home. The story is good but peters out short at the end, for me at least. I guess this is just part of a bigger series of shorts from Diana so there is a lot more to the story than what we see.
The Thing About Cassandra - Neil Gaiman
Neil has been making waves in the sci-fi and fantasy genre in the years past; if this short is any evidence of his talent I would really love to read some of his horror. The title alone is well crafted and promises an interesting story. While the end of the story wasn’t such a shocker as it would have liked I was really interested the whole way through and ended satisfied. ‘The Thing About’ Cassandra is creative, weird, and spins a turn at the end.
Man in the Mirror - Yasmine Galenorn
This story was boring. Essentially when people die they go to a place where they can apparently still talk to cats and see people through reflective surfaces, choosing to let them be seen or not as they choose. A lady who just survived some tragic event in which her abusive husband tried to kill her has now moved into a house belonging to his parents. Little did she know her husband’s brother had chosen the house as his haunt. On Halloween he has the opportunity to switch his place for hers but can't pull the trigger.
Hurt Me - M.L.N. Hanover
One of my favorite stories, no it is my favorite story in the volume. The story itself is unsettling during the duration and absolutely satisfying at the end. Love isn't' always understood and it certainly does not always make sense to anyone else not directly involved. A middle aged lady decides on a house after dramatically altering her life from a happy and healthy relationship which leaves her loved ones questioning her choices. Sadly, the house she just purchased is haunted and it doesn’t like females of any sort.
Blue Boots - Robin Hobb
I just wasn’t a fan. Thus far this is the only story I can say that about. It wasn’t written poorly by any means but the girl who takes main stage in the story has had some unfortunate things happen but none so terrible that it deserved the length of pages and pity party that accompanied it. She chose nearly everything in this story, except the happy ending. Blah.
Demon Lover - Cecelia Holland
Love isn't always at the surface layer and you should never take that for granted. In this story a maimed, once beautiful girl is returned to glory but at costs she never knew. A hooded man offers her the world which she accepts. Only once she has what could ever be desired does she realize she doesn’t have anything that she ever wanted.
Under/Above the Water - Tanith Lee
Incredibly well written. The visual images that Lee is able to dispense are pretty cool to read. I contend that this short was written for writers. Two lovers lost among time reunite in a fantastic solar storm across the lake of a sunken kingdom.
After the Blood - Marjorie M. Liu
A post-apocalyptic story set in the Midwest. A great plague swept the nations of man turning everyone into mush. The great cities soon fell to be replaced with creepy forests. At night dead things, horrible things live in the forest and there is a new energy that some are blessed with. The main character finds herself in love with a creature that haunts the forest, not quiet one of them but still one of them.
The Demon Dancer - Mary Jo Putney
Like the Jim Butcher story this is that new emerging genre in which mages and vampires and demons or whatever is haunting cities and the only people that can stop it are part of a conclave of guardians which possess the ability to see, track, and defeat otherworld creatures. In this story two guardians separated by years are given the ability to unite after they defeat a demon.
Courting Trouble - Linnea Sinclair
Another sci-fi story of intrigue and reunited love. A captain of an interstellar trade vessel finds her ship and cargo seized by a space station. As things transpire she finds that they are connected to the man she though she used to love and the one she actually does. It's a good short read but is "high sci-fi" with blasters and all that jazz which is really a rather large turn off for me in that genre.
The Wayfarer's Advice - Melinda Snodgrass
This is the first sci-fi tale in the compendium. Spurned lovers separated by rank, status, and conflict are reunited under a perilous situation. Through sheer luck they are reunited but only for a short time before the complications of their life separate them again. It's sci-fi that is exotic and exciting but mute enough to not swallow the entire story in its grandeur.
His Wolf - Lisa Tuttle
Loved this story. A lonely Texas teacher finds love in a man and his wolf with just a brief encounter. She quickly learns just who this mysterious figure and his sorted history. He promises to leave it all behind for her and in doing so meets a gruesome end. She has his wolf, which she soon discovers isn't so far distant from having him at all.
Rooftops - Carrie Vaughn
A struggling play write is on the verge of her first real release when she is taken hostage by criminals heisting the jewelry shop next door. Lucky for her the city is loaded with super heroes and one of them has come to her rescue. Unlucky for her, the savior now makes her question her life and current life partner. The story was alright, definitely not bad. It is interesting to read about the unattainable due to lifestyle alone despite being thrilling.
They are all quick reads and as the title suggests, all are around the disasters that love and death can bring. Some are uniquely written to leave the reader remorseful and contemplative while others are simply written to entice the reader to buy their other works. The later uses characters that the reader would only know from reading the authors other works. This is of course disappointing to me as I feel a standalone anthology like this shouldn’t be a spring board to sell your other works. It does not make me want to read the other works but I pretty jaded when people try to sell literature to me. The stories that were written especially for this collection without borrowed elements are my favorites. I think producing works that can stand alone in an anthology proves your writing ability and makes me want to read more of your works as I have faith that they will be written specifically for that audience.
Below is the list of shorts, a brief description of them, and some of my thoughts on them. Skim at your pleasure. I believe most of these shorts should be able to be found via a quick search on the web. If you are interested in reading the whole book, as usual, let me know.
Kaskia - Peter S. Beagle
Sometimes love isn't tactile. In this story Martin lives a boring life with a boring job and an uninterested wife. His life is so dismal that his only real friend is a cousin who just shows up to sell Martin assorted things from hazy origins. In this particular instance he sells Martin a laptop with a mysterious button.
The Marrying Maid - Jo Beverley
A unique spin on an old story, a man must marry his marrying maid to prevent the death of his historical family. Of course love isn't easy and the one you’re destined to be with isn't always on the same page. The story itself was good but not set in a time period (1758) I like all that much. The outfits, the proper English and over use of etiquette generally drives me crazy and in my opinion adds little to the story.
Love Hurts - Jim Butcher
Drawn from characters and situations in a series that made him famous, Jim forces us into the world of Dresden. A private investigator that works close to the police to solve crimes, Dresden also happens to be a mage. This allows him to tap into the supernatural underground which is vast and living parallel to us normal people. The story itself felt like a full length Dresden books that was compacted into a single chapter for this anthology. In this specific story Dresden pairs up with a colleague to hunt down a series of "loving couple" suicides that all have a common denominator.
You, and You Alone - Jacqueline Carey
I didn’t care. I wasn’t sure of the period the story was meant to convey, I assume somewhere between medieval to early renaissance France. I am not thrilled with gay sex which was at least a brief glimpse with no indigestible bits. A man sent to speak for a Madame falls in love with the prince. The man becomes a trusted lover of the prince and follows him all around until a series of tragedies strike.
A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows - Diana Gabaldon
An interesting story about an RAF pilot during World War 2 who experiences mechanical failure, while on a training mission. When the pilot comes crashing down from the sky, he finds himself somewhere else and some other time, and must find his way home. The story is good but peters out short at the end, for me at least. I guess this is just part of a bigger series of shorts from Diana so there is a lot more to the story than what we see.
The Thing About Cassandra - Neil Gaiman
Neil has been making waves in the sci-fi and fantasy genre in the years past; if this short is any evidence of his talent I would really love to read some of his horror. The title alone is well crafted and promises an interesting story. While the end of the story wasn’t such a shocker as it would have liked I was really interested the whole way through and ended satisfied. ‘The Thing About’ Cassandra is creative, weird, and spins a turn at the end.
Man in the Mirror - Yasmine Galenorn
This story was boring. Essentially when people die they go to a place where they can apparently still talk to cats and see people through reflective surfaces, choosing to let them be seen or not as they choose. A lady who just survived some tragic event in which her abusive husband tried to kill her has now moved into a house belonging to his parents. Little did she know her husband’s brother had chosen the house as his haunt. On Halloween he has the opportunity to switch his place for hers but can't pull the trigger.
Hurt Me - M.L.N. Hanover
One of my favorite stories, no it is my favorite story in the volume. The story itself is unsettling during the duration and absolutely satisfying at the end. Love isn't' always understood and it certainly does not always make sense to anyone else not directly involved. A middle aged lady decides on a house after dramatically altering her life from a happy and healthy relationship which leaves her loved ones questioning her choices. Sadly, the house she just purchased is haunted and it doesn’t like females of any sort.
Blue Boots - Robin Hobb
I just wasn’t a fan. Thus far this is the only story I can say that about. It wasn’t written poorly by any means but the girl who takes main stage in the story has had some unfortunate things happen but none so terrible that it deserved the length of pages and pity party that accompanied it. She chose nearly everything in this story, except the happy ending. Blah.
Demon Lover - Cecelia Holland
Love isn't always at the surface layer and you should never take that for granted. In this story a maimed, once beautiful girl is returned to glory but at costs she never knew. A hooded man offers her the world which she accepts. Only once she has what could ever be desired does she realize she doesn’t have anything that she ever wanted.
Under/Above the Water - Tanith Lee
Incredibly well written. The visual images that Lee is able to dispense are pretty cool to read. I contend that this short was written for writers. Two lovers lost among time reunite in a fantastic solar storm across the lake of a sunken kingdom.
After the Blood - Marjorie M. Liu
A post-apocalyptic story set in the Midwest. A great plague swept the nations of man turning everyone into mush. The great cities soon fell to be replaced with creepy forests. At night dead things, horrible things live in the forest and there is a new energy that some are blessed with. The main character finds herself in love with a creature that haunts the forest, not quiet one of them but still one of them.
The Demon Dancer - Mary Jo Putney
Like the Jim Butcher story this is that new emerging genre in which mages and vampires and demons or whatever is haunting cities and the only people that can stop it are part of a conclave of guardians which possess the ability to see, track, and defeat otherworld creatures. In this story two guardians separated by years are given the ability to unite after they defeat a demon.
Courting Trouble - Linnea Sinclair
Another sci-fi story of intrigue and reunited love. A captain of an interstellar trade vessel finds her ship and cargo seized by a space station. As things transpire she finds that they are connected to the man she though she used to love and the one she actually does. It's a good short read but is "high sci-fi" with blasters and all that jazz which is really a rather large turn off for me in that genre.
The Wayfarer's Advice - Melinda Snodgrass
This is the first sci-fi tale in the compendium. Spurned lovers separated by rank, status, and conflict are reunited under a perilous situation. Through sheer luck they are reunited but only for a short time before the complications of their life separate them again. It's sci-fi that is exotic and exciting but mute enough to not swallow the entire story in its grandeur.
His Wolf - Lisa Tuttle
Loved this story. A lonely Texas teacher finds love in a man and his wolf with just a brief encounter. She quickly learns just who this mysterious figure and his sorted history. He promises to leave it all behind for her and in doing so meets a gruesome end. She has his wolf, which she soon discovers isn't so far distant from having him at all.
Rooftops - Carrie Vaughn
A struggling play write is on the verge of her first real release when she is taken hostage by criminals heisting the jewelry shop next door. Lucky for her the city is loaded with super heroes and one of them has come to her rescue. Unlucky for her, the savior now makes her question her life and current life partner. The story was alright, definitely not bad. It is interesting to read about the unattainable due to lifestyle alone despite being thrilling.
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Reading Progress
Finished Reading
February 21, 2012
– Shelved
I also agree with you on Robin Hobb...she gets a lot of pub (and is a WA resident...Tacoma I believe) but I was pretty underwhelmed by Assassin's Apprentice.