An Eclectic Collection of Stuff and Things

by Edwina Harvey, Simon Petrie (Editor)

Edwina Harvey's short fiction embraces the everyday, the faraway, the otherworldly. The 'stuff' in these stories ranges from the quest for mythical gold or the exploration of far-flung vistas of the Galaxy to the desire to simply enjoy the sunshine, while the 'things' may have wings, fangs, horns, or a variable number of limbs.
(The 'things', of course, are also people.)
The earliest of these stories were first published over three decades ago, while the most recent are new to this volume.

234 pages, Paperback

Published June 1, 2017

Reviews

[Hazel-Anne Nair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Writing short stories is a lot more difficult than people might think. Without the luxury of having 75,000 words or more to play with, the author must exercise economy in choosing just the right phrase or expression in order to convey a wealth of atmosphere, character, action or mood. For the most part, this has been well achieved by Edwina Harvey.

The book delivers what it promises: it is indeed an eclectic collection of dragons, talking horses, amorous aliens and randy satyrs. There is also stuff to feed your darkest conspiracy theory fears.

One standout is "Only Women Bleed". This story traverses the taboo line drawn by those squeamish of certain bodily functions of women, and then treats the reader to a dark romance.
Other stories of note are "Space Cow", and "HG" - both tales of the many different types of relationships between men and women.

There were some oddities. For example, I am not sure how the piece on Douglas Adams fits in, but then, it IS supposed to be an eclectic collection. Having said that, I did detect an over-arching theme in this anthology. Throughout, women are portrayed as powerful, intelligent entities who are not even remotely related to the cliched Heinlein-esque bimbos...there's no shrieking at the first sight of aliens here, neither are there any sprained ankles!

All in all a thoroughly satisfying collection. I recommend it to anyone wanting to dip their toes into this very nice, but ultimately darker than you think, ocean.

Hazel-Anne Nair (Meghan MacNair), July 2017.

[Pascal Inard · Rating 5 out of 5]

To read Edwina Harvey’s collection of short stories is to take a walk in a world inhabited by dragons (wild ones and of the pet variety), aliens, talking horses, con-women, unicorns, fauns and vampires.
Enjoy yourself and be prepared to be amazed, surprised and baffled. If you are hesitating, be assured you will be safe: Edwina is a gentle and generous soul and her humour shines a light even in the darkest places.
As a reader I am happy when I’ve enjoyed a book; I feel the world is a better place for books such as these, and I must point out that Edwina is the first writer who has managed to make me read an enjoy a vampire story – no mean feat!
As Edwina says in her bio, if she was a horse you’d bet on her for a place rather than a win, but she’s still here and still writing – she hasn’t been sent to the glue factory yet, so let’s hope she keeps writing so we can all enjoy some fine writing.

[Simon Petrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Disclaimer: I'm the book's editor.)
The breadth in Harvey's short fiction connection is dramatic. I suspect everyone will have different favourites -- it's that kind of collection -- but mine are the charming 'A Harem of Six Legs', the noirish 'Only Women Bleed' and the eerily understated 'Where the Last Humans Went'.

[Lorese · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the dark suburban tales best in this sometimes creepy sometimes laugh out loud collection. Those urban myths doing the rounds may be truer than we think – as might many conspiracy theories on the internet. If we aren’t all executed by deadly rays from government owned satellites, it may well be the internet that gets us in the end! I just loved the Vampire story with its lust for a particular kind of female blood … (remember the vampire on the train in ‘Dead Europe’ by Christos Tsiolkas?) Creepy but somehow erotically fascinating and ‘Remember the Rabbit’ managed to be creepy and funny at the same time.

Then: there’s talking horses, Arabian princesses, space cows, dragons (too many bloody dragons) and unicorns (too many bloody unicorns too). I am not sure I really like how eclectic this collection is. I prefer to read my short stories in themes to suit my mood. I’d prefer a whole collection of dark tales from this author and separate collections for some of her other tales. The dark tales are definitely adult while some of the lighter ones could be for children, or for grown-ups in a mood for some humour. Some of the shorter tales felt unfinished to me, even short stories need a completed story arc. For example ‘Space Cow’ was a fascinating idea that didn’t go anywhere, while ‘That Ain’t No Emu Egg’ was very ho-hum, but I’d read this collection just for the gems I mentioned. And, I think the author has finally described a condition I’ve had all my life and didn’t realise I had it until I read this collection – I believe I have ‘a psychic stomach sensitive to magic’. Lorese Vera

[Dion Perry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book certainly aligns with its title. It contains stories which range from vampire to an essay about Douglas Adams, the author of The Hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy. Overall, I enjoyed the stories. However, having read other works from Harvey, I found most of these ones to be lacking in her trademark humour. Some were darker; others deeply serious. I would recommend the book to anyone who likes variety rather than a single theme.

[Chrome Dog · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enjoyable collection of short stories and vignettes.