Phoenix

by Brian A. Hopkins

Phoenix is the new story collection by four-time Bram Stoker winner Brian A. Hopkins, with an introduction by Gene Wolfe, and front cover art by Kevin Tickel.

226 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2013

Reviews

[Char · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding!

Brian A. Hopkins is a force to be reckoned with. He's won Stoker Awards for both a novel and for several novellas. He's edited at least one Stoker-winning anthology. He's been nominated for a Nebula and a Locus Award, among others. So why has everyone been keeping him a secret?

I've ingested at least two previous collections of Hopkins' work, via audio, (narrated by the fab Joshua Saxon.) This is the first time I've actually READ his work. It won't be the last!

I've read a few of the stories here in other collections. DIVING THE COOLIDGE was one of them. A claustrophobic deep dive into a shipwreck. THE SECRET SYMPHONY deals with grief and loss. I'm finding that these are the types of stories I enjoy most these days. This one was tugging at my heartstrings. Revenge tales have always been fun for me and COMMUNION OF THE WORM was no exception. THE LAND OF THE AWFUL SHADOW is about the power of friendship...and other things. EL DIA DE LOS MUERTOS is a novella, rich in historic details about the Aztecs and their culture. Sewn into the mythology are, (again), threads of grief and loss until you have a rich tapestry of pain. Then comes RATTLER, co written with Gene Wolfe), which was so off the wall funny and outlandish, I laughed out loud. This collection closes with ELEVEN MINUTES IN SEPTEMBER and I'm not saying anything about that one, other than to READ IT!

Each of these tales is so different from the next. They are all dark, but in different ways. Some provide a glimmer of hope. Some do not. Where any research is concerned, you can bet that the facts are right, and all throughout are sprinkled quotes from poets and philosophers indicating that the author is a well read writer also.

All of this to say that you should familiarize yourself with Brian A. Hopkins. The man can write.

My highest recommendation!

*I was provided a paperback in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.*

[J. P. Wiske · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thematically, there’s not much more I can add that I haven’t already written in my responses to These I Know by Heart and El Dia de Los Muertos. However, it bears mentioning that Phoenix a) anthologizes the latter limited edition novella, and b) omits the author’s appendices to that novella, which included historical notes and acknowledgements. Contained within the latter is this gem of authorial advice: “It’s only by painting a believable picture through authentic details that a reader will go along with that one little sliver of fictional bullshit on which your story hinges.” It is this sentiment that is brutally realized in this collection.

Here, there is a geographic and situational verisimilitude that envelopes you like a blanket, not just comforting you with a sense of simple familiarity, but creating an immobilizing weight that fixes you to that point, compelling you to witness the narrative that unfolds as inescapably true. Frankly, this recreated reality is occasionally so mercilessly sharp that it borders on—even crosses over into—unbearably piercing, almost too painful to read.

Fiction is its most effective when the worlds it invents inspire empathy—the notion that fictions are possible. The difference here is that Hopkins convinces you not that these places and people could be, but rather that they are.  Hopkins's commitment to technical realism facilitates the reader’s transformation from spectator to participant. And by extension, it allows Hopkins to capture—to cruelly exploit—the paradox of moments that contain both heartbreak and hope.

[Marci · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has a collection of many entertaining stories, as in all of Hopkin's work. Of course I loved the motorcycle story since I am a rider. But really, all of his stories are written in a way that you can't stop reading! I love his use of words, the way he writes is so much better than most authors. It's hard for ME to describe... he uses a large vocabulary, but it doesn't seem out of place as if he's TRYING to use larger words, like some authors do. It flows along and brings you through the story as if you are there. He writes beautifully. You should definitely check out all if his work!