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Speaking to Skull Kings and Other Stories
A ballet dancer can't escape an unwanted suitor--even after death. Three sisters live by a strict etiquette book in an abandoned house, until one of them starts to question why. Two children venture into the treacherous forest to find their missing bird-guardian. A magician struggles to find a cure for the plague descending on her city before it's too late.
Emily B. Cataneo's debut fiction collection is rife with the decayed grandeur of old Europe, girls who love and loathe ghosts, and magic that comes with a price. These stories, many of which have appeared on year's best longlists, span the gamut from soft science fiction to noir, to high fantasy and everything in between. They unfold in settings rendered both beautiful and sinister: a wintry post-Revolution Russia, a gossipy New England town, a lonely bathhouse where robots go to die.
As the characters in these tales live out their lives, from childhood to death and beyond, they search for meaning, connection, and safety, struggling to transcend their circumstances and ultimately grappling with the question: how far will they go to escape?
Emily B. Cataneo's debut fiction collection is rife with the decayed grandeur of old Europe, girls who love and loathe ghosts, and magic that comes with a price. These stories, many of which have appeared on year's best longlists, span the gamut from soft science fiction to noir, to high fantasy and everything in between. They unfold in settings rendered both beautiful and sinister: a wintry post-Revolution Russia, a gossipy New England town, a lonely bathhouse where robots go to die.
As the characters in these tales live out their lives, from childhood to death and beyond, they search for meaning, connection, and safety, struggling to transcend their circumstances and ultimately grappling with the question: how far will they go to escape?
204 pages, Paperback
First published May 19, 2017
1 person is currently reading
396 people want to read
About the author
Emily B. Cataneo
23 books27 followersEmily B. Cataneo is a writer and journalist currently living in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her short stories have appeared in magazines such as Nightmare, SmokeLong Quarterly, Interfictions: A Journal of Interstitial Arts, The Dark, and Lackington's. She was long-listed for John Joseph Adams’ Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy in 2016, and her debut collection is forthcoming in May 2017. Common motifs in her stories include female protagonists and feminism, the Victorian occult, mysterious animals, strange museums, early twentieth century Europe and the aesthetic of fairytales.
Emily holds a B.A. and a B.S. from Boston University, and is a 2013 graduate of the Odyssey Writing Workshop in Manchester, N.H. and a 2016 graduate of the Clarion Writers Workshop in San Diego. She also currently manages social media and writes posts about culture and politics for an online feminist historical archive.
Emily holds a B.A. and a B.S. from Boston University, and is a 2013 graduate of the Odyssey Writing Workshop in Manchester, N.H. and a 2016 graduate of the Clarion Writers Workshop in San Diego. She also currently manages social media and writes posts about culture and politics for an online feminist historical archive.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
May 3, 2017
May 2017 heralds an exciting debut collection by Emily Cataneo released by Journalstone Publishing. It features twelve short stories with intriguing and other-worldly titles such as The Emerald Coat and Other Wishes, The City Dreams of Bird-Men, The Rondelium Girl of Rue Marseilles and of course, Speaking to Skull Kings.
Emily Cataneo has been making waves as an up and coming writer through having her stories feature in many prestigious publications such as Nightmare, Interzone,The Dark, Black Static and Lackington's Magazine.
I really enjoyed reading this, a really original and thought provoking body of work. Throughout these twelve tales is a really strong female element which I loved. The writing is very beautiful but the subject matter and themes are very dark at times representing the worst of humanity. There are many themes such as abandonment, guilt, revenge, retribution, salvation, and a burning curiosity with what lies on the other side beyond our borders. It's really hard to classify these stories, they are elements of many different genres such as science fiction, fantasy, horror, and paranormal but added in all together in a very unique formula they make for some delightfully strange stories.
The influences for these stories range from Victorian Spiritualism, Russian Revolutions, Medieval Europe, alternate universes that exist parallel to ours. They are tales of mad kings, crazed scientists, people longing for escape from reality, and ghosts.
For me the stand out tales are (although they're all great,) The Rondelium Girl of Rue Marseilles, Not the Grand Dukes Dancer, The Emerald Coat and Other Wishes. The imagination used to dream up these stories is astounding. I also really enjoyed Hungry Ghosts and The Ghosts of Blackwell, Maine.
What's really special about Emily Cataneo's writing is that it is really moving and poignant. You really feel that you're in there with them experiencing that moment through them.
Speaking to Skull Kings and Other Stories is out in May 2017 through JournalStone Publishing. Go forth and buy it!
http://www.sjbudd.co.uk/2017/05/speak...
Emily Cataneo has been making waves as an up and coming writer through having her stories feature in many prestigious publications such as Nightmare, Interzone,The Dark, Black Static and Lackington's Magazine.
I really enjoyed reading this, a really original and thought provoking body of work. Throughout these twelve tales is a really strong female element which I loved. The writing is very beautiful but the subject matter and themes are very dark at times representing the worst of humanity. There are many themes such as abandonment, guilt, revenge, retribution, salvation, and a burning curiosity with what lies on the other side beyond our borders. It's really hard to classify these stories, they are elements of many different genres such as science fiction, fantasy, horror, and paranormal but added in all together in a very unique formula they make for some delightfully strange stories.
The influences for these stories range from Victorian Spiritualism, Russian Revolutions, Medieval Europe, alternate universes that exist parallel to ours. They are tales of mad kings, crazed scientists, people longing for escape from reality, and ghosts.
For me the stand out tales are (although they're all great,) The Rondelium Girl of Rue Marseilles, Not the Grand Dukes Dancer, The Emerald Coat and Other Wishes. The imagination used to dream up these stories is astounding. I also really enjoyed Hungry Ghosts and The Ghosts of Blackwell, Maine.
What's really special about Emily Cataneo's writing is that it is really moving and poignant. You really feel that you're in there with them experiencing that moment through them.
Speaking to Skull Kings and Other Stories is out in May 2017 through JournalStone Publishing. Go forth and buy it!
http://www.sjbudd.co.uk/2017/05/speak...
May 17, 2017
Weird Fiction, I think by definition, is a hard genre to describe. Still, I think it's possible to point to a couple of major strains - Classic and New.
Cover Image for "Speaking to Skull Kings and Other Stories" by Emily B. Cataneo
On one hand you have the heritage of Machen, Blackwood, Gilman, Ligotti, and of course the decrepit and dark idol of HP himself. These are tales almost like ghost stories, where protagonists brush up against the uncanny and either survives or succumbs to bleak fates. These tales tend towards a morose and gothic atmosphere and describe worlds I'd definitely avoid in real life.
Then you have the bizarre stuff like Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, Michael Shea, and China Meiville where weirdness is something plastic and garish. Often referred to as the "New Weird," these are works where the universe keeps warping chromosomes and shoving disparate genres into weird hybrids. I'm not sure if I'm that keen to visit Bas-Lag in person, but I'm pretty sure I'd have more fun there than Carcosa. For my part, I'm a fan of both modes, which is why I dig Emily B. Cataneo's upcoming anthology "Speaking to Skull Kings and Other Stories."
One of the most impressive aspects of Cataneo's work is that it manages to combine these two types of weirdness with ease. Actually her works embrace a chimerical quality, borrowing from one literary genre before stretching out a pseudopod to incorporate another. And another. And another. Cataneo's work has an engagingly omnivorous quality, unafraid to mix/match/cut/paste as suits the needs of each of her peculiar and unique tales. But throughout the dozen tales included here a consistent mood prevails: the dark and uncanny gloom of Aiken mixed with the elegant derangements of Octavia Butler and Gemma Files. These are stories that evoke entire worlds, fill them with screwy oddballs, and let them play out their dramas in accordance with their own peculiar motivations.
Highlights in this collection: The title story which reminded me of the 100-acre woods as described by John Shirley, the taunt fantasy of "The Firebird," and the strange pathos of "Victoria's One-Way Ticket's" decaying machines. "My favorite story is "Purple Lemons," which incorporates a meta-fictional theme similar to Les Grossman's "Magicians" while being great deal less beholden to the imaginations of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.
Please note that I received a copy of this anthology in exchange for an honest review.
Cover Image for "Speaking to Skull Kings and Other Stories" by Emily B. Cataneo
On one hand you have the heritage of Machen, Blackwood, Gilman, Ligotti, and of course the decrepit and dark idol of HP himself. These are tales almost like ghost stories, where protagonists brush up against the uncanny and either survives or succumbs to bleak fates. These tales tend towards a morose and gothic atmosphere and describe worlds I'd definitely avoid in real life.
Then you have the bizarre stuff like Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, Michael Shea, and China Meiville where weirdness is something plastic and garish. Often referred to as the "New Weird," these are works where the universe keeps warping chromosomes and shoving disparate genres into weird hybrids. I'm not sure if I'm that keen to visit Bas-Lag in person, but I'm pretty sure I'd have more fun there than Carcosa. For my part, I'm a fan of both modes, which is why I dig Emily B. Cataneo's upcoming anthology "Speaking to Skull Kings and Other Stories."
One of the most impressive aspects of Cataneo's work is that it manages to combine these two types of weirdness with ease. Actually her works embrace a chimerical quality, borrowing from one literary genre before stretching out a pseudopod to incorporate another. And another. And another. Cataneo's work has an engagingly omnivorous quality, unafraid to mix/match/cut/paste as suits the needs of each of her peculiar and unique tales. But throughout the dozen tales included here a consistent mood prevails: the dark and uncanny gloom of Aiken mixed with the elegant derangements of Octavia Butler and Gemma Files. These are stories that evoke entire worlds, fill them with screwy oddballs, and let them play out their dramas in accordance with their own peculiar motivations.
Highlights in this collection: The title story which reminded me of the 100-acre woods as described by John Shirley, the taunt fantasy of "The Firebird," and the strange pathos of "Victoria's One-Way Ticket's" decaying machines. "My favorite story is "Purple Lemons," which incorporates a meta-fictional theme similar to Les Grossman's "Magicians" while being great deal less beholden to the imaginations of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.
Please note that I received a copy of this anthology in exchange for an honest review.
June 9, 2017
Emily B. Cataneo's debut short story collection, Speaking to Skull Kings and Other Stories, does not contain many happy endings, if any. These stories dance in the dark, and any sweetness is of the bitter variety. It may seem odd to begin with endings, but it's the endings that pack so much punch here; nearly every story ends with a delightful chill, a mournful buzz, a sinister victory. As for the beginnings and middles, I found myself most drawn in by the most fantastical and weird stories, like the titular opener "Speaking to Skull Kings," which has a fairy tale vibe and hews so strongly to its themes of abandonment you practically feel abandoned yourself when it's over. "A Guide to Etiquette and Comportment for the Sisters of Henley House" is another favorite, thanks to its framing structure as an etiquette book and the creepy central mystery with a resolution that, if a bit cliché, still works. The collection is mostly fantasy and horror, with a little bit of science fiction. Of the two ghost stories, "Hungry Ghosts" worked better for me with its bite. Of the two stories original to the collection, "Purple Lemons," a fun bit of fantasy noir in a world where people can visit another dimension, was more enjoyable. Pretty much every story conjures up a fascinating world you want to know more about, and after visiting all these worlds, you exit with "Victoria's One-Way Ticket," the perfect closer, an elegiac meditation on aging and death. As I said, you won't find much happiness here, but you will find beautifully written sadness.
May 22, 2017
Cataneo's dark, weird, and fantastical stories defy easy description, bending history and reality and old fairytales into new shapes. There's the Russian revolution - but skewed as if seen through a magical lens. There's France - but a France where women have wings attached to their flesh and bone. There's old Europe, haunted by an ominous Dark, where the population of a city looks to bird-men for salvation. Cataneo weaves together all these strands of history and magic, horror and fairytale, into something truly unique and captivating.
January 18, 2018
A wonderfully surreal trip into the fantastic unknown. It's not steampunk, it's not fantasy, it's not science fiction, it's not horror - it's a brand of fantastic and weird magical realism that belongs entirely to Emily Cataneo. Full review soon on CDonline.com.
August 14, 2017
This story collection is a deep-dive into the glorious and haunted imagination of Emily Cataneo. Her stories are dark and moody and rich in whimsy, peopled with dead girls and ghosts and Victorian lady scientists with uneasy intentions; draped in lovely bones and rotting lace and obsessions that drive like rain over worn and haunted Russian cobblestones.
In many ways, SPEAKING TO SKULL KINGS is a bold, feminist retaking of the Victorian gothic genre. Cataneo's dark-hearted worlds are concerned entirely with girls -- girls are the heroes, the villains, the platonic and romantic fascinations. Not only do all stories pass the Bechdel test, but few pass the inverse (which I'm calling, somewhat affectionately, the Dick-del test): there are few named men in any of the stories, and when they're permitted to speak, they speak to or about the girls or women. The stories are all the more feminist for not being overtly political. Instead, they collectively create a universe in which the concerns of girls and young women are unapologetically at the forefront (and those concerns, rather than those suburban homemaker sensibilities generally relegated to the problematically titled "women's fiction," are linked to Tsarist class warfare and hauntings and portals and science experiments gone terribly, cruelly wrong).
It's a fabulous, fabulist, fantastical read that I wish I had had in high school. Give to all of your gloomy gothic girls, your science fiction fans, your dreamy teens in capes! And to the men, the boys, the awards committees -- through the dark glimmers of Cataneo's imaginings, we can glimpse a brighter world.
In many ways, SPEAKING TO SKULL KINGS is a bold, feminist retaking of the Victorian gothic genre. Cataneo's dark-hearted worlds are concerned entirely with girls -- girls are the heroes, the villains, the platonic and romantic fascinations. Not only do all stories pass the Bechdel test, but few pass the inverse (which I'm calling, somewhat affectionately, the Dick-del test): there are few named men in any of the stories, and when they're permitted to speak, they speak to or about the girls or women. The stories are all the more feminist for not being overtly political. Instead, they collectively create a universe in which the concerns of girls and young women are unapologetically at the forefront (and those concerns, rather than those suburban homemaker sensibilities generally relegated to the problematically titled "women's fiction," are linked to Tsarist class warfare and hauntings and portals and science experiments gone terribly, cruelly wrong).
It's a fabulous, fabulist, fantastical read that I wish I had had in high school. Give to all of your gloomy gothic girls, your science fiction fans, your dreamy teens in capes! And to the men, the boys, the awards committees -- through the dark glimmers of Cataneo's imaginings, we can glimpse a brighter world.
November 27, 2017
This is one of my favorite short story collections of the year. I believe I may have said that at least 3 times this year. That just means I read a lot of good short stories. I had no idea who Cataneo was before checking this book out. It sounded like the type of dark fantasy that I like, and I have read some other great books by the publisher.
Cataneo definitely has an innovative voice of her own in this collection. If you wanted to enjoy Michael Cisco without all the complicated wordplay. Not dissing Cisco, I am a big fan, but if you want that degree of creativity in a more straightforward storytelling fashion then you should check out this book. I enjoyed every story in this book from one degree to another but a few of them are exceptionally awesome. Fans of Reanimation/Frankenstein stories will likely enjoy Not The Grand Duke’s Dancer. The ending to that story is incredible. The Firebird is another of my favorites, containing a lot of societal and allegorical elements.
If you are a fan of dark fantasy and enjoy suspension of disbelief, you will enjoy Speaking To Skull Kings And Other Stories.
Edit "REVIEW: Speaking To Skull Kings by Emily B. Cataneo"
Cataneo definitely has an innovative voice of her own in this collection. If you wanted to enjoy Michael Cisco without all the complicated wordplay. Not dissing Cisco, I am a big fan, but if you want that degree of creativity in a more straightforward storytelling fashion then you should check out this book. I enjoyed every story in this book from one degree to another but a few of them are exceptionally awesome. Fans of Reanimation/Frankenstein stories will likely enjoy Not The Grand Duke’s Dancer. The ending to that story is incredible. The Firebird is another of my favorites, containing a lot of societal and allegorical elements.
If you are a fan of dark fantasy and enjoy suspension of disbelief, you will enjoy Speaking To Skull Kings And Other Stories.
Edit "REVIEW: Speaking To Skull Kings by Emily B. Cataneo"
July 16, 2017
Emily B. Cataneo's Speaking to Skull Kings is full of stories for weird kids who grew up into weird adults -- or for fans of Kelly Link, Karen Russell, Shirley Jackson, and Angela Carter. Every story transports the reader perfectly into a fully realized and often terrifying world, from the gothic horror of "A Guide to Etiquette and Comportment for the Sisters of Henley House" to the post-revolution steampunk Russia of "The Firebird" and the dystopian, portal-filled Boston that unfolds in "Purple Lemons." Despite the fact that the settings vary so widely across the book, they feel cohesive in their themes: grief, loss, regret, and the intensity of female friendship and family ties. If you've ever lost someone, you will see yourself in these stories, even as they deal with hair-eating ghosts and children raised by a bird. This is an exciting and imaginative debut collection, and I can't wait to see what Cataneo does next.
February 6, 2019
Emily is a word painter, and her scenes are paintings that draw you in, leaning across the velvet rope, till you’re close enough to see what’s lurking in the shadows. Then, instead of falling back, you climb right into the picture and live in it, there with the dark things. These stories are beautiful in their melancholy. They read like the truth behind fairy tales.
September 5, 2017
I keep thinking about the marvelous title story. Hence the upgrade to 4 stars.
April 6, 2020
Other reviews have pointed out how stunning, lyrical, and phenomenally good this collection is. Emily B. Cataneo is a wordsmith who writes disarming, dark, beautiful things. If you are a fan of Kristi DeMeester, Sarah Read, Gwendolyn Kiste, Sara Tanglinger, Stephanie M. Wytovich, and more, and you love "slow burn" horror featuring Jackson-esque female characters with creative twists, and horror that is not obvious or in your face but takes its time to raise the dread and play with uncertainty, then definitely read this wonderful writer's majestic prose. I can't emphasize enough how amazing her work is. Staggeringly good!
September 24, 2024
Each story in this collection begins with a jolt into truly unique, mostly terrifying, world. I found myself furiously turning pages, sometimes at risk at being late to work, equally eager to learn about the parameters of each fantastical setting as I was to learn about what horrors await the protagonist. I grew up in the 1980's and loved all of the Steven King/ Steven Spielberg tropes of children left to fend for themselves. Many of these stories feature child or young protagonists and their familiar innocence make them immediately likable guides to some deeply disturbing adventures. I hope Cataneo is releasing a follow-up soon.
December 3, 2021
This was the first time I read a short story collection and was able to enjoy it completely, especially since I was in a huge reading slump. Every single story was phenomenal and Cataneo has a way of writing that is very captivating and engaging. Each story felt very magical in its own different way and I was impressed with how diverse and creative each story was from the others. Absolutely loved it and I can see myself returning to this book and rereading it every now and then in the future.
I picked up this book on a whim but it was the best decision I've made.
I picked up this book on a whim but it was the best decision I've made.
June 22, 2017
A delightful debut collection. Cataneo's imagination spins fantastic tales of the bereaved, the lost, and the downtrodden with incisive writing and supreme command. A flower that lightens a body until it floats (to disastrous consequence), a dead balet dancer whose controlling teacher attempts reanimation, ghosts, spirits, conjurings--it's all here, and all a joy.
April 26, 2023
For a reading challenge, I picked this up as an option outside of my usual genre and what an excellent choice it has been. Each story in the collection took me to a new hauntingly wonderful world with characters that come alive with hope and hardship and mystery. The contemplations of death and life, desire and love, and meaning were chilling and deep.
August 8, 2017
Coming to LJ and Blog 10/1/17
April 14, 2019
I didn’t love all the stories in this collection. Some just fell short for me. But it’s a decent collection for anyone seeking the slightly odd, dark, weird, and uncomfortable.
July 2, 2024
Very few of these stories had a strong impact on me, with the exception of the Purple Lemons one. That left me thinking.
October 11, 2024
I absolutely loved this.
September 28, 2024
Speaking to Skull Kings: ★★★☆☆
A Guide to Etiquette and Comportment for the Sisters of Henley House: ★★★☆☆
The Rondelium Girl of Rue Marseilles: ★★☆☆☆
Not the Grand Duke's Dancer: ★★☆☆☆
The Ghosts of Blackwell, Maine: ★★★★★
The Heart Machine: ★★★★★
Purple Lemons: ★★★★★
The Firebird: ★★★☆☆
The Emerald Coat and Other Wishes: ★★★★☆
The City Dreams of Bird-Men: ★★★★☆
Hungry Ghosts: ★★★☆☆
Victoria's One-Way Ticket: ★★★★★
A Guide to Etiquette and Comportment for the Sisters of Henley House: ★★★☆☆
The Rondelium Girl of Rue Marseilles: ★★☆☆☆
Not the Grand Duke's Dancer: ★★☆☆☆
The Ghosts of Blackwell, Maine: ★★★★★
The Heart Machine: ★★★★★
Purple Lemons: ★★★★★
The Firebird: ★★★☆☆
The Emerald Coat and Other Wishes: ★★★★☆
The City Dreams of Bird-Men: ★★★★☆
Hungry Ghosts: ★★★☆☆
Victoria's One-Way Ticket: ★★★★★
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews