Speaking With Angels

by Michelle West, Tanya Huff (Contributer)

Within these twelve stories are heroes, both real and imagined, characters so real it seems they're sitting beside you, and themes and emotions so resonant that they speak to every fantasy reader. With a new introduction by Tanya Huff, and story notes by Michelle herself, this new collection brings together early and recent work by a master of fantasy. (20021201)

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories

341 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2003

About the author

See also:

Michelle Sagara West
Michelle Sagara

Michelle is an author, book­seller, and lover of liter­ature based in Toronto. She writes fantasy novels as both Michelle Sagara and Michelle West (and some­times as Michelle Sagara West). You can find her books at fine booksellers.

She lives in Toronto with her long-suffering husband and her two children, and to her regret has no dogs.

Reading is one of her life-long passions, and she is some­times paid for her opinions about what she’s read by the venerable Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. No matter how many book­shelves she buys, there is Never Enough Shelf space. Ever.

She has published as Michelle Sagara (her legal name), as Michelle West (her husband's surname), and as Michelle Sagara West (a combination of the two).

Reviews

[Lynee]

These short stories are so very interesting and introspective. They aren't happy or uplifting, but they are definitely worth reading.

[Jai]

Well written anthology of 12 fantasy and sci fi short stories by Michelle West. The forward by Tanya Huff says it best when she said: "Michelle doesn't build her stories around a clever idea, a single concept, or a line of dialogue, but rather by adding layers to an emotional resonance. Each story has an emotional core-like a pebble tossed into a pond." Months after reading this anthology I would find myself mulling over something I read in it. There is a lot about the human soul in these stories, especially regarding death, and life after it. The title of the anthology is a fitting one, there are all kinds of angels in this book. I think my favorite story here was the first one - "Winter", which starts off with a demon bargaining with a man for his soul. "Sunrise" is another good one, a sort of horror-romance about a young woman fighting off vampires who have massacred her whole family.