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Black Feathers: Dark Avian Tales
Birds are usually loved for their beauty and their song. They symbolize freedom, eternal life, the soul.
There’s definitely a dark side to the avian. Birds of prey sometimes kill other birds (the shrike), destroy other birds’ eggs (blue jays), and even have been known to kill small animals (the kea sometimes eats live lambs). And who isn’t disgusted by birds that eat the dead—vultures awaiting their next meal as the life blood flows from the dying. One of our greatest fears is of being eaten by vultures before we’re quite dead.
Is it any wonder that with so many interpretations of the avian, that the contributors herein are eager to be transformed or influenced by them? Included in Black Feathers are those obsessed by birds of one type or another. Do they want to become birds or just take on some of the “power” of birds? The presence or absence of birds portends the future. A grieving widow takes comfort in her majestic winged neighbors, who enable her to cope with a predatory relative. An isolated society of women relies on a bird to tell their fortunes. A silent young girl and her pet bird might be the only hope a detective has of tracking down a serial killer in a tourist town. A chatty parrot makes illegal deals with the dying. A troubled man lives in isolation with only one friend for company—a jackdaw.
In each of these fictions, you will encounter the dark resonance between the human and avian. You see in yourself the savagery of a predator, the shrewd stalking of a hunter, and you are lured by birds that speak human language, that make beautiful music, that cypher numbers, and seem to have a moral center. You wade into this feathered nightmare, and brave the horror of death, trading your safety and sanity for that which we all seek—the promise of flight.
There’s definitely a dark side to the avian. Birds of prey sometimes kill other birds (the shrike), destroy other birds’ eggs (blue jays), and even have been known to kill small animals (the kea sometimes eats live lambs). And who isn’t disgusted by birds that eat the dead—vultures awaiting their next meal as the life blood flows from the dying. One of our greatest fears is of being eaten by vultures before we’re quite dead.
Is it any wonder that with so many interpretations of the avian, that the contributors herein are eager to be transformed or influenced by them? Included in Black Feathers are those obsessed by birds of one type or another. Do they want to become birds or just take on some of the “power” of birds? The presence or absence of birds portends the future. A grieving widow takes comfort in her majestic winged neighbors, who enable her to cope with a predatory relative. An isolated society of women relies on a bird to tell their fortunes. A silent young girl and her pet bird might be the only hope a detective has of tracking down a serial killer in a tourist town. A chatty parrot makes illegal deals with the dying. A troubled man lives in isolation with only one friend for company—a jackdaw.
In each of these fictions, you will encounter the dark resonance between the human and avian. You see in yourself the savagery of a predator, the shrewd stalking of a hunter, and you are lured by birds that speak human language, that make beautiful music, that cypher numbers, and seem to have a moral center. You wade into this feathered nightmare, and brave the horror of death, trading your safety and sanity for that which we all seek—the promise of flight.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2017
20 people are currently reading
1597 people want to read
About the author
Ellen Datlow
276 books1,875 followersEllen Datlow has been editing science fiction, fantasy, and horror short fiction for forty years as fiction editor of OMNI Magazine and editor of Event Horizon and SCIFICTION. She currently acquires short stories and novellas for Tor.com. In addition, she has edited about one hundred science fiction, fantasy, and horror anthologies, including the annual The Best Horror of the Year series, The Doll Collection, Mad Hatters and March Hares, The Devil and the Deep: Horror Stories of the Sea, Echoes: The Saga Anthology of Ghost Stories, Edited By, and Final Cuts: New Tales of Hollywood Horror and Other Spectacles.
She's won multiple World Fantasy Awards, Locus Awards, Hugo Awards, Bram Stoker Awards, International Horror Guild Awards, Shirley Jackson Awards, and the 2012 Il Posto Nero Black Spot Award for Excellence as Best Foreign Editor. Datlow was named recipient of the 2007 Karl Edward Wagner Award, given at the British Fantasy Convention for "outstanding contribution to the genre," was honored with the Life Achievement Award by the Horror Writers Association, in acknowledgment of superior achievement over an entire career, and honored with the World Fantasy Life Achievement Award at the 2014 World Fantasy Convention.
She's won multiple World Fantasy Awards, Locus Awards, Hugo Awards, Bram Stoker Awards, International Horror Guild Awards, Shirley Jackson Awards, and the 2012 Il Posto Nero Black Spot Award for Excellence as Best Foreign Editor. Datlow was named recipient of the 2007 Karl Edward Wagner Award, given at the British Fantasy Convention for "outstanding contribution to the genre," was honored with the Life Achievement Award by the Horror Writers Association, in acknowledgment of superior achievement over an entire career, and honored with the World Fantasy Life Achievement Award at the 2014 World Fantasy Convention.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
October 23, 2016
Copy furnished by Net Galley for the price of a review.
A cacophony of cawing and hooting, down and feathers wafting in the air. Feral parrots running amok in London, ghost birds, murmurations of starlings foretelling the future. Pecking order has never been more literal. A horror of an underwater nest that was never meant to be. Humans who are birdlike, and those who actually aspire to become birds.
This collection as a whole was a bit on the hit or miss side for me, but these two were my standouts of the bunch. Or the flock. Caw!
The Obscure Bird by Nicholas Royale A man's fascination with owls goes too far. Horrifying.
The Mathematical Inevitability of Corvids by Seanan McGuire Brenda is fifteen. Obsessed with counting birds, with patterns. Only corvids (crows, ravens, jays, etc.) can enter into the count. Very, very dark.
The title of this anthology promises dark avian tales and it delivers just that. Cover art is chilling and perfect in every way.
A cacophony of cawing and hooting, down and feathers wafting in the air. Feral parrots running amok in London, ghost birds, murmurations of starlings foretelling the future. Pecking order has never been more literal. A horror of an underwater nest that was never meant to be. Humans who are birdlike, and those who actually aspire to become birds.
This collection as a whole was a bit on the hit or miss side for me, but these two were my standouts of the bunch. Or the flock. Caw!
The Obscure Bird by Nicholas Royale A man's fascination with owls goes too far. Horrifying.
The Mathematical Inevitability of Corvids by Seanan McGuire Brenda is fifteen. Obsessed with counting birds, with patterns. Only corvids (crows, ravens, jays, etc.) can enter into the count. Very, very dark.
The title of this anthology promises dark avian tales and it delivers just that. Cover art is chilling and perfect in every way.
September 21, 2017
Again, Datlow hits it, and it FLIES right out of the park! Great anthology.
O Terrible Bird by Sandra Kasturi
A poem.
*** The Obscure Bird by Nicholas Royle (reprint)
Very much a horror-genre story, but it effectively creeped me out, so - thumbs up! A wife is progressively disturbed by her husband's increasingly odd behavior. It started with just late nights on the computer, but a strange obsession.. and perhaps something more... seems to be developing.
**** The Mathematical Inevitability of Corvids by Seanan McGuire
It's really, really hard to write from the perspective of a mentally ill person convincingly, and in the past, I've criticized many works for failing in the endeavor. McGuire, here, pulled it off very well, I thought. Her teenage narrator obsessively counts birds, and marks her days by them. With a cruel stepfather and a weak mother; the only person she truly loves is her younger brother. But one day, the birds point to tragedy; and on this occasion, by random chance or not, the omen is correct.
**** Something About Birds - Paul Tremblay
Well-crafted horror tale, with metafictional elements. An aspiring journalist and horror fan arranges an interview with a cult author mainly known for one creepy tale. He thinks the resulting publication will cement his reputation in the horror writing community. Of course, he accepts the author's invitation to have a followup meeting at a private dinner party. But then things start to get weird.
**** Great Blue Heron by Joyce Carol Oates
Oates is a literary author - but she has a delightful willingness not to pull back where other "mainstream" authors would fear to tread. Mostly, this is an insightful, heartwrenching exploration of grief, and the awfulness of having to deal with nasty humdrum realities after a loss. But there's a bit more going on here than just a widow having to manage importunate advances at a bad time...
*** The Season of the Raptors by Richard Bowes
Very autobiographical-feeling: any New Yorker will recognize several elements of this piece. Mixes (not so idyllic) memories of childhood with a present-day fascination with birds of prey.
**** The Orphan Bird by Alison Littlewood
Quite disturbing. The author plays with the reader's sympathies and perspective in unexpected and effective ways. A portrait of an isolated man who grew from a bullied child to a loner artist - an ornithological illustrator - grows into a horrific tale.
***** The Murmurations of Vienna Von Drome by Jeffrey Ford
Oh, this is just lovely.
I suppose that technically, this story is a paranormal police procedural: an investigator is on the hunt for a serial killer. Not usually my favorite genre. I also haven't particularly loved other works I've read by Ford. But this is just wonderful: the lush, dreamlike feel of this fantasy city, with corruption lurking in all its corners; the juxtaposition of carnal violence and sublime magic. Should be an award winner.
**** Blyth’s Secret by Mike O’Driscoll
This one feels almost like a response to Littlewood's "Orphan Bird." It starts with a very similar scenario (a mentally unstable loner obsessed with birds, disappearing children), and uses the same reader-uncertainty about the guilt or innocence of its characters. I found the way things play out here to be more believable - but perhaps a little less disturbing, because of that.
**** The Fortune of Sparrows by Usman T. Malik
Beautiful told, but enormously sad. The setting is a Pakistani girls' orphanage, where young women stay until they are married off - sooner, or later. You have to suspect the situation depicted here is more fact than fiction, and this makes the tragedy that lurks around the edges of the story yet more horrible.
**** Pigeon from Hell by Stephen Graham Jones
A couple of teenage girls trade babysitting jobs. When a moment of girlish inattention results in a child disappearing from his bath, bad goes to worse - and worst - really quickly. And one of the girls is literally haunted by a not-undeserved guilt.
**** The Secret of Flight by A.C. Wise
After the mysterious disappearance of a leading lady onstage, a theater director is haunted by a ghost - but not the one he'd prefer to be visited by.
**** Isobel Avens Returns to Stepney in the Spring by M. John Harrison (reprint)
Beautifully written. The specifics of this story are a bit science-fictional, but the parallels work for any situation where one is dealing with someone with an obsession with plastic surgery, or a dissatisfaction with their body that crosses the line into dysmorphia.
The story outline the torn and shredded remnants of a relationship. My one issue with it was that the shifts in time were not always immediately clear, and ending in the time frame the author chose made the piece feel a bit unfinished, to me.
*** A Little Bird Told Me by Pat Cadigan
Some people have figured out a way to cheat death. Those in charge of assuring that natural laws are followed don't look kindly upon this sort of thing. Violators can be condemned to eternal punishment - as a civil servant assigned to police the sort of violations they themselves might have committed. Although the story references Harry Potter a couple of times, it brought 'Beetlejuice' to mind, for me.
** The Acid Test by Livia Llewellyn
OK, yes, the protagonist is on acid, but that just seemed like an excuse for some unnecessarily purple prose. And I am usually a fan of melodramatic writing.
College chick discovers that the alluring 'grad student' she's had her eye on is more of a dangeous bad boy than she'd guessed - although she's having a hard time figuring out what's real and what's just part of her hallucinations.
***** The Crow Palace by Priya Sharma
After her father's death, a woman reluctantly returns to the family home where her disabled sister and her father's longtime companion wait for her. She has never wanted to be tied down to anything; but the secrets she unearths after these many years may be more binding than the ties of love and affection that she has coldly thrown off. Really good; my (possibly unintended) sympathies for the narrator made it that much more disturbing.
O Terrible Bird by Sandra Kasturi
A poem.
*** The Obscure Bird by Nicholas Royle (reprint)
Very much a horror-genre story, but it effectively creeped me out, so - thumbs up! A wife is progressively disturbed by her husband's increasingly odd behavior. It started with just late nights on the computer, but a strange obsession.. and perhaps something more... seems to be developing.
**** The Mathematical Inevitability of Corvids by Seanan McGuire
It's really, really hard to write from the perspective of a mentally ill person convincingly, and in the past, I've criticized many works for failing in the endeavor. McGuire, here, pulled it off very well, I thought. Her teenage narrator obsessively counts birds, and marks her days by them. With a cruel stepfather and a weak mother; the only person she truly loves is her younger brother. But one day, the birds point to tragedy; and on this occasion, by random chance or not, the omen is correct.
**** Something About Birds - Paul Tremblay
Well-crafted horror tale, with metafictional elements. An aspiring journalist and horror fan arranges an interview with a cult author mainly known for one creepy tale. He thinks the resulting publication will cement his reputation in the horror writing community. Of course, he accepts the author's invitation to have a followup meeting at a private dinner party. But then things start to get weird.
**** Great Blue Heron by Joyce Carol Oates
Oates is a literary author - but she has a delightful willingness not to pull back where other "mainstream" authors would fear to tread. Mostly, this is an insightful, heartwrenching exploration of grief, and the awfulness of having to deal with nasty humdrum realities after a loss. But there's a bit more going on here than just a widow having to manage importunate advances at a bad time...
*** The Season of the Raptors by Richard Bowes
Very autobiographical-feeling: any New Yorker will recognize several elements of this piece. Mixes (not so idyllic) memories of childhood with a present-day fascination with birds of prey.
**** The Orphan Bird by Alison Littlewood
Quite disturbing. The author plays with the reader's sympathies and perspective in unexpected and effective ways. A portrait of an isolated man who grew from a bullied child to a loner artist - an ornithological illustrator - grows into a horrific tale.
***** The Murmurations of Vienna Von Drome by Jeffrey Ford
Oh, this is just lovely.
I suppose that technically, this story is a paranormal police procedural: an investigator is on the hunt for a serial killer. Not usually my favorite genre. I also haven't particularly loved other works I've read by Ford. But this is just wonderful: the lush, dreamlike feel of this fantasy city, with corruption lurking in all its corners; the juxtaposition of carnal violence and sublime magic. Should be an award winner.
**** Blyth’s Secret by Mike O’Driscoll
This one feels almost like a response to Littlewood's "Orphan Bird." It starts with a very similar scenario (a mentally unstable loner obsessed with birds, disappearing children), and uses the same reader-uncertainty about the guilt or innocence of its characters. I found the way things play out here to be more believable - but perhaps a little less disturbing, because of that.
**** The Fortune of Sparrows by Usman T. Malik
Beautiful told, but enormously sad. The setting is a Pakistani girls' orphanage, where young women stay until they are married off - sooner, or later. You have to suspect the situation depicted here is more fact than fiction, and this makes the tragedy that lurks around the edges of the story yet more horrible.
**** Pigeon from Hell by Stephen Graham Jones
A couple of teenage girls trade babysitting jobs. When a moment of girlish inattention results in a child disappearing from his bath, bad goes to worse - and worst - really quickly. And one of the girls is literally haunted by a not-undeserved guilt.
**** The Secret of Flight by A.C. Wise
After the mysterious disappearance of a leading lady onstage, a theater director is haunted by a ghost - but not the one he'd prefer to be visited by.
**** Isobel Avens Returns to Stepney in the Spring by M. John Harrison (reprint)
Beautifully written. The specifics of this story are a bit science-fictional, but the parallels work for any situation where one is dealing with someone with an obsession with plastic surgery, or a dissatisfaction with their body that crosses the line into dysmorphia.
The story outline the torn and shredded remnants of a relationship. My one issue with it was that the shifts in time were not always immediately clear, and ending in the time frame the author chose made the piece feel a bit unfinished, to me.
*** A Little Bird Told Me by Pat Cadigan
Some people have figured out a way to cheat death. Those in charge of assuring that natural laws are followed don't look kindly upon this sort of thing. Violators can be condemned to eternal punishment - as a civil servant assigned to police the sort of violations they themselves might have committed. Although the story references Harry Potter a couple of times, it brought 'Beetlejuice' to mind, for me.
** The Acid Test by Livia Llewellyn
OK, yes, the protagonist is on acid, but that just seemed like an excuse for some unnecessarily purple prose. And I am usually a fan of melodramatic writing.
College chick discovers that the alluring 'grad student' she's had her eye on is more of a dangeous bad boy than she'd guessed - although she's having a hard time figuring out what's real and what's just part of her hallucinations.
***** The Crow Palace by Priya Sharma
After her father's death, a woman reluctantly returns to the family home where her disabled sister and her father's longtime companion wait for her. She has never wanted to be tied down to anything; but the secrets she unearths after these many years may be more binding than the ties of love and affection that she has coldly thrown off. Really good; my (possibly unintended) sympathies for the narrator made it that much more disturbing.
May 12, 2018
Ellen Datlow always brings the good stuff to the table, but this anthology takes it up even another notch from her usual excellence. Even the "duds" of the collection were stories I only liked, rather than loved. There were also some standouts that just blew my socks off:
Great Blue Heron from Joyce Carol Oates was absolutely gorgeous - the writing is perfection and the story itself is unnerving and eerie, and will stick with me for a long, long time.
A Little Bird Told Me by Pat Cadigan is just begging to be expanded into a novel, and from there into a series, if there's any luck. It's funny and original and honestly I really want more scenes with the sassy parrots.
The Crow Palace by Priya Sharma let me down a little with the ending, but only because the rest of it was so fantastic. It was surprisingly touching and definitely one of the entries that went light on the horror aspect.
Definitely one I'd recommend for any horror fans, especially those who've enjoyed Ellen Datlow's collections before.
Great Blue Heron from Joyce Carol Oates was absolutely gorgeous - the writing is perfection and the story itself is unnerving and eerie, and will stick with me for a long, long time.
A Little Bird Told Me by Pat Cadigan is just begging to be expanded into a novel, and from there into a series, if there's any luck. It's funny and original and honestly I really want more scenes with the sassy parrots.
The Crow Palace by Priya Sharma let me down a little with the ending, but only because the rest of it was so fantastic. It was surprisingly touching and definitely one of the entries that went light on the horror aspect.
Definitely one I'd recommend for any horror fans, especially those who've enjoyed Ellen Datlow's collections before.
February 9, 2019
16 bird stories and I'm actually thinking this was a really good anthology collection with only a couple of duds... I started to read this book a previous time, but changed to another book, and another book, etc. So, the first three stories. Well, poem and two stories did I reread.
First, we have O Terrible Bird by SANDRA KASTURI. A poem. I'm not a big fan of poems. So 2-stars because it's not badly written just not my cup of coffee.
Next story is The Obscure Bird by NICHOLAS ROYLE. Really creepy, just as creepy as the first time I read it. 4-stars
The last story I reread is The Mathematical Inevitability of Corvids by SEANAN MCGUIRE and I've forgotten how sad and brutal it was. 4-stars
Something About Birds by PAUL TREMBLAY. This story was pretty odd and I just felt that compared to the other stories I've read so far was it weaker. 3-stars
Great Blue Heron by JOYCE CAROL OATES. This story felt like an odd duck among the other stories. Good but I didn't see how it would fit in with the other stories. Until the end...wow 4-stars
The Season of the Raptors by RICHARD BOWES felt a bit rambling. Not bad, not among the best so far. Still interesting to read 3-stars
The Orphan Bird by ALISON LITTLEWOOD! I loved the twist in this story when you realize why this story belongs in this book... 4-stars
The Murmurations of Vienna Von Drome by JEFFREY FORD is not bad, I just think it lacks any good twists and has no wow factor. However, it's an interesting story and I can see it fleshed out into a movie or novel. 3-stars
Blyth's Secret by MIKE O’DRISCOLL. The first story that didn't capture my interest. When it's a horror anthology is it, of course, unavoidable that there is a lot of weirdos. However, I felt that the main character in this story just didn't work for me. Especially since a lot of people in this anthology are weird. Then, I want them to be at least memorable. 2-stars
The Fortune of Sparrows by USMAN T. MALIK. Frankly, this story didn't make much sense...or it was me that just didn't enjoy it so much. 2-stars
Pigeon from Hell by STEPHEN GRAHAM JONES, for some reason the ending made me think of Pet Sematary... Because sometimes dead is better... 3-stars
Secret of Flight by A.C. WISE...great to finally have a good story after some not as good ones...4-stars
Isobel Avens Returns to Stepney in the Spring by M. JOHN HARRISON. Sigh, and ladies and gentlemen, the first 1-star story. This story was flat out boring as hell.
A Little Bird Told Me by PAT CADIGAN. Meh. It feels like the best stories were at the beginning of the book. Or it's me that has started to get tired of bird stories
The Acid Test by LIVIA LLEWELLYN. Acid trip. 1-star
AND THE FINAL STORY IS: The Crow Palace by PRIYA SHARMA the very last story and the very best. Creepy and engrossing. LOVED IT. 5-stars
So, that's it. Not a bad collection and there are some authors here I'm going to check up what they have written.
I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!
First, we have O Terrible Bird by SANDRA KASTURI. A poem. I'm not a big fan of poems. So 2-stars because it's not badly written just not my cup of coffee.
Next story is The Obscure Bird by NICHOLAS ROYLE. Really creepy, just as creepy as the first time I read it. 4-stars
The last story I reread is The Mathematical Inevitability of Corvids by SEANAN MCGUIRE and I've forgotten how sad and brutal it was. 4-stars
Something About Birds by PAUL TREMBLAY. This story was pretty odd and I just felt that compared to the other stories I've read so far was it weaker. 3-stars
Great Blue Heron by JOYCE CAROL OATES. This story felt like an odd duck among the other stories. Good but I didn't see how it would fit in with the other stories. Until the end...wow 4-stars
The Season of the Raptors by RICHARD BOWES felt a bit rambling. Not bad, not among the best so far. Still interesting to read 3-stars
The Orphan Bird by ALISON LITTLEWOOD! I loved the twist in this story when you realize why this story belongs in this book... 4-stars
The Murmurations of Vienna Von Drome by JEFFREY FORD is not bad, I just think it lacks any good twists and has no wow factor. However, it's an interesting story and I can see it fleshed out into a movie or novel. 3-stars
Blyth's Secret by MIKE O’DRISCOLL. The first story that didn't capture my interest. When it's a horror anthology is it, of course, unavoidable that there is a lot of weirdos. However, I felt that the main character in this story just didn't work for me. Especially since a lot of people in this anthology are weird. Then, I want them to be at least memorable. 2-stars
The Fortune of Sparrows by USMAN T. MALIK. Frankly, this story didn't make much sense...or it was me that just didn't enjoy it so much. 2-stars
Pigeon from Hell by STEPHEN GRAHAM JONES, for some reason the ending made me think of Pet Sematary... Because sometimes dead is better... 3-stars
Secret of Flight by A.C. WISE...great to finally have a good story after some not as good ones...4-stars
Isobel Avens Returns to Stepney in the Spring by M. JOHN HARRISON. Sigh, and ladies and gentlemen, the first 1-star story. This story was flat out boring as hell.
A Little Bird Told Me by PAT CADIGAN. Meh. It feels like the best stories were at the beginning of the book. Or it's me that has started to get tired of bird stories
The Acid Test by LIVIA LLEWELLYN. Acid trip. 1-star
AND THE FINAL STORY IS: The Crow Palace by PRIYA SHARMA the very last story and the very best. Creepy and engrossing. LOVED IT. 5-stars
So, that's it. Not a bad collection and there are some authors here I'm going to check up what they have written.
I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!
April 2, 2017
finally finished. here's what I think:
O Terrible Bird - poem that opens the book. I read it but don't remember it.
The Obscure Bird - ***, although it was predictable
the Mathematical Inevitably of Corvids - **, not into ~violent mentally ill protagonists.
Something About Birds - *****, finally a satisfyingly creepy story. by Paul Tremblay!
Great Blue Heron - *****, my first time reading Joyce Carol Oates and she didn't let me down.
the Season of the Raptors - ****, really creative and kept me wanting more
The Orphan Bird - ***, it was ok, but again- mentally ill people doing fucked up things is super boring to me
The Murmurations of Vienna Von drome - *****, yes! mysterious plot, beautifully detailed world, loved it. by Jeffrey Ford.
Blythe's Secret - ****, not quite sure I understand this one but it was a tense and satisfying read. by Mike O'Driscoll
Fortune of Sparrows - ***** WOW. I need to read this again. Sad and chilling. by Usman T. Malik.
Pigeon from hell - ***, if suffered from a style of writing that made the story unnecessarily confusing, but otherwise is was OK.
The Secret of Flight - ***. cool format.
Isobel Avens Returns to Stepney in the Spring -- **, I wanted to like it but the way the story was presented was confusing and I don't get the timeline of the plot. Seems to not make any sense.
A Little Bird Told Me - ***, interesting fantasy piece, would make well as a longer story like a novella
the Acid Test - *, I couldn't even read this shit. awful. Run on sentences galore, stupidly graphic sex - what was the point? The other Datlow anthology I read had this author in it as well, and her story in that collection was *the worst.*
The Crow Palace - ***** one of the best short stories I have ever read. my favorite from this book. by Priya Sharma.
O Terrible Bird - poem that opens the book. I read it but don't remember it.
The Obscure Bird - ***, although it was predictable
the Mathematical Inevitably of Corvids - **, not into ~violent mentally ill protagonists.
Something About Birds - *****, finally a satisfyingly creepy story. by Paul Tremblay!
Great Blue Heron - *****, my first time reading Joyce Carol Oates and she didn't let me down.
the Season of the Raptors - ****, really creative and kept me wanting more
The Orphan Bird - ***, it was ok, but again- mentally ill people doing fucked up things is super boring to me
The Murmurations of Vienna Von drome - *****, yes! mysterious plot, beautifully detailed world, loved it. by Jeffrey Ford.
Blythe's Secret - ****, not quite sure I understand this one but it was a tense and satisfying read. by Mike O'Driscoll
Fortune of Sparrows - ***** WOW. I need to read this again. Sad and chilling. by Usman T. Malik.
Pigeon from hell - ***, if suffered from a style of writing that made the story unnecessarily confusing, but otherwise is was OK.
The Secret of Flight - ***. cool format.
Isobel Avens Returns to Stepney in the Spring -- **, I wanted to like it but the way the story was presented was confusing and I don't get the timeline of the plot. Seems to not make any sense.
A Little Bird Told Me - ***, interesting fantasy piece, would make well as a longer story like a novella
the Acid Test - *, I couldn't even read this shit. awful. Run on sentences galore, stupidly graphic sex - what was the point? The other Datlow anthology I read had this author in it as well, and her story in that collection was *the worst.*
The Crow Palace - ***** one of the best short stories I have ever read. my favorite from this book. by Priya Sharma.
February 8, 2017
This review originally appeared on New York Journal of Books: http://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-...
Coming up with new and interesting themes for short story anthologies is no easy task. Inevitably, many editors are left trying to think up some kind of spin on a well-worn idea; however, some of the most original and innovative anthologies—in any genre—have been pioneered by the great Ellen Datlow, who seems to have no shortage of fresh ideas for authors to base their stories upon. So it is with her newest release, [i}Black Feathers: Dark Avian Tales[/i], that Datlow has collected tales inspired by the shadows cast from the sky—tales of dark fiction themed around birds.
For many, this anthology may sound like little more than a showcase of a variety of gruesome deaths by birds; however, there are very few tales in which people meet their fate under beak and talon. What’s more, the birds in these stories very often serve as far more than just metaphors for innocence, escape, or omens.
Featuring works by authors from a wide range of literary backgrounds and styles, Black Feathers collects 16 tales, each one vastly different from one another. (On a side note, two of the stories, Nicholas Royle’s “The Obscure Bird” and M. John Harrison’s “Isobel Avens Returns to Stepney In the Spring,” are actually reprints from other anthologies and magazines, but the rest of the contents are original to this anthology.)
Black Feathers opens with the poem “O Terrible Bird,” by Sandra Katsuri. Something of a reflective dialogue, it reveals a very dark scenario over its verses, perfectly setting the mood for the rest of the anthology.
In Paul Tremblay’s “Something About Birds,” a blogger interviews a famous and reclusive author, who in turn invites him to join him for a special gathering. It’s not long before the author’s “admission ticket”—a strange, seemingly real bird’s head—begins to haunt the blogger’s life in more ways than one. Told in a third-person narrative of the time following the interview, interspersed with segments of the interview itself, this tale is quite unsettling and a fine addition to Tremblay’s legacy.
Something of a stylistic cousin to Tremblay’s story, A. C. Wise’s "The Secret of Flight” is an epistolary tale which follows the rise and fall of a stage play, all told through letters, newspaper articles, and even play excerpts. Spanning from the 1950s into the current decade, this story makes for a compelling puzzle for the reader to assemble, coming together to form a surreal and unsettling picture by the end.
The one and only Joyce Carol Oates also contributed to this anthology. Her novelette, “Great Blue Heron,” is a devastatingly melancholic story of a recent widow reflecting on her life, her lost love, and her struggle to move on, even as her disgraceful brother-in-law keeps making advances upon her and her lakeside estate, which he hopes to sell. And all the while, the widow becomes increasingly fixated upon the titular waterfowl that haunts the lake, her dreams, and her soul.
Seanan McGuire’s “The Mathematical Inevitability of Corvids” is a surreal, morose, introspective, and delicately distressing tale of a young outcast who believes she can discern fate in the numbers of crows, ravens, and other corvids that she glimpses, even as she’s ridiculed and alienated by fellow students and her father-in-law.
Similar to McGuire’s tale is “Blyth’s Secret” by Mike O’Driscoll. A young man turns to his corvid companion Blyth to help find a missing child. Misunderstanding is the name of the game as strangers, friends, and even family frown upon the narrator’s avian obsessions; and although the conclusion may leave some readers cold, the mood of this story is powerfully upsetting and a bit eerie.
Jeffrey Ford’s “The Murmurations of Vienna Van Drome” is a mashup of a detective story, a period piece, and a dark urban fantasy. The narrator, a detective, is trying to get to the bottom of a series of brutal killings being committed by someone—or something—known only as “the Beast,” with many clues seeming to flock around the titular mysterious young woman. Full of vivid imagery and featuring a number of intriguing twists and turns, this has all the elements of a classic adventure tale, and would make for one wild movie, should it ever be adapted.
With a title that winks at Robert E. Howard and a plot that would make Edgar Allan Poe proud, Stephen Graham Jones's "Pigeon from Hell" is deliciously alarming. A heart-stopping event kicks the narrator down a dark and terrible path, told in Jones's distinctly matter-of-fact, stream-of-consciousness style. To say more would be to spoil this story’s dark magic; suffice to say, some readers may be left squirming.
Other highlights include Livia Llewellyn’s “The Acid Test,” a sensual, hypnotic, ’60s-set tale of sex, drugs, and cosmic horror; Pat Cadigan’s “A Little Bird Told Me,” which follows the exploits of a woman cataloguing death scenes from a realm beyond time and space; and the dark, heartbreaking, subtly speculative “The Crow Palace” by Priya Sharma, in which a woman visits her childhood home following her father’s death.
With concepts as high-flying, and proses as graceful, as the birds around which it is themed, [i]Black Feathers[/i] is a well-conceived and -executed anthology, and a showcase of some of the finest speculative and weird fiction of 2017.
Coming up with new and interesting themes for short story anthologies is no easy task. Inevitably, many editors are left trying to think up some kind of spin on a well-worn idea; however, some of the most original and innovative anthologies—in any genre—have been pioneered by the great Ellen Datlow, who seems to have no shortage of fresh ideas for authors to base their stories upon. So it is with her newest release, [i}Black Feathers: Dark Avian Tales[/i], that Datlow has collected tales inspired by the shadows cast from the sky—tales of dark fiction themed around birds.
For many, this anthology may sound like little more than a showcase of a variety of gruesome deaths by birds; however, there are very few tales in which people meet their fate under beak and talon. What’s more, the birds in these stories very often serve as far more than just metaphors for innocence, escape, or omens.
Featuring works by authors from a wide range of literary backgrounds and styles, Black Feathers collects 16 tales, each one vastly different from one another. (On a side note, two of the stories, Nicholas Royle’s “The Obscure Bird” and M. John Harrison’s “Isobel Avens Returns to Stepney In the Spring,” are actually reprints from other anthologies and magazines, but the rest of the contents are original to this anthology.)
Black Feathers opens with the poem “O Terrible Bird,” by Sandra Katsuri. Something of a reflective dialogue, it reveals a very dark scenario over its verses, perfectly setting the mood for the rest of the anthology.
In Paul Tremblay’s “Something About Birds,” a blogger interviews a famous and reclusive author, who in turn invites him to join him for a special gathering. It’s not long before the author’s “admission ticket”—a strange, seemingly real bird’s head—begins to haunt the blogger’s life in more ways than one. Told in a third-person narrative of the time following the interview, interspersed with segments of the interview itself, this tale is quite unsettling and a fine addition to Tremblay’s legacy.
Something of a stylistic cousin to Tremblay’s story, A. C. Wise’s "The Secret of Flight” is an epistolary tale which follows the rise and fall of a stage play, all told through letters, newspaper articles, and even play excerpts. Spanning from the 1950s into the current decade, this story makes for a compelling puzzle for the reader to assemble, coming together to form a surreal and unsettling picture by the end.
The one and only Joyce Carol Oates also contributed to this anthology. Her novelette, “Great Blue Heron,” is a devastatingly melancholic story of a recent widow reflecting on her life, her lost love, and her struggle to move on, even as her disgraceful brother-in-law keeps making advances upon her and her lakeside estate, which he hopes to sell. And all the while, the widow becomes increasingly fixated upon the titular waterfowl that haunts the lake, her dreams, and her soul.
Seanan McGuire’s “The Mathematical Inevitability of Corvids” is a surreal, morose, introspective, and delicately distressing tale of a young outcast who believes she can discern fate in the numbers of crows, ravens, and other corvids that she glimpses, even as she’s ridiculed and alienated by fellow students and her father-in-law.
Similar to McGuire’s tale is “Blyth’s Secret” by Mike O’Driscoll. A young man turns to his corvid companion Blyth to help find a missing child. Misunderstanding is the name of the game as strangers, friends, and even family frown upon the narrator’s avian obsessions; and although the conclusion may leave some readers cold, the mood of this story is powerfully upsetting and a bit eerie.
Jeffrey Ford’s “The Murmurations of Vienna Van Drome” is a mashup of a detective story, a period piece, and a dark urban fantasy. The narrator, a detective, is trying to get to the bottom of a series of brutal killings being committed by someone—or something—known only as “the Beast,” with many clues seeming to flock around the titular mysterious young woman. Full of vivid imagery and featuring a number of intriguing twists and turns, this has all the elements of a classic adventure tale, and would make for one wild movie, should it ever be adapted.
With a title that winks at Robert E. Howard and a plot that would make Edgar Allan Poe proud, Stephen Graham Jones's "Pigeon from Hell" is deliciously alarming. A heart-stopping event kicks the narrator down a dark and terrible path, told in Jones's distinctly matter-of-fact, stream-of-consciousness style. To say more would be to spoil this story’s dark magic; suffice to say, some readers may be left squirming.
Other highlights include Livia Llewellyn’s “The Acid Test,” a sensual, hypnotic, ’60s-set tale of sex, drugs, and cosmic horror; Pat Cadigan’s “A Little Bird Told Me,” which follows the exploits of a woman cataloguing death scenes from a realm beyond time and space; and the dark, heartbreaking, subtly speculative “The Crow Palace” by Priya Sharma, in which a woman visits her childhood home following her father’s death.
With concepts as high-flying, and proses as graceful, as the birds around which it is themed, [i]Black Feathers[/i] is a well-conceived and -executed anthology, and a showcase of some of the finest speculative and weird fiction of 2017.
December 18, 2021
I always pick up an anthology if either of the awesome team of Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling is involved. They coauthored the long running Year's Best Fantasy and Horror series together. Terri covers Fantasy while Ellen covers Horror.
As the cover suggests, this is a collection of dark - very dark, twisted sickly sticky tar-black dark - fiction. It is haunting.
Themed. 16 stories, 14 original and 2 reprints. Short introduction by Datlow.
My ratings:
5 ⭐ = 9
4 ⭐ = 2
3 ⭐ = 3
2 ⭐ = 2
1 ⭐ = 0
1. O Terrible Bird (poem) by Sandra Kasturi; 4 ⭐
The black bird as Death.
2. The Obscure Bird by Nicolas Royce; 2 ⭐ (reprint)
Inspired by a line from Shakespeare's MacBeth. Weird. A man may be turning into an owl.
3. The Mathematical Inevitability of Corvids" by Seanan McGuire; 5 ⭐
My favourite story in the anthology. Heartbreaking. Gave me chills. A 15 year-old girl with an obsession for counting corvids (ravens, crows, jays, etc.) tries to make sense of her world with her counts.
4. Something About Birds by Paul Tremblay; 2 ⭐
Deeply unsettling. Stylized as an interview with an overlooked horror writer. Bird masks.
5. Great Blue Heron by Joyce Carol Oates; 5 ⭐
A widow dreams of the freedom of a heron.
6. The Season of the Raptors by Richard Bowes; 3 ⭐
Creepy. A man becomes obsessed with hawks.
7. The Orphan Bird by Alison Littlewood; 5 ⭐
Blackly twisted and completely convincing. A serial killer obsessed with birds.
8. The Murmurations of Vienna Von Drome by Jeffrey Ford; 5 ⭐
Written in a stylized, Victorian-esque voice. A police detective tracks a serial killer and finds a monster and a marvel. Amazing starling flock imagery.
9. Blyth's Secret by Mike O'Driscoll; 4 ⭐
Horrific. An unstable man tries to understand how birds communicate.
10. The Fortune of Sparrows by Usman T. Mauk; 5 ⭐
"I mothed to the strange light and entered the room." (173) One of many clever turns of phrase. A rich and strange story set at an Indian orphanage.
11. Pigeon From Hell by Stephen Graham Jones; 5 ⭐
Straight up horror, old school. Snarky teenager runs over a babysitting charge and tries to cover it up. Blackly funny but disturbing.
12. The Secret of Flight by A. C. Wise; 5 ⭐
"You should never trust a wild animal. A fox cannot change its nature no matter how it dresses itself up, or what fine words it uses. It will always hunger. If you let your guard down, even for a moment, it will devour you whole." (213-214)
Styled as film scripts and letters, an old mystery and a strange grief.
13. Isobel Arens Returns to Stepney in the Spring by M. John Harrison; 3 ⭐ (reprint)
Bizarre. Designer avian/human DNA mixes for better sex but a relationship fails anyway.
14. A Little Bird Told Me by Pat Cadigan; 5 ⭐
I'd love to read a book based on this! A death census-taker - who matches bodies to names before the Reapers come to avoid mistakes - is shaken out of her workaday existence when parrots start stealing the souls of the dead.
15. The Acid Test by Livia Llewellyn; 3 ⭐
As the title says. Strange and disturbing.
16. The Crow Palace by Priya Sharma; 5 ⭐
Frightening. A human changeling story; cuckoo tactics and crow thieving.
You'll never look at birds as harmless again!
As the cover suggests, this is a collection of dark - very dark, twisted sickly sticky tar-black dark - fiction. It is haunting.
Themed. 16 stories, 14 original and 2 reprints. Short introduction by Datlow.
My ratings:
5 ⭐ = 9
4 ⭐ = 2
3 ⭐ = 3
2 ⭐ = 2
1 ⭐ = 0
1. O Terrible Bird (poem) by Sandra Kasturi; 4 ⭐
The black bird as Death.
2. The Obscure Bird by Nicolas Royce; 2 ⭐ (reprint)
Inspired by a line from Shakespeare's MacBeth. Weird. A man may be turning into an owl.
3. The Mathematical Inevitability of Corvids" by Seanan McGuire; 5 ⭐
My favourite story in the anthology. Heartbreaking. Gave me chills. A 15 year-old girl with an obsession for counting corvids (ravens, crows, jays, etc.) tries to make sense of her world with her counts.
4. Something About Birds by Paul Tremblay; 2 ⭐
Deeply unsettling. Stylized as an interview with an overlooked horror writer. Bird masks.
5. Great Blue Heron by Joyce Carol Oates; 5 ⭐
A widow dreams of the freedom of a heron.
6. The Season of the Raptors by Richard Bowes; 3 ⭐
Creepy. A man becomes obsessed with hawks.
7. The Orphan Bird by Alison Littlewood; 5 ⭐
Blackly twisted and completely convincing. A serial killer obsessed with birds.
8. The Murmurations of Vienna Von Drome by Jeffrey Ford; 5 ⭐
Written in a stylized, Victorian-esque voice. A police detective tracks a serial killer and finds a monster and a marvel. Amazing starling flock imagery.
9. Blyth's Secret by Mike O'Driscoll; 4 ⭐
Horrific. An unstable man tries to understand how birds communicate.
10. The Fortune of Sparrows by Usman T. Mauk; 5 ⭐
"I mothed to the strange light and entered the room." (173) One of many clever turns of phrase. A rich and strange story set at an Indian orphanage.
11. Pigeon From Hell by Stephen Graham Jones; 5 ⭐
Straight up horror, old school. Snarky teenager runs over a babysitting charge and tries to cover it up. Blackly funny but disturbing.
12. The Secret of Flight by A. C. Wise; 5 ⭐
"You should never trust a wild animal. A fox cannot change its nature no matter how it dresses itself up, or what fine words it uses. It will always hunger. If you let your guard down, even for a moment, it will devour you whole." (213-214)
Styled as film scripts and letters, an old mystery and a strange grief.
13. Isobel Arens Returns to Stepney in the Spring by M. John Harrison; 3 ⭐ (reprint)
Bizarre. Designer avian/human DNA mixes for better sex but a relationship fails anyway.
14. A Little Bird Told Me by Pat Cadigan; 5 ⭐
I'd love to read a book based on this! A death census-taker - who matches bodies to names before the Reapers come to avoid mistakes - is shaken out of her workaday existence when parrots start stealing the souls of the dead.
15. The Acid Test by Livia Llewellyn; 3 ⭐
As the title says. Strange and disturbing.
16. The Crow Palace by Priya Sharma; 5 ⭐
Frightening. A human changeling story; cuckoo tactics and crow thieving.
You'll never look at birds as harmless again!
June 11, 2023
Sandra Kasturi - O Terrible Bird ⭐⭐⭐
Nicholas Royle - The Obscure Bird ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Seanan McGuire - The Mathematical Inevitability of Corvids ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Paul Tremblay - Something About Birds ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Joyce Carol Oates - Great Blue Heron ⭐⭐
Richard Bowes - The Season of the Raptors ⭐⭐⭐
Alison Littlewood - The Orphan Bird ⭐⭐⭐
Jeffrey Ford - The Murmurations of Vienna Von Drome ⭐⭐⭐
Mike O'Driscoll - Blyth's Secret ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Usman T. Malik - The Fortune of Sparrows ⭐⭐
Stephen Graham Jones - Pigeon From Hell ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A. C. Wise - The Secret of Flight ⭐⭐
M. John Harrison - Isobel Avens Returns to Stepney in the Spring ⭐⭐⭐
Pat Cadigan - A Little Bird Told Me ⭐
Livia Llewellyn - The Acid Test ⭐⭐
Priya Sharma - The Crow Palace ⭐⭐⭐
Nicholas Royle - The Obscure Bird ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Seanan McGuire - The Mathematical Inevitability of Corvids ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Paul Tremblay - Something About Birds ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Joyce Carol Oates - Great Blue Heron ⭐⭐
Richard Bowes - The Season of the Raptors ⭐⭐⭐
Alison Littlewood - The Orphan Bird ⭐⭐⭐
Jeffrey Ford - The Murmurations of Vienna Von Drome ⭐⭐⭐
Mike O'Driscoll - Blyth's Secret ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Usman T. Malik - The Fortune of Sparrows ⭐⭐
Stephen Graham Jones - Pigeon From Hell ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A. C. Wise - The Secret of Flight ⭐⭐
M. John Harrison - Isobel Avens Returns to Stepney in the Spring ⭐⭐⭐
Pat Cadigan - A Little Bird Told Me ⭐
Livia Llewellyn - The Acid Test ⭐⭐
Priya Sharma - The Crow Palace ⭐⭐⭐
October 22, 2016
I originally rated this book 3 stars until I started writing down my favorite stories and realized how many there were. I think my biggest mistake in the beginning was trying to read all of them in just one or two sittings. I love short stories, but very rarely can I read them that way (although Everything That Rises Must Converge: Stories, Willful Creatures, and How to Breathe Underwater are 3 that come to mind where I did just that). I loved the avian theme in this collection, but it did make some of the stories feel similar, even if just for the constant naming of groups of birds and bird terms. Once I started reading one or two per night, I enjoyed them much more for their sometimes creepy, sometimes haunting, often clever individuality.
My favorites:
The Mathematical Inevitability of Corvids - Seanan McGuire
Something About Birds - Paul Tremblay
Great Blue Heron - Joyce Carol Oates
The Murmurations of Vienna Von Drome - Jeffrey Ford
Blythe's Secret - Mike O'Driscoll
Pigeon From Hell - Stephen Graham Jones
The Secret of Flight - A.C. Wise
*Thanks again to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
My favorites:
The Mathematical Inevitability of Corvids - Seanan McGuire
Something About Birds - Paul Tremblay
Great Blue Heron - Joyce Carol Oates
The Murmurations of Vienna Von Drome - Jeffrey Ford
Blythe's Secret - Mike O'Driscoll
Pigeon From Hell - Stephen Graham Jones
The Secret of Flight - A.C. Wise
*Thanks again to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
March 24, 2017
Book received from Goodreads Giveaways.
This was pretty good. There were some really creepy stories in this anthology starting with the poem that starts the whole thing. I think the one that got me the most was the one with the husband being obsessed with owls. I believe that one stuck out for me since most of the stories revolve around the family Corvidae, mainly crows, magpies, and ravens. I have read other books that Ellen Datlow has had a part of but I think this is my favorite. If you want a good creepy book on a rainy night, but one that's not too scary, this is a good book for you.
This was pretty good. There were some really creepy stories in this anthology starting with the poem that starts the whole thing. I think the one that got me the most was the one with the husband being obsessed with owls. I believe that one stuck out for me since most of the stories revolve around the family Corvidae, mainly crows, magpies, and ravens. I have read other books that Ellen Datlow has had a part of but I think this is my favorite. If you want a good creepy book on a rainy night, but one that's not too scary, this is a good book for you.
August 27, 2017
I was expecting a lot from this one. I trust Datlow's abilities as an editor. She typically curates very good stories. I love birds and their symbolic use throughout literature. I specifically love the corvids: the crows, the ravens, etc. So maybe I was expecting too much.
My love for the work of Seanan McGuire in particular led me to this anthology. Seanan McGuire writing a story about crows? Oh hell yeah.
And it was good. . .but not great. As I've said when reviewing other anthologies, nobody needs a rehash of the storylines in short fiction. As other reviewers note, anthologies can be hit or miss. I do appreciate reviews that incorporate a list of contents, for those readers who, like me, may be interested in the work of a particular author. So, with that in mind, here is the list, followed by my personal star rating for each:
O Terrible Bird (poem)/Sandra Kasturi (1)
The Obscure Bird/Nicholas Royle (2)
The Mathematical Inevitability of Corvids/Seanan McGuire (3)
Something About Birds /Paul Tremblay (2)
Great Blue Heron/Joyce Carol Oates (3.5)
The Season of the Raptors/Richard Bowes (4)
The Orphan Bird/Alison Littlewood (4.5)
The Murmurations of Vienna Von Drome/Jeffrey Ford (5)
Blythe's Secret/Mike O'Driscoll (3.5)
The Fortune of Sparrows/Usman T. Malik (2)
Pigeon from Hell/Stephen Graham Jones (4)
The Secret of Flight/A. C. Wise (2.5)
Isobel Avens Returns to Stepney in Spring/M. John Harrison (4)
A Little Bird Told Me/Pat Cardigan (4.5)
The Acid Test/Livia Llewellyn (4)
The Crow Palace/Priya Sharma (5)
Also, I would like to say that, while many of these stories didn't grab me, the prose was solid throughout. The Brits have a thing about birds - I enjoyed that. Actual editing was hit-or-miss in most of the stories.
This was a good excuse for an anthology, I just somehow wanted something else. My rating reflects me, not the book, I guess.
My love for the work of Seanan McGuire in particular led me to this anthology. Seanan McGuire writing a story about crows? Oh hell yeah.
And it was good. . .but not great. As I've said when reviewing other anthologies, nobody needs a rehash of the storylines in short fiction. As other reviewers note, anthologies can be hit or miss. I do appreciate reviews that incorporate a list of contents, for those readers who, like me, may be interested in the work of a particular author. So, with that in mind, here is the list, followed by my personal star rating for each:
O Terrible Bird (poem)/Sandra Kasturi (1)
The Obscure Bird/Nicholas Royle (2)
The Mathematical Inevitability of Corvids/Seanan McGuire (3)
Something About Birds /Paul Tremblay (2)
Great Blue Heron/Joyce Carol Oates (3.5)
The Season of the Raptors/Richard Bowes (4)
The Orphan Bird/Alison Littlewood (4.5)
The Murmurations of Vienna Von Drome/Jeffrey Ford (5)
Blythe's Secret/Mike O'Driscoll (3.5)
The Fortune of Sparrows/Usman T. Malik (2)
Pigeon from Hell/Stephen Graham Jones (4)
The Secret of Flight/A. C. Wise (2.5)
Isobel Avens Returns to Stepney in Spring/M. John Harrison (4)
A Little Bird Told Me/Pat Cardigan (4.5)
The Acid Test/Livia Llewellyn (4)
The Crow Palace/Priya Sharma (5)
Also, I would like to say that, while many of these stories didn't grab me, the prose was solid throughout. The Brits have a thing about birds - I enjoyed that. Actual editing was hit-or-miss in most of the stories.
This was a good excuse for an anthology, I just somehow wanted something else. My rating reflects me, not the book, I guess.
March 11, 2017
“The Raven has dropped a black feather at your door…”
Ever since January 1845 when Edgar Allan Poe’s epic classic poem “The Raven” was published, writers have been adding tales with a nod to that bird of sorrow. Blackbirds are said to be the harbingers of all manner of bad things. The black bird is an ill omen.
In this anthology, the birds are not all ravens, and indeed, not all real; but they play a significant part in the sad tale of tragedy.
• The book begins with a poem by Sandra Kasturi entitled “Bird of Woe.” A very fitting beginning to a book that showcases the avian in question!
• “The Obscure Bird” by Nicholas Royle, a nasty encounter with owl pellets… Not bad at all!
• “The Mathematical Inevitability of Crows” by Seanan McGuire. Brenda is a strange girl whose name she informs the reader means “Raven.” For her every experience may be tabulated in numbers of crows… This one gets best in book from me!
• “Something About Birds” by Paul Tremblay is an interview with a William Wheatley concerning his book The Artist Starve. To be honest, I did not like it at all.
• “Great Blue Heron” by Joyce Hall Oates paints a picture of a heron as a bird of prey that haunts a human who might be called a predator… Never thought about a heron as a praetor; they are majestic! But they do eat living things… I liked this one.
• “The Season of the Raptors” by Richard Bowes takes place in Greenwich Village, the birds all being birds of prey, even a seagull… Not sure about this one.
• “The Orphan Bird” by Allison Littlewood deals with a bittern, a bullied child, and a dark secret now that that child has grown up… Truly a dark, black feather!
• “The Murmurations of Vienna Von Drome” by Jeffery Ford is a series of murders by an alleged “Beast”, a girl with a deformity, another girl with a bird for a companion, and the investigation with weird overtones. I really like this one!
• “Blyth’s Secret” by Mike O’Driscoll is a dark tale of a man and a bird called Blyth… Sad, but a very good tale!
• “The Fortune of Sparrows” by Usman T Malik takes place in an orphanage haunted by birds and perhaps even more… Good story!
• “Pigeon from Hell” by Stephen Graham Jones is the dark tale of a missing boy. I liked the pigeon analogy!
• “The Secret of Flight” by AC Wise is a play. I do not like trying to read plays. Sorry!
• “Isobel Arens Returns to Stepney in the Spring” by M John Harrison is a dark love story with avian overtones. I didn’t like it at all…
• “A Little Bird Told Me” by Pat Cadigan is deep Existentialism reading. Everything was dead in the flat, except for a parrot… I’m not sure about this one…
• “The Acid Test” by Livia Llewellyn reads like a trip on acid. Don’t like this one…
• “The Crow Palace” by Priya Sharma is… to be honest, I couldn’t make sense of this one.
I give the book three stars…
Quoth the Raven…
Ever since January 1845 when Edgar Allan Poe’s epic classic poem “The Raven” was published, writers have been adding tales with a nod to that bird of sorrow. Blackbirds are said to be the harbingers of all manner of bad things. The black bird is an ill omen.
In this anthology, the birds are not all ravens, and indeed, not all real; but they play a significant part in the sad tale of tragedy.
• The book begins with a poem by Sandra Kasturi entitled “Bird of Woe.” A very fitting beginning to a book that showcases the avian in question!
• “The Obscure Bird” by Nicholas Royle, a nasty encounter with owl pellets… Not bad at all!
• “The Mathematical Inevitability of Crows” by Seanan McGuire. Brenda is a strange girl whose name she informs the reader means “Raven.” For her every experience may be tabulated in numbers of crows… This one gets best in book from me!
• “Something About Birds” by Paul Tremblay is an interview with a William Wheatley concerning his book The Artist Starve. To be honest, I did not like it at all.
• “Great Blue Heron” by Joyce Hall Oates paints a picture of a heron as a bird of prey that haunts a human who might be called a predator… Never thought about a heron as a praetor; they are majestic! But they do eat living things… I liked this one.
• “The Season of the Raptors” by Richard Bowes takes place in Greenwich Village, the birds all being birds of prey, even a seagull… Not sure about this one.
• “The Orphan Bird” by Allison Littlewood deals with a bittern, a bullied child, and a dark secret now that that child has grown up… Truly a dark, black feather!
• “The Murmurations of Vienna Von Drome” by Jeffery Ford is a series of murders by an alleged “Beast”, a girl with a deformity, another girl with a bird for a companion, and the investigation with weird overtones. I really like this one!
• “Blyth’s Secret” by Mike O’Driscoll is a dark tale of a man and a bird called Blyth… Sad, but a very good tale!
• “The Fortune of Sparrows” by Usman T Malik takes place in an orphanage haunted by birds and perhaps even more… Good story!
• “Pigeon from Hell” by Stephen Graham Jones is the dark tale of a missing boy. I liked the pigeon analogy!
• “The Secret of Flight” by AC Wise is a play. I do not like trying to read plays. Sorry!
• “Isobel Arens Returns to Stepney in the Spring” by M John Harrison is a dark love story with avian overtones. I didn’t like it at all…
• “A Little Bird Told Me” by Pat Cadigan is deep Existentialism reading. Everything was dead in the flat, except for a parrot… I’m not sure about this one…
• “The Acid Test” by Livia Llewellyn reads like a trip on acid. Don’t like this one…
• “The Crow Palace” by Priya Sharma is… to be honest, I couldn’t make sense of this one.
I give the book three stars…
Quoth the Raven…
December 28, 2024
Most of the stories had strong premises then petered out toward the end. I still enjoyed it because it had many birds.
Maybe I'll come back and point out the really good ones (there were about 3).
Maybe I'll come back and point out the really good ones (there were about 3).
September 29, 2017
I liked some of the stories; others fell flat for me, being too obscure, or too full of drugs.
December 1, 2016
The first thing that drew me in with this book was the cover art. I really did think it looked beautiful and captivating. I also felt more drawn in when I realised it was edited by Ellen Datlow whom I know has won some awesome Bram Stoker awards. This for me meant that reading and reviewing this before it's publication date was a great opportunity.
I soon noticed that the short stories were strange and dark, just how I like it. However the more I read I also realised that some were also dull and because of this I felt them difficult to red.
As I find with a lot of short stories, some of them would be better if they were developed into full novels, because the potential was definitely there.
One of the things that stood out the most was the ending to The Mathematical Inevitability of Corvids. It was incredible. I felt sorry for Brenda so in a sick kind of way, and I felt a little pleasure at knowing she got the upper hand. I suppose that's the 'outcast' in me.
I also really enjoyed The Murmurations of Vienna Von Drome. It reminded me of Edgar Allan Poe and Sherlock Holmes mixed with a fantasy vibe. It was definitely the best and I couldn't put it down.
Most of these stories seem to touch upon something that would draw me in, and they seem to really get that 'madness' theme just right but unfortunately a lot of them were dull reads.
There were many things in each story that I loved, being a fan of the macabre, but then when they were just about to close the fist on a really great ending they would stray from the path and go on about something irrelevant and I felt like the story was ruined and almost a waste of time.
I enjoyed some of this book, but I'm sad to say that most of it didn't captivate me and that's why I felt it took so long to read. If I don't enjoy a book much, it's a hard and long read.
I soon noticed that the short stories were strange and dark, just how I like it. However the more I read I also realised that some were also dull and because of this I felt them difficult to red.
As I find with a lot of short stories, some of them would be better if they were developed into full novels, because the potential was definitely there.
One of the things that stood out the most was the ending to The Mathematical Inevitability of Corvids. It was incredible. I felt sorry for Brenda so in a sick kind of way, and I felt a little pleasure at knowing she got the upper hand. I suppose that's the 'outcast' in me.
I also really enjoyed The Murmurations of Vienna Von Drome. It reminded me of Edgar Allan Poe and Sherlock Holmes mixed with a fantasy vibe. It was definitely the best and I couldn't put it down.
Most of these stories seem to touch upon something that would draw me in, and they seem to really get that 'madness' theme just right but unfortunately a lot of them were dull reads.
There were many things in each story that I loved, being a fan of the macabre, but then when they were just about to close the fist on a really great ending they would stray from the path and go on about something irrelevant and I felt like the story was ruined and almost a waste of time.
I enjoyed some of this book, but I'm sad to say that most of it didn't captivate me and that's why I felt it took so long to read. If I don't enjoy a book much, it's a hard and long read.
October 14, 2016
Black Feathers: Dark Avian Tales caught my eye on NetGalley because who doesn't think birds are a bit creepy? If you don't, go look at some closeups of birds and let their dinosaur-like tendencies give you nightmares!
The collection focuses on the darker side of birds. It is, unfortunately, a bit uneven in terms of quality, but that's a sin that most anthologies commit. There are several standout stories though that are definitely worth picking up the book.
The Mathematical Inevitably of Corvids - Seanan McGuire
I love McGuire stories, and the fact that she was a contributor lured me into reading this book. This short story about nursery rhymes and mental illness is gripping and terribly sad.
Something About Birds - Paul Tremblay
Tremblay is another favourite of mine. He does weird and disturbing so well! The highlights of this story are the unnerving visuals of bird masks, and the steady creeping horror that builds into a bizarre, but shiver-worthy conclusion.
Great Blue Heron - Joyce Carol Oates
This story is about grief and herons and perhaps a bit of magic. But mostly it is about grief that too many people poke at until our poor protagonist explodes.
The Murmurations of Vienna Von Drome - Jeffrey Ford
This was a great Victorian style mystery-horror story with shades of The Island of Doctor Moreau. I loved the atmosphere and feel of the city.
The Secret of Flight - AC Wise
A tale that makes great use of shifting timelines to tell the story of a missing woman and a playwright who wonders how it all went wrong... It's melancholy and paced fantastically well.
Thank you to NetGalley and Pegasus Books for giving me an ARC of this book for review purposes!
The collection focuses on the darker side of birds. It is, unfortunately, a bit uneven in terms of quality, but that's a sin that most anthologies commit. There are several standout stories though that are definitely worth picking up the book.
The Mathematical Inevitably of Corvids - Seanan McGuire
I love McGuire stories, and the fact that she was a contributor lured me into reading this book. This short story about nursery rhymes and mental illness is gripping and terribly sad.
Something About Birds - Paul Tremblay
Tremblay is another favourite of mine. He does weird and disturbing so well! The highlights of this story are the unnerving visuals of bird masks, and the steady creeping horror that builds into a bizarre, but shiver-worthy conclusion.
Great Blue Heron - Joyce Carol Oates
This story is about grief and herons and perhaps a bit of magic. But mostly it is about grief that too many people poke at until our poor protagonist explodes.
The Murmurations of Vienna Von Drome - Jeffrey Ford
This was a great Victorian style mystery-horror story with shades of The Island of Doctor Moreau. I loved the atmosphere and feel of the city.
The Secret of Flight - AC Wise
A tale that makes great use of shifting timelines to tell the story of a missing woman and a playwright who wonders how it all went wrong... It's melancholy and paced fantastically well.
Thank you to NetGalley and Pegasus Books for giving me an ARC of this book for review purposes!
March 12, 2017
If you ask most horror authors of any sub-genre which editor they would most like to work with, the name ‘Ellen Datlow’ is almost always top of the list. With many years of experience in the publishing business and many, many awards (including multiple Hugo, Stoker, Shirley Jackson and International Horror Guild Awards) celebrating her editorial work with magazines such as OMNI and Event Horizon as well as over ninety anthologies, it is clear to see why she is held in such high regard. Indeed, the impending release of an anthology helmed by Datlow has become an event that horror fans everywhere anticipate with a fervent hunger. Here we take a look at her latest anthology featuring dark stories with an avian theme.
With this anthology, Datlow has further cemented her reputation as an editor with an eye for quality and her finger on the pulse of the horror genre. She is regarded as a guardian of the speculative fiction community and as someone who can bring the best from the authors with whom she works. Here she has assembled a stellar line-up of some of the very best writers in the field today, every one a published and accomplished master of the craft. With such contributors there is no question that the anthology would be good. But under the stewardship of Datlow, the stories take wing and fly.
To see the full review, please visit thisishorror.co.uk
With this anthology, Datlow has further cemented her reputation as an editor with an eye for quality and her finger on the pulse of the horror genre. She is regarded as a guardian of the speculative fiction community and as someone who can bring the best from the authors with whom she works. Here she has assembled a stellar line-up of some of the very best writers in the field today, every one a published and accomplished master of the craft. With such contributors there is no question that the anthology would be good. But under the stewardship of Datlow, the stories take wing and fly.
To see the full review, please visit thisishorror.co.uk
March 5, 2017
This is another great anthology from Ellen Datlow. I was particularly impressed by the wide range of tones and ideas the writers included here came up. All are dark tales with some bird element to them, but still the stories manage to map very different territories. You'll find gorey zombie-ish pigeons, psychological horrors, and historical fantasy.
Some favourites:
Paul Tremblay's "Something about birds", written in parts as an interview between a cult weird/horror writer and a young hopeful journalist who'll find the weirdness isn't restricted to the page.
Mike O'Driscoll's "Blyth's Secret" is set in Wales, and is a very atmospheric loner-in-the-woods story, in which said loner, who is trying to learn to communicate with crows, comes under suspicion for a crime committed nearby.
Livia Llewellyn's "The Acid Test" says what it says on the tin - but Llewellyn's lush prose really make this weird tale fly.
Finally, Priya Sharma's "The Crow Palace" is a creepy tale of family secrets and hidden genealogy which conjures up some very powerful images.
Some favourites:
Paul Tremblay's "Something about birds", written in parts as an interview between a cult weird/horror writer and a young hopeful journalist who'll find the weirdness isn't restricted to the page.
Mike O'Driscoll's "Blyth's Secret" is set in Wales, and is a very atmospheric loner-in-the-woods story, in which said loner, who is trying to learn to communicate with crows, comes under suspicion for a crime committed nearby.
Livia Llewellyn's "The Acid Test" says what it says on the tin - but Llewellyn's lush prose really make this weird tale fly.
Finally, Priya Sharma's "The Crow Palace" is a creepy tale of family secrets and hidden genealogy which conjures up some very powerful images.
August 26, 2023
3.3 stars
o terrible bird: one star
the obscure bird: three stars
the mathematical inevitability of corvids: five stars
something about birds: four stars
great blue heron: four stars
the season of the raptors: three stars
the orphan bird: four stars
the murmurations of vienna von drome: three stars
blyth’s secret: two stars
the fortune of sparrows: two stars
pigeon from hell: four stars
the secret of flight: five stars
isobel avens returns to stepney in the spring: two stars
a little bird told me: five stars
the acid test: one star
the crow palace: five stars
the murmurations of vienna von drome, whilst not a favourite, sticks in my mind as the concept with the most potential here. it would be a superb movie or longer novella. the orphan bird and blyth’s secret seemed extremely similar in themes and tone to me, and the orphan bird was pretty clearly superior in actual writing skill and construction.
o terrible bird: one star
the obscure bird: three stars
the mathematical inevitability of corvids: five stars
something about birds: four stars
great blue heron: four stars
the season of the raptors: three stars
the orphan bird: four stars
the murmurations of vienna von drome: three stars
blyth’s secret: two stars
the fortune of sparrows: two stars
pigeon from hell: four stars
the secret of flight: five stars
isobel avens returns to stepney in the spring: two stars
a little bird told me: five stars
the acid test: one star
the crow palace: five stars
the murmurations of vienna von drome, whilst not a favourite, sticks in my mind as the concept with the most potential here. it would be a superb movie or longer novella. the orphan bird and blyth’s secret seemed extremely similar in themes and tone to me, and the orphan bird was pretty clearly superior in actual writing skill and construction.
February 5, 2017
The editor has given 14 original tales and 2 that are reprints. This is a book of dark fantasy and horror stories. It is more psychological and subtle in its horror. Awful things do happen in this book. It is not for the "faint of heart." Being a bird lover and parrot owner, when I saw this title edited by one of my favorite editors I had to read it. The stories focus on birds as part of the darkness of human nature. The stories sneak up on you as you read them, the reader will discover the "horror." Too often, we forget that there are dark sides to a bird as well as the light sides. Enjoy the book, I did!
Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book free from the author/publisher from Netgalley. I was not obliged to write a favorable review, or even any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book free from the author/publisher from Netgalley. I was not obliged to write a favorable review, or even any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
May 21, 2017
I love short stories!! And this anthology of avian tales is both dark and at times delightful. Birds symbolize freedom, transformation, life. But there is a dark side to the avian world, and this collection explores the strange and sometimes unsettling aspects of the bird kingdom. My favorite of the stories are: Great Blue Heron, by Joyce Carol Oates; The Fortune of Sparrows, by Usman T. Malik; and The Secret of Flight, by A.C. Wise. Wonderful storytelling!!!
May 31, 2017
I really enjoyed all of the stories in this collection, with the possible exception of "the Acid Test" which I felt demonstrated some of the worst qualities of stream-of-consciousness writing. The standouts from this collection were "The Mathematical Inevitability of Corvids," "The Crow Palace," and "Great Blue Heron."
January 6, 2021
Review in the Feb 2017 issue of Booklist and online: https://raforall.blogspot.com/2017/02...
Three Words That Describe This Book: primal fear, wide range, unease
Three Words That Describe This Book: primal fear, wide range, unease
August 3, 2017
Birds are miniature dinosaurs, worthy of great fear and trepidation.
Not every story is perfect, but many are. I particularly enjoyed McGuire's "The Mathematical Inevitability of Corvids", Tremblay's "Something About Birds", and Wise's "The Secret of Flight".
Not every story is perfect, but many are. I particularly enjoyed McGuire's "The Mathematical Inevitability of Corvids", Tremblay's "Something About Birds", and Wise's "The Secret of Flight".
August 23, 2017
When it says "dark" in the title, they're not joking, the horror is relentless without any relief. Between the plethora of child victims and anti-heroes it wasn't a happy read. If you are in the mood to be depressed, this book could take you there.
September 16, 2019
I received a copy of this book free from the publisher via Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
Please see my full review available soon at www.coffeeandtrainspotting.wordpress.com
Please see my full review available soon at www.coffeeandtrainspotting.wordpress.com
June 8, 2023
Birds have always held a fascination to writers of the weird and the uncanny. It might be the uneasy relationship shared between humans and our prevalent feathered friends, it may be that we simply understand that these creatures are likely to be the evolutionary ancestors of dinosaurs. Some of the earliest examples of classic horror stories are based around birds - I'm thinking specifically of ETA Hoffmann's owl-like haunter of children, The Sandman, how The Birds by Daphne du Maurier made the familiar sight of our feathered friends unsettling, or Edgar Allan Poe's supernatural narrative poem The Raven - so there seems to be a rich vein of unheimlich to be mined here.
Datlow's anthologies are never less than entertaining and Black Feathers adds to her array of rightly-celebrated titles. There are sixteen entries (one being a poem), all of the highest quality, although I should also add that - as with all anthologies - some stories worked better for me than others. For example, one of the tales - M John Harrison's Isobel Avens Returns to Stepney in the Spring - happens to be one of my favourite short stories of all time, and has been since I first encountered it in the mid 90s. The second reprint - The Obscure Bird - originally appeared in Black Static in 2011, and I had remembered how its seemingly straightforward prose bore all the unsettling hallmarks of Nicholas Royle at his best.
As far as I'm aware, all the other stories are original to this book. There's a brilliant contribution from Joyce Carol Oates, heartbreaking and disturbing in equal measure. In Alison Littlewood's The Orphan Bird, Arnold, an ornithological painter, reflects on childhood traumas caused by bullying and we get to see a startling insight into his disturbed world now. Blyth's Secret by Mike O'Driscoll is an absolute cracker of a story, in which the narrator, Wil Blevins, ekes out a lonely existence in an isolated Welsh forest, close to where a young boy has gone missing. There's a deep thread of discomfort running through this one, and the subtext is subtle and devastating, exactly the right side of ambiguous. Blevins' jackdaw friend, Blyth, adds an element of psychology that brings to mind Norman Bates and his taxidermy obsession.
The Crow Palace by Priya Sharma tells the story of Julie and her twin sister Pippa, who fled the family home years before, following the apparent suicide of their mother. Pippa has cerebral palsy and Julie has to face the selfishness of her past, which is also entwined with mythology and a glorious slice of avian folk horror. This is a great way to end the book, finishing on a real high, with such a pitch dark tone, embodying the theme of the collection perfectly.
Black Feathers is a wonderful anthology, filled with stories from the best writers working today. Whilst I didn't find every single story to be as engaging as the rest, there's no denying the quality of the writing, and so this is a book that is easy to recommend. I'm sure even the most discerning reader of dark fiction will find much to love.
Datlow's anthologies are never less than entertaining and Black Feathers adds to her array of rightly-celebrated titles. There are sixteen entries (one being a poem), all of the highest quality, although I should also add that - as with all anthologies - some stories worked better for me than others. For example, one of the tales - M John Harrison's Isobel Avens Returns to Stepney in the Spring - happens to be one of my favourite short stories of all time, and has been since I first encountered it in the mid 90s. The second reprint - The Obscure Bird - originally appeared in Black Static in 2011, and I had remembered how its seemingly straightforward prose bore all the unsettling hallmarks of Nicholas Royle at his best.
As far as I'm aware, all the other stories are original to this book. There's a brilliant contribution from Joyce Carol Oates, heartbreaking and disturbing in equal measure. In Alison Littlewood's The Orphan Bird, Arnold, an ornithological painter, reflects on childhood traumas caused by bullying and we get to see a startling insight into his disturbed world now. Blyth's Secret by Mike O'Driscoll is an absolute cracker of a story, in which the narrator, Wil Blevins, ekes out a lonely existence in an isolated Welsh forest, close to where a young boy has gone missing. There's a deep thread of discomfort running through this one, and the subtext is subtle and devastating, exactly the right side of ambiguous. Blevins' jackdaw friend, Blyth, adds an element of psychology that brings to mind Norman Bates and his taxidermy obsession.
The Crow Palace by Priya Sharma tells the story of Julie and her twin sister Pippa, who fled the family home years before, following the apparent suicide of their mother. Pippa has cerebral palsy and Julie has to face the selfishness of her past, which is also entwined with mythology and a glorious slice of avian folk horror. This is a great way to end the book, finishing on a real high, with such a pitch dark tone, embodying the theme of the collection perfectly.
Black Feathers is a wonderful anthology, filled with stories from the best writers working today. Whilst I didn't find every single story to be as engaging as the rest, there's no denying the quality of the writing, and so this is a book that is easy to recommend. I'm sure even the most discerning reader of dark fiction will find much to love.
January 26, 2021
Great Blue Heron by JOYCE CAROL OATES
“In his sleep the husband does strange, sculptural things with pillows: bends them in two, sets them beneath his head vertically, merges two pillows into one, lies at an uncomfortable angle with his head crooked. Yet he sleeps soundly, the nocturnal birds rarely wake him.”
And sometimes memorials in a cemetery are sculpted as stone pillows.
Claudia, teacher in a girls’ school, loses the husband effectively through his being too good-hearted. Indeed, the story is tellingly full of oxymorons, the weightiness of thick air, the thinness and thickness of headstones, mixed feelings, people conveyed with the aura of acting not only like a ritual or choreography of nice birds but harsh prodding ones, too. Including one of those characters in literature you may never forget: Claudia’s brother-in-law. Is his prodding an act of care or harsh greed? The image of great blue heron is also memorable, hunter and angel, I guess. It is also a blend of the bereaved couple (if a couple can be deemed as bereaved when one of them is the dead person over whom they are bereaved.)
This substantive story continues to resonate, even as I write this. Scratching my roof close to the ceiling where I sleep. Warbling somewhere. It will continue to resonate tonight, I predict, as I try to get comfortable in bed near that shape that has shaped the other half of the bed for almost two generations.
The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long or impractical to post here.
Above is one of its observations at the time of the review.
“In his sleep the husband does strange, sculptural things with pillows: bends them in two, sets them beneath his head vertically, merges two pillows into one, lies at an uncomfortable angle with his head crooked. Yet he sleeps soundly, the nocturnal birds rarely wake him.”
And sometimes memorials in a cemetery are sculpted as stone pillows.
Claudia, teacher in a girls’ school, loses the husband effectively through his being too good-hearted. Indeed, the story is tellingly full of oxymorons, the weightiness of thick air, the thinness and thickness of headstones, mixed feelings, people conveyed with the aura of acting not only like a ritual or choreography of nice birds but harsh prodding ones, too. Including one of those characters in literature you may never forget: Claudia’s brother-in-law. Is his prodding an act of care or harsh greed? The image of great blue heron is also memorable, hunter and angel, I guess. It is also a blend of the bereaved couple (if a couple can be deemed as bereaved when one of them is the dead person over whom they are bereaved.)
This substantive story continues to resonate, even as I write this. Scratching my roof close to the ceiling where I sleep. Warbling somewhere. It will continue to resonate tonight, I predict, as I try to get comfortable in bed near that shape that has shaped the other half of the bed for almost two generations.
The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long or impractical to post here.
Above is one of its observations at the time of the review.
June 8, 2018
Both lovely and unsettling, Black Feathers is a collection of bird-related dark fantasy and horror stories. Beyond the broad theme of birds, the stories in this collection tend toward the motif of physical or psychological transformation in the face of trauma. As in any anthology, some stories are more captivating than others, although there are far more hits than misses in this collection. Rather than delve into each story one-by-one, I'll mention some of the standouts. First, there is Seanan McGuire's "The Mathematical Inevitability of Corvids," a story that offers both a nuanced depiction of an autistic protagonist and a slow-burn build to the inevitable, tragic climax. Then there's M. John Harrison's queasy body-horror piece, "Isobel Avens Returns to Stepney in the Spring," the anthology's most literal take on the birds-as-transformative theme. Finally, Stephen Graham Jones's "A Pigeon From Hell", the disturbing story of a teenage girl who makes a terrible mistake and as a result finds herself hounded by supernatural forces, is arguably the story from the collection that falls most directly into the "horror" genre.
As a whole, this collection tends toward ambiguity; a number of the endings found in this anthology could be the subject of intense debate regarding their meanings and implications. I'd recommend this to anyone who likes their short stories dark and slightly disturbing. And full of birds, of course.
As a whole, this collection tends toward ambiguity; a number of the endings found in this anthology could be the subject of intense debate regarding their meanings and implications. I'd recommend this to anyone who likes their short stories dark and slightly disturbing. And full of birds, of course.
November 20, 2020
After an introduction by renowned editor Ellen Datlow and a poem ‘O Terrible Bird’ by Sandra Kasturi we get down to the meat of the book: the stories.
‘The Obscure Bird’ by Nicholas Royle is about a man who starts turning nocturnal. His wife becomes worried. Then he ends up more Owlish than Billy Bunter and she has real cause for concern. I jest but this is really quite disturbing and will surprise you.
‘The Mathematical Inevitability of Corvids by Seanan McGuire’ concerns a modern family with a stepfather who is, as usual, not very nice, especially to his autistic stepdaughter who likes to count corvids - members of the crow family. One for sorrow, two for joy is a refrain that British television viewers of a certain age will remember well. This is not only a great story but rolls along with such eloquent prose that I found it impossible to put down. Someone wanted to interrupt me and I declined. Like a poem, it has to be read in one go.
‘Something About Birds’ by Paul Tremblay works splendidly to build up an atmosphere of dread as a star-struck book reviewer meets his favourite author to discuss his limited but highly regarded literary output, especially his last short story about birds. The reviewer seems to be invited to join some sort of club. Very good but it didn’t end with a bang. This used to drive me nuts (and I still don’t like it) but I’m now aware that the authors of such tales are trying to do something...other.
‘Great Blue Heron’ is by Joyce Carol Oates, a big name, famous literary writer. It’s the first thing of hers I’ve read and it was terrific. Claudia, not long widowed, lives in an isolated house by the lake. Her creepy brother-in-law is trying to take over her finances and other well-meaning sympathetic people are driving her nuts. She just wants to be left alone. Then she becomes fascinated by the great blue herons on the lake and starts to identify with them. This would work as a non-weird story about relating to other people but the fantastic element is well handled too and definitely gives it something extra.
‘The Orphan Bird’ by Alison Littlewood is a prime example of how everyday horrors can be much scarier than supernatural stuff like werewolves and vampires. Even Lovecraftian Old Gods can’t compare to the cruelty of children. Arnold is an outsider who lives in a cottage in the lake district and paints birds, selling the pictures to illustrate books. Sometimes he ventures out among the tourists to prey on them. This is beautifully written and so disturbing I wish I hadn’t read it, which is probably the idea.
‘The Murmurations of Vienna von Drome’ by Jeffrey Ford has the literary prose of the New Weird but it’s really more of an old-fashioned adventure story. A detective investigates a serial killer who always seems to strike after a snowfall and mutilates his victims in odd ways. I was previously unaware that starlings could be trained to speak but knew about murmurations. Here they form pictures! Good characters made this an enjoyable yarn.
‘Blyth’s Secret’ by Mike O’Driscoll is another one that mixes birds and child murder. Wil Blevins found the partially devoured body of his mother in the forest when he was nine years old. Perhaps unsurprisingly he has been sectioned four times since. His ninth birthday present was a pair of red canaries and now he has a pet crow named Blyth. Unsettling stuff and highlights how the misfit will come under suspicion immediately when something bad happens.
The title is a homage to an old Robert E. Howard story but Stephen Graham Jones tells a grimmer tale with ‘Pigeon from Hell’. A babysitter fails drastically in her duty and her charge ends up dead. She has secrets to keep and keeping them takes her down ever darker roads. It’s a contemporary American suburban setting and the story was written in plain prose - think Stephen King - and perhaps had more impact thereby. And it was scary.
Many moons ago I read praise for M. John Harrison by Michael Moorcock and bought one of his books on the strength of it. I found it unreadable. Happily, I found ‘Isobel Avens Returns to Stepney in the Spring’ both readable and enjoyable. Mick Rose, called China by everyone, has a successful business delivering bio-samples. He meets plump, sexy Isobel in Stratford-On-Avon and falls in love. She dreams of flying. She loves it so much she wants it to come true and starts to lose weight in pursuit of her ambition. The yearning to be a bird goes to extreme lengths. Apart from the weird aspects, this was an accurate portrayal of a modern relationship. I especially liked the description of being dumped: ‘There was a kind of soft thud inside me. It was something broken. It was something not there anymore.’
Pat Cadigan’s ‘A Little Bird Told Me’ opens with the heroine photographing a flat full of dead people. They are Cheaters, people who have dodged death, so once it caught up with them they rot quickly. In one room she finds a parrot who has a message for Death. ‘Just tell that asshole mortality isn’t what it used to be.’ Her boss Madame Quill turns up. She ‘looks like an old lady but has more in common with a trained assassin, sans the whimsy.’ Madame works for The Continuous Realm of All Things. This is one of those fantasies set in our world in which magical things are going on all around but we can’t see it. The heroine is invisible to most people. I enjoyed it a lot but if the heroine’s name was given, I missed it.
‘The Crow Palace’ by Priya Sharma is another homage to corvids. Julie grows up in a nice house with a big garden and a fancy multi-level bird table built by her father which is the crow palace of the title. The garden also has a pond in which mum drowned herself. Julie’s twin sister Pippa has cerebral palsy. I liked Julie as she’s that rare female who’s not yearning for true love and the weird secret at the heart of the story was nicely revealed. Spooky.
Most of the stories are copyright 2017 and so were presumably written especially for this anthology. Most of them are good reads, in a disturbing way, and some are excellent. Whereas science-fiction has its roots in the plain-spoken pulp tradition, modern fantasy is often more literary. To use Asimov’s metaphor, it’s stained glass rather than plate glass. Some readers find this pretentious but I think there’s room out there for all kinds of glazing and I recommend Black Feathers to fans of weird fiction.
‘The Obscure Bird’ by Nicholas Royle is about a man who starts turning nocturnal. His wife becomes worried. Then he ends up more Owlish than Billy Bunter and she has real cause for concern. I jest but this is really quite disturbing and will surprise you.
‘The Mathematical Inevitability of Corvids by Seanan McGuire’ concerns a modern family with a stepfather who is, as usual, not very nice, especially to his autistic stepdaughter who likes to count corvids - members of the crow family. One for sorrow, two for joy is a refrain that British television viewers of a certain age will remember well. This is not only a great story but rolls along with such eloquent prose that I found it impossible to put down. Someone wanted to interrupt me and I declined. Like a poem, it has to be read in one go.
‘Something About Birds’ by Paul Tremblay works splendidly to build up an atmosphere of dread as a star-struck book reviewer meets his favourite author to discuss his limited but highly regarded literary output, especially his last short story about birds. The reviewer seems to be invited to join some sort of club. Very good but it didn’t end with a bang. This used to drive me nuts (and I still don’t like it) but I’m now aware that the authors of such tales are trying to do something...other.
‘Great Blue Heron’ is by Joyce Carol Oates, a big name, famous literary writer. It’s the first thing of hers I’ve read and it was terrific. Claudia, not long widowed, lives in an isolated house by the lake. Her creepy brother-in-law is trying to take over her finances and other well-meaning sympathetic people are driving her nuts. She just wants to be left alone. Then she becomes fascinated by the great blue herons on the lake and starts to identify with them. This would work as a non-weird story about relating to other people but the fantastic element is well handled too and definitely gives it something extra.
‘The Orphan Bird’ by Alison Littlewood is a prime example of how everyday horrors can be much scarier than supernatural stuff like werewolves and vampires. Even Lovecraftian Old Gods can’t compare to the cruelty of children. Arnold is an outsider who lives in a cottage in the lake district and paints birds, selling the pictures to illustrate books. Sometimes he ventures out among the tourists to prey on them. This is beautifully written and so disturbing I wish I hadn’t read it, which is probably the idea.
‘The Murmurations of Vienna von Drome’ by Jeffrey Ford has the literary prose of the New Weird but it’s really more of an old-fashioned adventure story. A detective investigates a serial killer who always seems to strike after a snowfall and mutilates his victims in odd ways. I was previously unaware that starlings could be trained to speak but knew about murmurations. Here they form pictures! Good characters made this an enjoyable yarn.
‘Blyth’s Secret’ by Mike O’Driscoll is another one that mixes birds and child murder. Wil Blevins found the partially devoured body of his mother in the forest when he was nine years old. Perhaps unsurprisingly he has been sectioned four times since. His ninth birthday present was a pair of red canaries and now he has a pet crow named Blyth. Unsettling stuff and highlights how the misfit will come under suspicion immediately when something bad happens.
The title is a homage to an old Robert E. Howard story but Stephen Graham Jones tells a grimmer tale with ‘Pigeon from Hell’. A babysitter fails drastically in her duty and her charge ends up dead. She has secrets to keep and keeping them takes her down ever darker roads. It’s a contemporary American suburban setting and the story was written in plain prose - think Stephen King - and perhaps had more impact thereby. And it was scary.
Many moons ago I read praise for M. John Harrison by Michael Moorcock and bought one of his books on the strength of it. I found it unreadable. Happily, I found ‘Isobel Avens Returns to Stepney in the Spring’ both readable and enjoyable. Mick Rose, called China by everyone, has a successful business delivering bio-samples. He meets plump, sexy Isobel in Stratford-On-Avon and falls in love. She dreams of flying. She loves it so much she wants it to come true and starts to lose weight in pursuit of her ambition. The yearning to be a bird goes to extreme lengths. Apart from the weird aspects, this was an accurate portrayal of a modern relationship. I especially liked the description of being dumped: ‘There was a kind of soft thud inside me. It was something broken. It was something not there anymore.’
Pat Cadigan’s ‘A Little Bird Told Me’ opens with the heroine photographing a flat full of dead people. They are Cheaters, people who have dodged death, so once it caught up with them they rot quickly. In one room she finds a parrot who has a message for Death. ‘Just tell that asshole mortality isn’t what it used to be.’ Her boss Madame Quill turns up. She ‘looks like an old lady but has more in common with a trained assassin, sans the whimsy.’ Madame works for The Continuous Realm of All Things. This is one of those fantasies set in our world in which magical things are going on all around but we can’t see it. The heroine is invisible to most people. I enjoyed it a lot but if the heroine’s name was given, I missed it.
‘The Crow Palace’ by Priya Sharma is another homage to corvids. Julie grows up in a nice house with a big garden and a fancy multi-level bird table built by her father which is the crow palace of the title. The garden also has a pond in which mum drowned herself. Julie’s twin sister Pippa has cerebral palsy. I liked Julie as she’s that rare female who’s not yearning for true love and the weird secret at the heart of the story was nicely revealed. Spooky.
Most of the stories are copyright 2017 and so were presumably written especially for this anthology. Most of them are good reads, in a disturbing way, and some are excellent. Whereas science-fiction has its roots in the plain-spoken pulp tradition, modern fantasy is often more literary. To use Asimov’s metaphor, it’s stained glass rather than plate glass. Some readers find this pretentious but I think there’s room out there for all kinds of glazing and I recommend Black Feathers to fans of weird fiction.
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