Feast and Famine

by Adrian Tchaikovsky

In Feast and Famine Adrian Tchaikovsky delivers an ambitious and varied collections of stories. Ranging from the deep space hard SF of the title story (originally in Solaris Rising 2) to the high fantasy of “The Sun in the Morning” (a Shadows of the Apt tale originally featured in Deathray magazine), from the Peter S Beagle influenced “The Roar of the Crowd” to the supernatural Holmes-esque intrigue of “The Dissipation Club” the author delivers a dazzling array of quality short stories that traverse genre. Ten stories in all, five of which appear here for the very first time.

Contents:
1. Introduction
2. Feast & Famine
3. The Artificial Man
4. The Roar of the Crowd
5. Good Taste
6. The Dissipation Club
7. Rapture
8. Care
9. 2144 and All That
10. The God Shark
11. The Sun of the Morning
12. About the Author

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fantasy, Ebooks

173 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 2, 2013

About the author

ADRIAN TCHAIKOVSKY was born in Lincolnshire and studied zoology and psychology at Reading, before practising law in Leeds. He is a keen live role-player and occasional amateur actor and is trained in stage-fighting. His literary influences include Gene Wolfe, Mervyn Peake, China Miéville, Mary Gently, Steven Erikson, Naomi Novak, Scott Lynch and Alan Campbell.

Reviews

[Curtis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Favorites were Feast & Famine and The Dissipation Club for the cosmic horror vibes.

[Andrew Logan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short story collection was published as the sixth in the Imaginings series. The series started with Taneth Lee's Cold Grey Stones, so it is a series with a real pedigree, and this collection does not disappoint.
While this is not the first AT book I have read I have not read any of the Apt series, so I do not have the expectations other readers might have. There is an Apt world story in here but most of this collection is set in more familiar world.
The collection starts with a straight SF story and has real world and real world related / magical realism stories.
The first two stories alone were worth the price of admission. The ask really interesting questions. One about the nature of life as a property something can have. The other asks questions about needs and obligations and justice.
There is a story about the power of stories and a story about the secrets hidden behind the world we think we know.
It is a collection. There are stories I like less and stories I'm not bothered about at all. But for the sake of the best stories in here I think there is something for any SF or Fantasy reader, and for a lot of general readers, to enjoy.
Overall a good read.

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read a dozen of Tchaikovsky's novels over the past few years but hadn't read any of his short stories. This short story collection has a nice variety ranging from the hard-SF of "Feast and Famine" to the daft satirical comedy of "The God Shark" and also including a story from his "Shadows of the Apt" epic fantasy series.

I thought the highlights were the Lovecraftian mystery of "The Dissipation Club", which featured a memorable reveal at the end, "Feast and Famine" which had an interesting take on the idea of alien life and because I like his Apt series a lot, "The Sun in the Morning". "2144 and All That", a time travel story a bit too dependent on exposition was probably the only story which didn't really work for me.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a limited edition of 125, not many people will get to enjoy the wonderful range of storytelling Adrian has collected. In the Imaginings series by Newcon Press, this volume is one of my favorites.

[Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting collection full of really good short stories in the fantasy and sci-fi genres.