The Ape's Wife and Other Stories

by Caitlín R. Kiernan

Caitlín R. Kiernan has been described as one of “the most original and audacious weird writers of her generation” (Jeff and Ann VanderMeer, The Weird), “one of our essential writers of dark fiction” (New York Times), and S. T. Joshi has proclaimed, “hers is now the voice of weird fiction.” In The Ape's Wife and Other Stories—Kiernan’s twelfth collection of short fiction since 2001—she displays the impressive range that characterizes her work. With her usual disregard for genre boundaries, she masterfully navigates the territories that have traditionally been labeled dark fantasy, sword and sorcery, science fiction, steampunk, and neo-noir. From the subtle horror of “One Tree Hill (The World as Cataclysm)” and “Tall Bodies” to a demon-haunted, alternate reality Manhattan, from Mars to a near-future Philadelphia, and from ghoulish urban legends of New England to a feminist-queer retelling of Beowulf, these thirteen stories keep reader always on their toes, ever uncertain of the next twist or turn.

Genres: Short Stories, Fantasy, Horror, Fiction, Science Fiction, Weird Fiction, Anthologies

280 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 29, 2013

About the author

Caitlín Rebekah Kiernan is an Irish-born American published paleontologist and author of science fiction and dark fantasy works, including ten novels, series of comic books, and more than two hundred and fifty published short stories, novellas, and vignettes.

Reviews

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars--I really liked it. Caitlin Kiernan is one of my favorite authors, and someone I've been reading for 20 years. Generally I enjoy her short stories better than her longer fiction. I enjoyed this collection based primarily on the strength of the titled story, The Ape's Wife, which is marvelous.

I thought several of the stories suffered from a lack of ending or being incomplete. I'm on board with vague, unsettling glimpses, but sometimes I need more. I'm going to give brief summaries, mostly for my own memory.

The Steam Dancer: 2 stars. A good intro but not really a story.
The Maltese Unicorn: 4 stars. Lesbian/demon noir! Love it.
One Tree Hill (The World as Cataclysm): 4 stars. Simple, subtle, and understatedly creepy.
The Collier's Venus: 4 stars. Kiernan loves her old-god, underground, creepy crawlies! (I do too.)
Galapagos: 4 stars. Space is terrifying.
Tall Bodies: 2 stars. An unsympathetic narrator and more of a glimpse than a story.
As Red as Red: 3 stars. I liked it but am also frustrated by it--with a little more twist or plot, this could have been amazing. As is, I enjoyed the mythology.
Hydraguros: 2 stars. A good intro but not really a story.
Slouching Towards the House of Glass Coffins: 3 stars. Liked it, but wanted more. (Especially enjoyed the future dialect.)
Tidal Forces: 5 stars. Excellent. Spooky, unexplained, and wrapped up nicely.
The Sea Troll's Daughter: 3 stars. This is another frustrating one. I really, really love the female Beowulf angle, love the characters... but the plot just stopped. Gah, I wanted to know more!
Random Thoughts Before A Fatal Crash: 4 stars. This one works being vague and dream-like. I'm also a sucker for art/movies used in horror fiction.
The Ape's Wife: 5 stars. Amazing. A complete mindbender.

[Alaina · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Ape's Wife and Other Stories was never on my radar until now. Which in some ways I'm kind of glad for. Plus any book that's filled with lots of short stories needs to be on my radar from now on. They are so easy to fly through and I really like when I get creepy ones from time to time.

Now I liked how some of the stories could get dark but others kind of felt incomplete to me. Mostly with how they ended or didn't (in a weird way). I sometimes like open endings because I can think of whatever I like for that book. However, since this was basically short stories I would have like final endings. It could just be me though..

As for the actual stories, well, I did enjoy a few a bit more than others. Then there were some duds in my eyes but that's due to not enjoying the endings of them. I'm just honestly happy that I found the time to dive into this and I can't wait for my next short story collection.

[Althea Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

*** The Steam Dancer
More of an introduction to a character than a story. Out in a Steampunk Old West, we meet Missouri Banks. She's had a hard life, but after being ill, abandoned, and left for dead, she had the luck to be picked up by a mechanic, who fitted her out with steam-powered prostheses. Now - although some people would find her situation intensely depressing, she retains a remarkable optimism. Although she's dependent on the help of her mechanic lover, she does seem to care for her. Although some people would regard her job as an exotic stripper as a dehumanizing freak show, she truly loves dancing...
Interesting piece, although not much happens. It felt very familiar; I'm not sure if I'd read it before, or read something with similar themes.
It's available for free, here: http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fic...

**** The Maltese Unicorn
You know what the world was lacking, until now? A retelling of Dashiell Hammett's 'Maltese Falcon' with plenty of black magic and lesbian sex. Tongue-in-cheek, and very entertaining.

**** One Tree Hill (The World as Cataclysm)
The aesthetics of Lovecraft meet a modern-day sensibility, in this tale of a small-time journalist who becomes obsessed with a small-town unsolved mystery. Very nice.

*** The Colliers' Venus
A paleontologist's ex-lover, a hard-working, hard-talking miner, brings him in to investigate strange stories of 'fossils' found living, encased in stone.

*** Galapagos
Previously read in 'Eclipse 3.' "A woman is summoned or sent on a mission to a possibly-derelict spaceship, because her lover may or may not be the only surviving crewmember. In store for her are horrors unspeakable - as we can guess, since the story is narrated from her bed in a psychiatric ward."

*** Tall Bodies
A strangely solitary woman, living in a small New England town, sees glimpses of strange beings. A mood piece with some nice ambiguity.

**** As Red as Red
A researcher, investigating reported cases of vampirism in 18th-century New England, meets an elusive and strangely compelling woman. Nicely eerie tale.

*****Hydraguros
A mobster's 'clean-up' guy lives a sordid life of drugs and violence - but he hides the nastier side of what he does even from his lover... and maybe even from himself. But he begins seeing weird glimpses of quicksilver... Gritty, but elegant and understatedly creepy.

**** Slouching Towards the House of Glass Coffins
On a bleak colony world, citizens live in fear of the Maafa - (a cult? gangsters? both?) who kidnap the young and beautiful, who are never seen again. One woman goes on a hopeless quest to rescue the object of her unrequited love from their headquarters. The story is full of unanswered questions - but they don't really need to be answered; they kind of become irrelevant.

**** Tidal Forces
Previously read in "The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume Six." "More horror than sci-fi, this reminded me a bit of Kathe Koja's 'The Cipher.' In both stories, a mysterious black hole appears, threatening to suck in all around it... Here, the atmosphere of threat and loneliness is built up quite well, and it's also quite effectively creepy - but the ending wasn't quite strong enough, for me." On a second read, I liked the ending better.

**** The Sea Troll's Daughter
An enjoyably subversive take on a classic 'dragonslayer' fantasy tale, with a romance between a hero and a bar wench.

*** Random Thoughts Before A Fatal Crash
A whoring artist relates some odd and disjointed experiences with mythic overtones.
(On a totally irrelevant note, I'd like to thank Kiernan for including lyrics from the 1930 song 'Brother, Have Your Got A Dime,' which suddenly explained a line in SoM's 'Lucretia, My Reflection...' (which I know the author's aware of...)

*** The Ape's Wife
The woman 'kidnapped' by King Kong explores different possibilities in different alternate realities, while lost in 'All-at-Once' time... and the story explores a lot of the fear and presumptions that 'King Kong' plays upon.


3.6 rounds up to 4.

[Ctgt · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's an awful cliche, I know, but also a point I cannot stress strongly enough. There are sights and experiences to which the blunt and finite tool of human language are not equal.

Upon further review........I upped this to 4 stars. As I was going over the table of contents to point out the stories I really enjoyed, I came to the realization that there were only two or three that I didn't really care for. So a hit rate of ten out of thirteen really deserves more than three stars.

In the introduction the author talks about enjoying diversity in types of stories in short collections that she had read and wanted to bring that same sensibility to her set. From sci/fi to steampunk to weird to horror, Keirnan touches on many different genres and displays an imagination that shows no bounds. Stretching from a dancer with steam powered appendages to a twist on Ann Darrow and her view of Kong, I found the range of stories fascinating.

By far my favorite story was Tidal Forces which involves two women and what happens to one of them after a "shadow" passes over her. I found it to be a fantastic concept and it is one of the best shorts I have read this year. Recommended if you enjoy collections that aren't "themed".



I leave behind shadows for light. Wondrous and terrifying glimpses of the extraordinary for the mundane.

[Stefan · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the back cover of The Ape’s Wife and Other Stories by Caitlín R. Kiernan I learned that this is Kiernan’s twelfth collection of short stories since 2001. That’s about one collection per year. Even more impressive, in the book’s introduction the author mentions that she’s written (and sold) 107 stories and novellas since its title story was published in 2007. What an incredibly prolific author.

The Ape’s Wife and Other Stories contains fourteen great examples of Kiernan’s output since 2007. If, like me, you’ve mostly caught her stories here and there in the various markets they regularly get published, this is an excellent way to get a bigger chunk of her works. If you’re new to the author (which I doubt anyone who reads a good amount of short SFF would be, but hey, you never know), this is an excellent place to start.

Read the entire review on my site Far Beyond Reality!

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first time reading this author and I will certainly come back for some more. This is a collection with no theme except perhaps the themes weird and bizarre. These stories are dark, noir, strange, weird, odd and cover a cross section of genres such as steampunk, noir mystery, fantasy, science fiction, historical fantasy and paranormal alongside those that defy being classified. I found some of the stories absolutely brilliant while some didn't quite do it for me, but even those where I didn't "get" it or the ending didn't wow me I will say the writing did genuinely entertain me. Kiernan is a talented writer of the macabre and this first dip for me was overall satisfying such that I'll keep my eyes out for another of her anthologies. I'm not sure she could hold me for a whole novel though as the sex scenes are too graphic for my tastes bringing the book to an actual 3.5/5

1. The Steam Dancer, 1896 (2007) - A haunting character study with beautifully atmospheric, lyrical writing. Steampunk set in a late 19th century "wild west" type of town. A woman saved as a nearly dead orphan is fixed-up by the funds of her saviour with steam appendages and an eye, they marry and she, of her own choice, goes to work as a stripper. No plot, simply the self-confident woman reflects upon herself. (4/5)

2. The Maltese Unicorn (2010) - Wow, this one covers a lot of genres in one go. Starting out as an historical noir mystery set in the 1920s it eventually turns into a lesbian paranormal erotica while keeping up a gangster appeal only the *gangsters* are demon brothel madams. Not exactly my type of thing but a good story nonetheless that kept me reading and an ending that is abrupt and surprising. (4/5)

3. One Tree Hill (The World as Cataclysm) (2012) - A scientific journalist is sent to investigate whether there is anything in an old story of a tree on a hill which was hit by lightning a long time ago "out of blue" without a storm. I believe she is a woman, though I never was quite sure, becomes wrapped up in this mystery and narrates the story by first telling us she has no idea whether she is awake or asleep or that it even matters. A haunting story that really makes one think, not entirely sure of its meaning; though there is certainly symbolism with the Tree of Knowledge, the Serpent and the fires of Hell. Another sex scene which I guess I'm going to have to expect from this author's work. Compelling writing! (4/5)

4. The Colliers' Venus, 1898 (2008) - Whoa! I can't even begin to coherently summarize this one. It is mind-blowing! Historical fiction set in a mining town turns paranormal as live creatures are said to be coming from stone. Flashbacks make the story appear to be perhaps steampunk, or are they only dreams? Then comes an entity, a female, dangerous, murderous even but is she a threat? Haunting. (5/5)

5. Galapagos (2009) - Very different from the other stories, this is pure science fiction. An only survivor of some strange incident is writing what happened to her psychiatrist and we gradually learn what happened as the story progresses but don't fully comprehend until the last page. The main character makes an issue of being a lesbian and that may have some meaning to the story I don't get. However, getting the point or not, it's a brilliant story! (5/5)

6, Tall Bodies (2012) - A very short story has a reclusive woman talking about the creatures she can see around her. She's an unreliable narrator we find out as she lets us know she was asked to retire from teaching because of an incident that would be called criminal if she were male. Weird story. (3/5)

7. As Red as Red (2009) - Truly enjoying these stories! This is a narrative where not much actually happens but our narrator makes a discovery. She's an academic doing a thesis on the 18th-century fad of unearthing graves and desecrating the corpses because they were thought to have been vampires. A quiet but brooding horror story. (4/5)

8. Hydraguros (2010) - This is an interesting, well-written story, but I didn't understand it. The perspective switched from reality to dream sequences and I don't know what was real or not nor the meaning of the story. It also included way more sex than I'm comfortable with. (3/5)

9. Slouching Towards the House of Glass Coffins (2011) - Probably my least favourite story at this point. Science fiction set on Mars and written in the vernacular of this future time and place making it an awkward read. Difficult to get into but easy enough to fall into the rhythm eventually. Basically a woman's thoughts as she takes a journey across the inhospitable planet to rescue someone stolen from her town, a regular occupation of this group. The ending is ambiguous and one must decide how they think it ends. Only meh for me (2/5)

10. Tidal Forces (2010) - Weird. The narrator tells the events that occurred when her girlfriend was hit by what appeared to be a large shadow coming from the ocean into their garden. An unsatisfying ending. (3/5)

11. The Sea Troll's Daughter (2010) - A longer story than the others, this one is a hero fantasy that tells the tale of a drunken female warrior who slays a troll for a village. The story starts with the slaying and is more about what happens afterward to three women: the warrior, a barmaid, and the troll's daughter. Well-written but predictable. (3/5)

12. Random Thoughts Before a Fatal Crash (2011) - Very strange story! Very long. I didn't like it at first, but it grew on me as it went along. Written as a series of journal entries this is an artist tormented by demons, personal and literal. He perhaps has had paranormal encounters; it is unclear but possible. His art is literally of demons. We only know of his current piece whose subject is a bird-headed man but his previous work is alluded to also portray demons. Personally he is a loner, comparing himself to the people who live in Paris' subterranean sewers and he hires boy prostitutes for sex. He receives letters from an ex-lover which he finds torturous. The sex was graphic and bothered me. The writing was almost a stream of conscience and didn't seem to be about anything in particular though the journal entries did eventually reach a destination and a final conclusion. Not exactly my type of story but well worth reading for the experience. (3/5)

13. The Ape's Wife (2007) - The titular story and about as long as the previous one sets a good tone for the final story. This is about Anne Darrow and the making of the movie King Kong. Anne Darrow is the girl Kong falls in love it. Anne tells us what happened to her after Kong's death. In a dreamstate we see several possible outcomes for her life; it's not until the end we really understand the final outcome. Not rivetting but yes, engrossing. (4/5)

[Scarlett Sims · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm in the habit of not usually giving more than three stars to collections, mainly because I feel they can be hit or miss and while I might like some of the stories, I don't like all of them enough to give a 4-star rating. However, I really enjoyed the majority of the stories in here and the ones I didn't love, I still thought were pretty good.

My favorite was probably The Tall Men. It had a great creepy vibe with nothing ever really explained. The title story may have been my least favorite, but I can appreciate wanting to explore your own headcanon or think about how things in a favorite work could have gone differently.

The stories range in genre from Steampunk to post-apocalyptic to urban fantasy to just plain weird. Many of them had hints of Lovecraft, if Lovecraft were a queer woman. I think the ones with a more Lovecraftian tone were the ones I liked best, and they definitely made me want to read some of Kiernan's other work.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Steam Dancer (1896) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Maltese Unicorn ⭐⭐⭐⭐
One Tree Hill ⭐⭐⭐
The Collier’s Venus (1898) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Galápagos ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Tall Bodies ⭐⭐⭐
As Red As Red ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Hydraguros ⭐⭐⭐
Slouching Towards the House of Glass Coffins ⭐⭐⭐
Tidal Forces ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Sea Troll’s Daughter ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Random Notes Before a Fatal Crash ⭐⭐⭐
The Ape’s Wife ⭐⭐⭐⭐

•••

This is not one I'd recommend to readers new to their work, due to the sheer breadth and variety of the stories - elements of sci-fi, high fantasy, noir, crime, mystery, dystopia and supernatural. Impossible to pin down by genre this collection works well to show the versatility of the author. Having said this Kiernan's signature style is strongly in evidence throughout.

Favourite stories: The Steam Dancer, The Collier's Venus, The Sea Troll's Daughter (a queer feminist retelling of Beowulf!)

[Eamonn Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having enjoyed the stories of Caitlin R. Kiernan in certain horror anthologies, usually Lovecraftian, I opted to review this edition. My copy is an advance uncorrected proof of the hardcover.

There is an introduction in which the author chats about anthologies and hopes we will enjoy the fourteen stories here. Then there are thirteen stories. Perhaps the corrected proof had fourteen or an amended introduction. After the stories, there are some interesting notes about their origins and publishing history.

First up, ‘The Steam Dancer (1896)’ is the tale of Missouri Banks, who survived a bad childhood as a street urchin when her mother died and her father committed suicide in grief. She was rescued by a mechanic but had gangrene in one leg, one arm and one eye. A Chinese man designed a new eye and her limbs were replaced with steam-powered substitutes. She dances in a brothel to make money to pay back the kindly mechanic, now her husband. The story is mostly narration and relies on the quality of the writing and the atmosphere to bring it home. They do the job but in one way this is a misleading introduction to the book as the sex is between a man and a woman. No more of that nonsense from now on!

Unicorns are common in fantasy, as are demons out of Hell but the two are bought together in a sort of noir film style in ‘The Maltese Unicorn’. Natalie runs a bookshop but is funded by Harpootlian, the demonic brothel keeper. When the gorgeous Ellen Andrews turns up at the shop and tells Nat that Harpootlian wants her to go to Jimmy Fong’s Chinese Apothecary and pick up a passage it isn’t a great surprise. She is often asked to run such errands. Things get complicated when she finds Jimmy Fong dead. I don’t know what Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler would have made of this but I thought it was great fun.

The strange female creature appears in the next two stories. ‘One Tree Hill (The World As Cataclysm)’ has a science journalist investigating a lightning strike on a New England hilltop that blasted a tree and a house. Some creature speaks to her up there but she never dares turn to look at it.

In ‘The Colliers’ Venus (1898)’, Professor Ogilvy, curator of his own museum in Cherry Creek, a coal-mining town. He is recruited by his friend Dora to investigate strange happenings down the mine and the culprit is another female creature, black-skinned with blacker hair and a black tongue. As the boss of the Ogilvy Gallery of Natural Antiquities, he is used to thinking in geological time spans, which may help. Airships and other trappings make this steampunk of a sort but Kiernan carries it off better than most because she has the vocabulary to imitate 19th-century prose

Space is a good venue for monsters and the unknown. ‘Galápagos’ has the oft used opening of a first-person narrator in a lunatic asylum, a modern one and not so brutal as those in Victorian horror fiction. She was an astronaut on a mission to Mars and encountered strange creatures. Once again, a description of the plot doesn’t do justice to the power of the author’s writing and her ability to create a haunting atmosphere.

That skill is apparent again in ‘As Red As Red’, a slightly different take on the vampire legend that was maybe a little too long for its plot.

‘Hydraguros’ is Science Fiction again. This time it’s a low-life drug courier in a depressing future who keeps seeing people leaking silver. The story rolls along nicely carried by the first-person narrator’s lively language. This time he’s a male homosexual and ‘adult themes’ are touched on. I mention this only to warn readers who are put off by that kind of thing. As usual, the storytelling is reward enough for the time spent but I would have preferred a clearer ending.

‘Slouching Towards The House Of Glass Coffins’ is set on a future Mars, where life is hard and made harder by slave traffickers who raid settlements and take pretty girls captive. Nobody dares challenge the fierce Maafa usually but Alieka Ferenczi goes after them when they steal a girl called Muirgheal, who she secretly loves. This was excellent with a surprising twist and a satisfying conclusion. Kiernan is trained as a vertebrate palaeontologist and has had work published in scientific journals so she is perfectly qualified to write Science Fiction. Not that you need qualifications. ‘Slouching Towards The House Of Glass Coffins’ was my favourite in this book.

Like most fantasies, ‘Tidal Forces’ sounds dotty when boldly described. Emma and Charlotte live by the sea. After a strange incident, Charlotte has a hole in her torso, a black hole which doesn’t hurt but keeps getting bigger. Emma’s narration skips back and forth over about a week. Her assignation of different playing cards for each day while telling the tale is something I could have done without but it doesn’t spoil the story and the ending is terrific

‘The Sea Troll’s Daughter’ is sword and sorcery with a difference. The hero kills a troll that has been taking tribute from a village but as the defeated monster’s corpse is washed away in an undercurrent has no proof that the deed was done. The conqueror stays at the village, gets drunk and takes the barmaid to bed. Surprise, surprise, the hero is a woman named Malmury. The story breaks with convention in more ways than one and is quite an enjoyable sort of romp. According to the notes, the author rates it very highly and thinks it should have won awards. Can’t say I agree but it was pretty good.

One bad apple don’t spoil the whole bunch, they say, but ‘Random Thoughts Before A Fatal Crash’ was not my favourite by a long shot. Fairy tale obsessed artist Albert Perrault is apparently a recurring character in Kiernan’s fiction. He’s a homosexual who pursues rent boys and transvestites in the mean streets of Paris. Reasonably familiar with the mean streets of Paris, I enjoyed the first few pages as they bought back some interesting memories, not that I pursued the same activities as Albert. After a while, his perverse ramblings grated and eventually, I didn’t even finish the story. I guess when a writer does this ‘edgy’ stuff it’s bound to go over the edge for some readers.

The book concludes with the title story ‘The Ape’s Wife’ which is about Ann Darrow, the blonde with whom mighty Kong fell in love. In a sort of dream sequence, we follow Ann through several alternative futures after Kong before finally settling on the ‘real’ one. It’s hard to tell what’s real in this sort of tale. The notes say that this was voted ‘readers favourite’ for 2007 when it appeared in ‘Clarkesworld’ magazine. I don’t agree but my preference is for more traditional narratives, the types that become best sellers.

Caitlin R. Kiernan admits in the introduction she isn’t a best-seller and so has to write seven days a week to eke out a living. Practice makes her pretty damn perfect at it but there’s a limited market for fantasy, Science Fiction and horror, even if you can cast a spell like Lovecraft. Like him, she lays in on a bit too thick sometimes but she’s a very powerful writer, gets you in the gut rather than the head (not always pleasantly) so every story has an impact. Such powerful medicine is probably best taken in small doses, no more than one story a day or less and it won’t suit all tastes. Be warned, too, that strong language and frank sexual references are abundant and they‘re usually about the love that dared not speak its name once but now shouts it from the rooftops. Only the first story has heterosexual partners.

The prolific Kiernan is pretty well-known among short story readers by now and for anyone who likes her style, this volume is worth a look. It might please you, it might annoy you or even make you feel a bit ill but it certainly won’t bore you.

Eamonn Murphy
This review first appeared at https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/

[Nerine Dorman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Ape's Wife and Other Stories by Caitlín R Kiernan has been sitting on my Kindle app for far too long, and I'm glad that I've finally gotten around to reading it – especially since some folks have drawn parallels between her writing and mine (why thank you). First off, as with all short story anthologies, whether single or multiple authors, this is a mixed bag. I gelled with some and not with others, and to go into a deep dive about each story is going to go beyond the scope of this review.

A diverse range of stories is showcased here, from steampunk-infused and somewhat Lovecraftian to plain old weird and re-envisionings of Beowulf told from a queer feminist perspective. I'm not going to go exhaustively into each, as I feel that will ruin the magic and mystery. What I will say is that if you're expecting neat, tidy endings with satisfying twists and likeable characters, maybe step away from this collection and go read Somerset Maugham or Saki.

Kiernan's prose is textured and tactile, and her tales often left me feeling out of sorts and scratchy behind the eyes – all hallmarks of good storytelling. This is not a book I'd recommend for anyone who's looking for comfort reading. I'd hazard to say that each story encapsulates a mood and a setting, and emphasis is mostly placed on emotion and engaging the senses to detriment of a tidy plot. And if that is what floats your boat, then hey, this will work for you. Kiernan doesn't shy away from characters who often maintain objectionable outlooks and opinions, so if you're easily triggered by casual racism and sexism, perhaps step away from this book, too. I feel I must add that some readers appear to be incapable of separating the author from their characters. [le sigh]

As a publishing professional, I feel I must point out that my edition was riddled with small typos of the kind that a savvy proofreader should have caught. I tend to overlook the odd dropped word here and there, but this volume could have done with a more thorough read through before it was published.

This anthology is disquieting and darkly atmospheric, and while not to everyone's tastes, is nevertheless a lovely dip into the writing of one of our important contemporary SFF authors.

[Leigh Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid collection of horror-fantasy that improves on its source material.

If Caitlin Kiernan published her grocery lists, I'd read those and rave about her choice in yogurt, or whatever, until the cows came home. This set of tales draws mostly draws inspiration from Lovecraft, as usual, but does him so much better. There are a few steampunk stories that stand out as lovely amid the current crowded field, "The Steam Dancer (1896)" being the most interesting of these (though "The Colliers Venus (1898)" is damn fine as well). "The Maltese Unicorn" is exactly what you think it is, a playful horror-noir take on the "The Maltese Falcon," and includes the finest maguffin a horror-noir story ever did see. There's a broad range of styles and settings here, from the weird West to outer space to the King-Kong era of filmmaking. Mostly, though, we're in the country of nameless dread and elder gods, and the horrors are more suggested than depicted (though are no less eerie for all that). "Random Thoughts Before A Fatal Crash" is, I think, the very best, with "Tidal Forces" as the runner-up (because Azathoth, woo!).

Readers who care about inclusion in their SF/F will be really happy about the positive queer representation throughout the volume, and one story that asks great questions about the nature of disability. The pacing is deliberately slow, and there's thread of eroticism running throughout the book without a trace of awkward (spice value = a quiet four to six, depending on your own personal proclivities). Recommended for people who like the Cthulhu mythos but wish H.P. hadn't been such a rat-bastard, readers who appreciate a wide range of fantastic settings, or anyone willing to try horror, but who would like something a little more upscale than your basic hack and slash.

[Christine]

Table of Contents:

Author’s Introduction
The Steam Dancer (1896) www.lightspeedmagazine.com
The Maltese Unicorn
One Tree Hill http://subterraneanpress.com ★
The Collier’s Venus (1898)
Galápagos www.starshipsofa.com ★★
Tall Bodies
As Red As Red
Hydraguros
Slouching Towards the House of Glass Coffins
Tidal Forces www.baenebooks.com
The Sea Troll’s Daughter
Random Notes Before a Fatal Crash http://subterraneanpress.com
The Ape’s Wife *clarkesworldmagazine.com*
Note
Author’s Biography
Black Helicopters (Volume to accompany the Limited Edition only)

[morbidflight · Rating 4 out of 5]

As you can tell by the dates, this book took quite some effort to read. I'd go through one or two stories in a sitting, but more than that was too much. I like this kind of weird, and this kind of dark, and I even like this kind of action-inaction thing where the prose is less narrative and more descriptive. Some of the stories felt a bit like bad SNL skits in that they just kind of petered out instead of ending, but most of them managed to stop right in the inhalation before a gasp of understanding.

So then the question is why it took so much work, and I think the answer to that lies in the fact that the worlds in these stories were so vibrant that I had the equivalent of jet lag trying to travel between them.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Half of these 'short stories' are just exercises in mood and feeling, expansions on one scene for effect really. They are not short stories because there is no story, and this is a critical part for a supposed writer of short stories to leave out.
I don't think that I will be sampling any more of this authors work again.

[Karl]

This is copy 429 of the signed leather bound edition and was accompanied with a hardcover copy of "Black Helicopters"

[Jean-Luc · Rating 4 out of 5]

An anthology of stories by the author of Alabaster: Wolves and Alabaster: Pale Horse.

* The Steam Dancer (1896) - Before George W. Bush's War on Terror made prosthetics big business, you couldn't get real mechanical limbs without going scifi. Here's the steampunk version instead.

* The Maltese Unicorn - It's The Maltese Falcon, but with infernal lesbians. This one made me think Kiernan would be superb if she were writing about Emperor's Children space marines.

* One Tree Hill (The World as Cataclysm) - Visitors always think they know more than the locals.

* The Collier's Venus (1898) - "Maybe, professor, we've finally gone and dug too deep in these old mountains." o_O

* Galápagos - An expedition to the outer space has gone wrong, so wrong.

* Tall Bodies - Stick figures watch from a distance. What are they?

* As Red As Red - "So, you believe in vampires?" Someone has to!

* Hydraguros - Jersey mob thug drug addict is seeing things.

* Slouching Towards the House of Glass Coffins - No one comes back after being snatched by the Maafa, but Alieka is determined to try. Forget what I said earlier, Kiernan would be exemplary writing about any chapter of space marines!

* Tidal Forces - Just minding your own business with the woman you love, and next thing you know, she's got a black hole growing out of her. What do?

* The Sea Troll's Daughter - The Sea Troll is dead! The stranger killed him! But the stranger has offered no proof, so how can anyone believe her?

* Random Thoughts Before a Fatal Crash - Some dude is dicking around Paris, because that's what dudes do.

* The Ape's Wife - You remember in King Kong how the natives kidnapped Ann and forced her to marry their king? Luckily the brave men of the Venture rescued her... but did anyone stop to ask whether she wanted to be rescued?

This is such a great collection. The creativity, vibrancy, mystery, not having any clue where you are, being wildly rewarded for going along... and desperately wanting more. I cannot recommend it enough!

[Shell · Rating 2 out of 5]

This anthology was not it for me. I'm assuming that most of that is because either the prose seemed to drag on, or it was how racist slurs were used to describe various groups of people in various short stories. I understand that the stories didn't take place in this current time period, but it seemed a little excessive to me. And the anthology as a whole definitely has substance, but it still felt dry to me. The only story I gravitated towards was The Sea Troll's Daughter because I liked how it was a more feminist take on Beowulf, and the characters were interesting and complex.
Another thing that irked me is that a lot of the queer representation in this book seems problematic because quite a few characters commit rape, are transphobic, and just aren't great people in general. As far as I know, the author of this book is sapphic, but as a bi woman, I personally didn't feel like the community was being fairly represented in some of the stories.
I honestly don't know why I feel so terrible about criticizing this book, but I'm assuming that part of it must be because I had such high hopes for it! I read the reviews about how the author mixes genres together and creates amazing medlies of worlds, but I just don't think that this was the right book for me. Take my opinion with a grain of salt if you must.

[Jacqie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genreland 2021: a book about monkeys- I know, apes aren't monkeys but I hate monkeys and this is close enough.

This is a collection of short stories. The titular story is about Ann Darrow, the hapless girl upon whom King Kong fixated. This story ends the collection, and is about Ann getting lost in her memories and being uncertain which of the lives she remembers is really hers. King Kong only makes his appearance as bones or roaring in the distance, but he makes himself felt.

Kiernan is an atmospheric, dreamy, gloomy writer who favors subjects like existential horror, post-apocalyptic survival, occult depravity, and mental illness. This is to say, if you read too much of her at one time, your mood is likely to be affected. I learned that reading two or three of her stories at a time was quite enough. I think that she's most excellent at what she does, but I don't often want to get into the sort of mood that she inspires. Hence the rating- she's a great writer and I wouldn't shy away from her books in the future, but this particular collection engendered a mood I didn't love.

[Sarah Hall Steiner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inventive story ideas, but four stars because of unevenness, and it's about four stories too long. The best three IMO were: "The Sea Troll's Daughter" (2009, a feminist retelling of "Beowulf"), "The Ape's Wife" (2007, an alt-universe King Kong), and "As Red as Red" (2009, nominated for a Shirley Jackson award).

[Stephanie Bates · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate that the author hasn't allowed her works and anthologies become monolithic, which seems like a specific focus for her. But it also meant the stories were hit or miss for me. Some really resonated and others fell flat. But that's probably a good thing for others, as they'll like resonate with a different set of the stories

[Dev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another really great anthology from Kiernan. I find that a lot of authors aren't really very good at short stories but I think I might like her short stories better than her full length novels. There's a little bit of everything in here, lots of different genres and time periods and settings. Really liked what they did with the audio with having several different narrators as well.

[Crystal Hare · Rating 2 out of 5]

The descriptions of each character's thoughts/feelings/the environment within which the character resides were all described in depth. But there was little to no story line. Nothing really happens. I tried two - the first and last stories, got bored halfway through both and gave up.

[Vasily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Varied collection of stories, some of which are absolutely great (hence the four star review), others of which took me quite a while to get through.

[Charlie]

Favourites:
* The Maltese Unicorn

Lease favourites:
* One Tree Hill

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few misses, but many hits.

[Samuel Beard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent enough take on the overlooked character of Ann in King Kong.

I wasn’t massively taken in by it, but it has its moments.

[Ben Rowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Caitlin Kiernan is one of my favorite writers and this collection features many excellent stories. In her second best of collection due out later in 2015 over half of these stories feature which gives an idea as to the quality of these stories compared with her overall work.

All the stories are either dark or weird or both with a mix of myth retellings, SF, fantasy and contemporary weird/dark tales.

So far I have read the following

The Maltese Unicorn - Kiernan sometimes embeds short fiction in her novels and I read this as part of the second Quinn book she wrote under a different name and then used the McGuffin in the story as the McGuffin for that Quinn book - had mixed feelings about the Quinn book and this coloured my experience of the story. Will need to reread to judge it on its merits but I am sure if approached in the right mood there is fun to be had here

Ape's Wife - didnt leave much of an impression on first read but given how many people love and talk about the story I probably need to give it a second try

Random thoughts before a Fatal Crash - The artist featured in the story plays a big part (though not directly) in her novel The Drowning Girl so I was really reading this with that perspective...Then part of the novel visits Inverness and the surrounding area where I grew up so I got a bit distracted reading this - Still a very well written and satisfying tale

Hydraguros - I am not massively into the Neo Noir SF of this story. In SF I like to get a sense of wonder, extrapolation, different world etc - with Kiernan SF is more a setting for the mood and atmosphere of the story. It was genuinely creepy and strange. Best approached I think like a Lynch movie and not trying to understand or make sense of but very satisfying.

Slouching Towards.... - Kiernan does interesting things with SF linguistics but I wasnt in the mood to take that journey with her and it distracted me - still an interesting story.

Tall Bodies - really enjoyed this short, strange story - Inexplicable, weird and raises more questions than it answers

The Steam Dancer - read and dont really remember, need to reread

One Tree Hill - Kiernan at her best - this was a wonderfully creepy story that I felt covered similar ground to her novel The Red Tree in some respects. Like many of her stories there was an unreliable narrator and elements of autobiography buried in and enriching the fiction

Tidal Forces - A story that would appeal to both horror and fantasy readers and I found the writing here particularly effocative and strong. Although I didnt react to this as personally as I have to a couple of her stories I think this is one of her best and one of my favorites

The Sea-Troll's daughter - utterly brilliant! Quite different from the other stories and many readers of fantasy will love this even if they do not normally like Kiernan. This is set in either long ago in our world or in a similar secondary fantasy world. It is a great example of editors asking for something a little bit different from a writer and getting something wonderful that wouldnt have otherwise happened. Some of kiernans work can be a bit jarring and confusing to read where as this was much more straightforward. A sort of feminist retelling of beowulf.

[James · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories without any kind of theme to group them; each story is completely unrelated and spans various genres.
These stories are strange and are often written in a way that's descriptive, yet is hard to understand. This is further exacerbated by the fact that the characters often switch between reality and dream without any clear formatting to help you differentiate between the two.
Another downfall is that some stories just end without any real plot conclusion which, in my opinion, just ruins any enjoyment that was had beforehand.
No matter what the story is, there always seems to be some homosexual relationship or reference shoehorned in without it adding to the story. It's fine if the author wants to promote this subject, but when it's not suitable for the story, it just detracts from what is there.

A quick rundown of the stories:
1. The Steam Dancer, 1896 – Written in a very descriptive way, there's not much story going on. Set in a Steam-punk locale, a dying woman is saved by a mechanic, and fixed-up with mechanical appendages. She works as an exotic dancer to raise the money to repay him, but there's no plot development beyond this.
2. The Maltese Unicorn – A mystery centred around a historical treasure; a dildo carved from a unicorn's horn. Although it sounds like a promising story, involving gangs and double-crossing colleagues, the abrupt ending means it ends up being rather pointless too.
3. One Tree Hill (The World as Cataclysm) - A journalist is obsessed with the mystery of One Tree Hill, where lightning (in a clear sky) killed all of the residents of the house on the hill. The journalist communicates with a mysterious creature, but it's unclear if this creature exists of if it is all imagination.
4. The Collier's Venus, 1898 - A paranormal event occurs in a mine leading to the death of the nearby miners. The lead character interviews the creature to find out its motives.
5. Galapagos – An astronaut recounts to her psychiatrists about her last mission where she is the sole survivor.
6. Tall Bodies – An extremely short story about a woman who has noticed aliens.
7. As Red as Red – Not much happens. An academic researches a time when people dug-up corpses in the belief they were vampires.
8. Hydraguros – Another confusing story. A mix of homosexual relationships and dreams.
9. Slouching Towards the House of Glass Coffins – Written in the vernacular, this story is even harder to make sense of. No idea what happened.
10. Tidal Forces – An interesting idea that ended as soon as it really got going. A mysterious 'shadow' creates a hole in the lead character's girlfriend and increases over time.
11. The Sea Troll's Daughter – Easily the best story. A female warrior slays a troll in hope of claiming the bounty from the nearby village.
12. Random Thoughts Before a Fatal Crash - Written as a series of journal entries. There didn't seem to be much of an overall story, and just went down the path of homosexuality.
13. The Ape's Wife - This story plays with several alternate endings to King Kong as told from the perspective of Ann Darrow, the girl Kong falls in love with.

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Steam Dancer (1896) - Lovely, quiet story about a woman who has been gifted a mechanical leg and how she dances. 4/5

The Maltese Unicorn - Fantastic detective, hard-boiled story about a bookseller who is both sponsored by and caters to demons. 5/5

One Tree Hill (The World as Cataclysm)
Kinda struggled with this one. Too atmospheric, not enough plot for my tastes. Still, interestingly written and strong sense of character. 3/5

The Collier’s Venus (1898)
Although intriguing, I lost interest about halfway through when the story stopped being about the relationship between the two main characters and became, instead, a history of a being left sleeping in the earth millennia ago. 2/5

Galapagos
Sad story of a woman who comes face to face with a Goddess and then must spend the rest of her life dealing with the pain and loss that comes with surviving the experience. 4/5

Tall Bodies
Almost more of a poem than a story, Tall Bodies evokes a sense of wonder and fear and longing all at the same time. Really beautifully written. 4/5

As Red As Red
Very atmospheric, this feels almost more like a sketch than a story about the true history of a nineteenth century vampire. Very good though. 4/5

Hydraguros
A tale of drugs, or maybe alien possession whilst on drugs. Either way, there are a lot of drugs in this story. Starts really strong, fades out in a is-it-real-or-a-dream ending. 3/5

Slouching Towards the House of Glass Coffins
A tale of revenge across the deserts of Mars. Atmospheric, broody, and weird. Just about perfect. 5/5

Tidal Forces
How would you react if a black hole appeared in your wife’s side? Would you study it? Avoid it? Reach into it? This is a moving story of doing just exactly that. 5/5

The Sea Troll’s Daughter
Start with the slaying of a troll by a stranger and throw in a comely barmaid and you have a standard adventure tale, up to a point. That’s the point when the story gets interesting. 3/5

Random Thoughts Before a Fatal Crash
An artist mistakes a god for his muse. Both disaster and art ensue. It’s hard to tell the one from the other. 3/5

The Ape’s Wife
Thoughtful re-telling of King Kong from Ann Darrow’s perspectives. Artful and dreamy. 4/5

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection was nominated for a World Fantasy Award and a Locus Award. In addition, the last story in the collection, Black Helicopters> was nominated for some awards as well, but it was only included in the limited edition of the book so I was unable to read or evaluate it.

So here's the thing. I've been reading a lot of short stories lately, and I realized today that when I finish one that's really good there's a feeling like a little click. I nod my head once and think or say, "Right." There's a feeling of completeness, of something having been said. I didn't get that from any of the stories in this book. None of them clicked. Even the ones I enjoyed didn't end satisfyingly, and it got really frustrating to continue to slog through the book when story after story disappointed me. It's really tough to get me to abandon a book, but at 60% I was just so aware of how many frustrating endings I'd had and how many were ahead of my and I finally skipped to the last story, the title piece. So I read 70% of the book, and I may well go back and read the other few stories at some point. None of the stories were bad. Some were really interesting, some were fun, one was haunting. But none of them ended in a way that was satisfying or that left them being memorable other than for being annoying because the great build up led to naught. Maybe some people will read this and think well she just doesn't understand weird fiction. Maybe not. But I know that this wasn't the book for me.