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Bourbon Penn 25
Bourbon Penn 25 features all new stories of the imagination and odd by Gregory Norman Bossert, Louis Evans, Allie Kiri Mendelsohn, Anthony Panegyres, Simon Strantzas, and E. Catherine Tobler. Stories from Bourbon Penn have been reprinted in multiple Year's Best anthologies as well as Stoker Award, World Fantasy Award, and New York Times Notable collections.
- GenresHorrorFantasyAnthologies
152 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 7, 2023
Another fab set of stories. This was up there with 23 & 24. Real treasure chest of stories.
5/5 Anthropophages Anonymous (AA) by Anthony Panegyres. (Hope I spelled that right.) Showing my age here, but years ago, think in the early 80s, Terry Bisson wrote a bear story that became a cult classic (Bears Discover Fire). I've been waiting for a great bear story since (I also loved Kotzwinkle's novel The Bear Went Over The Mountain). But AA is an excellent wild ride. More like the love child of George Saunders and Terry Bisson. James Davis is Holy James and runs an AA group in a Bear Nirvana compound for super bright bears who wish to stop devouring people. But a bright bear, Ted, cottons on that something is amiss, with the human deity James. Does he spill the beans? After all they live in a Bear Heaven? Hilarious but also very layered. Who knows, in the right hands this could become the next great American bear-cult story.
4.5/5 Mosaic by Allie Kiri Mendelshon. Mendelshon's prose is truly stunning. One sister lives in the shadows of her magician sister Marissa. But Marissa, although a star, is also ill. A beautiful story with a connecting revelation. Much sweeter too than The Prestige and not as duplicitous. Beautifully human.
5/5 Appearing Nightly by Gregory Norman Bossert. This experimental story documents a past female performer who could change her identity when performing. It's a series of research notes and documents about who she was, whether it was real or a parlor trick. Sounds a little dull, but it's incredible. I read it as celebrating diversity and looking beyond the notion of race. All about celebrating our sameness. Delightful and so original. Definitely a writer to follow up on. Has cult classic written all over it. Perfect reflection for our times.
4.5/5 The Truth Each Carried by E. Catherine Tobler. Think this would come under the steampunk subgenre. An elderly woman collects carousel and mechanical horses and stores them away. The horses seem to have a brief life of sorts or a soul that speaks. The incredible collection of mechanical beasts is paralleled with a funeral of a friend. A touching and unique story. Especially liked that it wasn't too well explained and kept nebulous. No overly neat bow here.
4/5 Lazaret by Louis Evans. Cal is on an unusual trip out in space. He has different days, different online partners, even different genders, as he is flying into a suggested doom. This is the weirdest of the stories. Took it as accepting of gender fluidity, but that may have also been there for comic relief (or both). Enjoyed it, but won't be for everyone's taste. The shortest of the stories.
3.5/5 Stranzas cleverly plays on the horror genre tropes in what I would describe as horror/weird story metafiction. A writer drives by a strange old house on a night his wife miscarriages and the home continues to haunt him. What are the possibilities? Plays with time and choices and life's paths. Interesting conceit and a good story. Might be a touch too clever and cerebral for some readers. But I can see others loving this for the very same reasons. Stranzas is a clever writer who has readers asking questions and reflect on story concepts.
5/5 Anthropophages Anonymous (AA) by Anthony Panegyres. (Hope I spelled that right.) Showing my age here, but years ago, think in the early 80s, Terry Bisson wrote a bear story that became a cult classic (Bears Discover Fire). I've been waiting for a great bear story since (I also loved Kotzwinkle's novel The Bear Went Over The Mountain). But AA is an excellent wild ride. More like the love child of George Saunders and Terry Bisson. James Davis is Holy James and runs an AA group in a Bear Nirvana compound for super bright bears who wish to stop devouring people. But a bright bear, Ted, cottons on that something is amiss, with the human deity James. Does he spill the beans? After all they live in a Bear Heaven? Hilarious but also very layered. Who knows, in the right hands this could become the next great American bear-cult story.
4.5/5 Mosaic by Allie Kiri Mendelshon. Mendelshon's prose is truly stunning. One sister lives in the shadows of her magician sister Marissa. But Marissa, although a star, is also ill. A beautiful story with a connecting revelation. Much sweeter too than The Prestige and not as duplicitous. Beautifully human.
5/5 Appearing Nightly by Gregory Norman Bossert. This experimental story documents a past female performer who could change her identity when performing. It's a series of research notes and documents about who she was, whether it was real or a parlor trick. Sounds a little dull, but it's incredible. I read it as celebrating diversity and looking beyond the notion of race. All about celebrating our sameness. Delightful and so original. Definitely a writer to follow up on. Has cult classic written all over it. Perfect reflection for our times.
4.5/5 The Truth Each Carried by E. Catherine Tobler. Think this would come under the steampunk subgenre. An elderly woman collects carousel and mechanical horses and stores them away. The horses seem to have a brief life of sorts or a soul that speaks. The incredible collection of mechanical beasts is paralleled with a funeral of a friend. A touching and unique story. Especially liked that it wasn't too well explained and kept nebulous. No overly neat bow here.
4/5 Lazaret by Louis Evans. Cal is on an unusual trip out in space. He has different days, different online partners, even different genders, as he is flying into a suggested doom. This is the weirdest of the stories. Took it as accepting of gender fluidity, but that may have also been there for comic relief (or both). Enjoyed it, but won't be for everyone's taste. The shortest of the stories.
3.5/5 Stranzas cleverly plays on the horror genre tropes in what I would describe as horror/weird story metafiction. A writer drives by a strange old house on a night his wife miscarriages and the home continues to haunt him. What are the possibilities? Plays with time and choices and life's paths. Interesting conceit and a good story. Might be a touch too clever and cerebral for some readers. But I can see others loving this for the very same reasons. Stranzas is a clever writer who has readers asking questions and reflect on story concepts.
February 4, 2022
This was my introduction to the Bourbon Penn anthologies and I’m now asking myself: how has it taken me so long to discover them? At 150 pages, Issue #25 is pleasingly weird and quirky, exactly as its cover image promises. My favourite story was Anthony Panegyres’ “Anthropopages Anonymous (AA)”, which totally nails the thoughts and actions of upwardly evolved bears. The humour is subtle and dark, while the bears’ way of thinking is a dangerous mix of animal and human. I was particularly drawn to the mystery of Louis Evans’ “Lazaret” with its strange Twilight Zone-esque vibes; and also to the precarious balance of tragedy and creepiness in Simon Stanzas’ “That House”. E Catherine Tobler’s “The Truth Each Carried” allows the reader to discover more than one secret through the eyes of a perceptive and gifted older woman. Her horses are wonderful! Allie Kiri Mendelsohn’s “Mosaic” is a tale of magic told from the point of view of a very young adult. Mendelsohn's use of language does much to enhance the characterisation and setting. Gregory Norman Bossert’s “Appearing Nightly” is an atmospheric vignette about a magician whose performances are at once perplexing and elusive. I finished this antho in less than a day. All six stories left me thinking about them afterwards
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews