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Missing Pieces, Volume 1
Untold Tales from your favorite bards in Gen Con 2010 Author's Avenue
156 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2010
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July 4, 2013
I love the idea of this little book: a compilation of the writings of many of the authors who have been at GenCon, the science fiction gaming convention held annually in Indianapolis. The convention can boast of the appearances of many famous authors, including such perennial favorites as Tracy Hickman, Margaret Weis and Mercedes Lackey, but as wonderful as they are, they have large fan bases and don’t really need more publicity. Off in the back of the gigantic exhibit hall at GenCon, you can find the “Author’s Avenue,” where a large number of much less well-known authors have booths. I love wandering through and chatting with the authors, checking out their current books and hearing about their future projects. But there are so many, it is impossible to buy all their books.
That’s where this story collection comes in. Volume 1 has authors from authors who were at GenCon 2010, Volume 2 is from 2011 and Volume 3 is from 2012. I would like to state up front that I had not yet read any works by any of the authors in this anthology prior to picking this volume up. Some of the stories clearly would make more sense to someone who was familiar with the worlds these authors have created, but I have chosen to use this book as a way to get introduced to the authors prior to purchasing a whole book by any one author.
I don’t think all of the authors at GenCon are fantasy authors, but all of the stories in this volume were fantasy or fantasy/horror. The first story, “The Way of the Lion” by Maxwell Alexander Drake, gives the reader a glimpse of a fantasy world (including a map and a pronunciation guide—I love it when books come with their own pronunciation guides) with fascinating characters. The plot of the short story was appropriately simple but interesting enough to make me want to read more of Drake’s series, the “Genesis of Oblivion Saga.”
The second story, “Hawk’s Shadow,” by Matthew and Stefanie Verish, was straightforward fantasy, a bit derivative but the writing had nicely vivid descriptions.
“At the Expense of Kings” was a horror/fantasy story that introduced, among other things, the Groundkids. These beings were an original concept that was so deeply disturbing I cannot get them out of my mind. The bio of the author, Todd Austin Hunt, states he has been publishing short stories since 2003, and his experience shows. As a standalone short story, this was the best of the bunch.
The next story, “Decisions,” by Dylan Birtolo, was about shapeshifters. This very short piece opens the door to what could be an interesting world, but I would have liked a bit more backstory. There just wasn’t enough here to hook me.
Tracy R. Chowdhury’s “A Simple Twist of Fate” is another story that just didn’t grab me. I think it would make a lot more sense to someone who had read other novels written by the author in this same world. Even so, the writing is some of the most accomplished of any of the authors in the anthology.
Fans of horror might like “Hunger” by V.J. Waks. The short, choppy sentences perfectly fit the cramped quarters and stressful situation of the story, conveying the terror of the characters in a very effective way.
I was really intrigued by the world described by by C.E. Rocco (also the editor of the anthology) in “Bringer of Bedlam.” Unfortunately, the story suffered from an underdeveloped writing style that would have benefitted from more precise word selection. For example, this sentence is typical: “Tsavin followed the trail to its end in the darkest deepest pit of nothingness.” I had the feeling the author was capable of better prose, and just needed to take more care in his writing.
C.S. Marks, the author of the last story in the volume, warns the reader up front that “Unbroken Mirror” contains spoilers for her Elfhunter trilogy. I read it anyway, and came to the conclusion that this Tolkien-esque story is more successful as additional material for people who are already familiar with the world Marks has created. As a standalone story, it suffered from too many names and unrelated details. It took too long to get to the main characters. The sub plot that asked the question if one can ever really understand evil without becoming evil oneself was well done. The quality of Marks’ writing bodes well for her trilogy.
That’s where this story collection comes in. Volume 1 has authors from authors who were at GenCon 2010, Volume 2 is from 2011 and Volume 3 is from 2012. I would like to state up front that I had not yet read any works by any of the authors in this anthology prior to picking this volume up. Some of the stories clearly would make more sense to someone who was familiar with the worlds these authors have created, but I have chosen to use this book as a way to get introduced to the authors prior to purchasing a whole book by any one author.
I don’t think all of the authors at GenCon are fantasy authors, but all of the stories in this volume were fantasy or fantasy/horror. The first story, “The Way of the Lion” by Maxwell Alexander Drake, gives the reader a glimpse of a fantasy world (including a map and a pronunciation guide—I love it when books come with their own pronunciation guides) with fascinating characters. The plot of the short story was appropriately simple but interesting enough to make me want to read more of Drake’s series, the “Genesis of Oblivion Saga.”
The second story, “Hawk’s Shadow,” by Matthew and Stefanie Verish, was straightforward fantasy, a bit derivative but the writing had nicely vivid descriptions.
“At the Expense of Kings” was a horror/fantasy story that introduced, among other things, the Groundkids. These beings were an original concept that was so deeply disturbing I cannot get them out of my mind. The bio of the author, Todd Austin Hunt, states he has been publishing short stories since 2003, and his experience shows. As a standalone short story, this was the best of the bunch.
The next story, “Decisions,” by Dylan Birtolo, was about shapeshifters. This very short piece opens the door to what could be an interesting world, but I would have liked a bit more backstory. There just wasn’t enough here to hook me.
Tracy R. Chowdhury’s “A Simple Twist of Fate” is another story that just didn’t grab me. I think it would make a lot more sense to someone who had read other novels written by the author in this same world. Even so, the writing is some of the most accomplished of any of the authors in the anthology.
Fans of horror might like “Hunger” by V.J. Waks. The short, choppy sentences perfectly fit the cramped quarters and stressful situation of the story, conveying the terror of the characters in a very effective way.
I was really intrigued by the world described by by C.E. Rocco (also the editor of the anthology) in “Bringer of Bedlam.” Unfortunately, the story suffered from an underdeveloped writing style that would have benefitted from more precise word selection. For example, this sentence is typical: “Tsavin followed the trail to its end in the darkest deepest pit of nothingness.” I had the feeling the author was capable of better prose, and just needed to take more care in his writing.
C.S. Marks, the author of the last story in the volume, warns the reader up front that “Unbroken Mirror” contains spoilers for her Elfhunter trilogy. I read it anyway, and came to the conclusion that this Tolkien-esque story is more successful as additional material for people who are already familiar with the world Marks has created. As a standalone story, it suffered from too many names and unrelated details. It took too long to get to the main characters. The sub plot that asked the question if one can ever really understand evil without becoming evil oneself was well done. The quality of Marks’ writing bodes well for her trilogy.
Displaying 1 of 1 review