13 Phantasms

by James P. Blaylock

Limited edition printing of Blaylock's short story, "Thirteen Phantasms."

Genres: Fantasy

32 pages, Perfect Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

James Paul Blaylock is an American fantasy author. He is noted for his distinctive style. He writes in a humorous way: His characters never walk, they clump along, or when someone complains (in a flying machine) that flight is impossible, the other characters agree and show him why he's right.

He was born in Long Beach, California; studied English at California State University, Fullerton, receiving an M.A. in 1974; and lives in Orange, California, teaching creative writing at Chapman University. Many of his books are set in Orange County, California, and can more specifically be termed "fabulism" — that is, fantastic things happen in our present-day world, rather than in traditional fantasy, where the setting is often some other world. His works have also been categorized as magic realism.

He and his friends Tim Powers and K.W. Jeter were mentored by Philip K. Dick. Along with Powers he invented the poet William Ashbless. Blaylock and Powers have often collaborated with each other on writing stories, including The Better Boy, On Pirates, and The William Ashbless Memorial Cookbook.

Blaylock is also currently director of the Creative Writing Conservatory at the Orange County High School of the Arts, where Powers is Writer in Residence.

Reviews

[Geoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

13 Phantasms was my first Blaylock story. It’s a short story, and it tells of a man who finds all these old boxes in an attic that are filled with "Amazing Stories" magazines that date back to the 1940’s and 1950’s. The man decides to complete a subscription form in one of the magazines and send it out. Well, it is actually received, but back in time when the magazine was released (1940's or so). So, we get a fun little story of correspondence, between the present and the past. And that’s about all it was. It's a fun little story. For me, as an introduction into Blaylock’s work, I can say that I like his writing style.

[Becky Loader · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you haven't read Blaylock because you think he is "just" a Steampunk author, you must try this selection of short stories. My personal favorite was "Nets of Silver and Gold," because of the wonderful use of anticipation to find out what exactly the protagonist was seeing through the keyhole.
If felt as if these stories were ideas I could have had, and that Mr. Blaylock had seen inside my thoughts and developed the ideas while using excellent prose. He is an amazing story teller.

[laurenpie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming and satisfying story

I loved it!

I believe this page here is for the actual short story "Thirteen Phantasms," whereas the other link is for the collection of short stories, Thirteen Phantasms and other Stories.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blaylock is a wonderful short-story writer and this is one of his best.

[Taffnerd · Rating 3 out of 5]

These stories are more like ghost stories or Twilight Zone episodes than science fiction. I'd give it 3 1/2 stars if I could.

[David Schwan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun short story about a man who finds a number of boxes of 50 year old science fiction magazines and has a wonderful interaction with them and the creators of the magazines.