Leviathan Wept and Other Stories

by Daniel Abraham

What if you had a holocaust and nobody came?

Imagine a father who has sent his child's soul voyaging and seen it go astray. Or a backyard tale from the 1001 American Nights. Macbeth re-imagined as a screwball comedy. Three extraordinary economic tasks performed by a small expert in currency exchange that risk first career and then life and then soul.

From the disturbing beauty of 'Flat Diane' (Nebula-nominee, International Horror Guild award-winner) to the idiosyncratic vision of 'The Cambist and Lord Iron' (Hugo- and World Fantasy-nominee), Daniel Abraham has been writing some of the most enjoyable and widely admired short fiction in the genre for over a decade.

Ranging from high fantasy to hard science fiction, screwball comedy to gut-punching tragedy, Daniel Abraham's stories never fail to be intelligent, compassionate, thoughtful, and humane. Leviathan Wept and Other Stories is the first collection of his short works, including selections from both the well-known and the rare.

Contents:
The Cambist and Lord Iron (2007)
Flat Diane (2004)
The Best Monkey (2009)
The Support Technician Tango (2007)
A Hunter in Arin-Quin (2010)
Leviathan Wept (2004)
Exclusion (2001)
As Sweet (2001)
The Curandero and the Swede (2010)

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Science Fiction, Fiction, Collections, Horror, Speculative Fiction

277 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Daniel James Abraham, pen names M.L.N. Hanover and James S.A. Corey, is an American novelist, comic book writer, screenwriter, and television producer. He is best known as the author of The Long Price Quartet and The Dagger and the Coin fantasy series, and with Ty Franck, as the co-author of The Expanse series of science fiction novels, written under the joint pseudonym James S.A. Corey.

Reviews

[Eh?Eh! · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to thank Ceridwen for turning me on to this author. Because of her review of book #2 of his fantasy series, I picked this up instead when I chanced upon it at the library since I'm not too excited about epics lately. I don't have the aversion to short stories that many have described but I don't seek them out, either. I would never have read this...amazing, thought-provoking, shiver-inducing set of tales. Damn, Abraham, this book good! I've noticed my memory has been for crap since I finished school, as if my mind has gotten as flabby as what little muscles I once had for the same reason, going from an environment that constantly kept me scrambling with a variety of exercises to one that had me sitting dumpily in an office chair working at tasks that take a long time to finish. But I find that I can recall details of a couple of these stories a few days afterwards, meaning they're locked in. I hope!

These are fantasy or science fiction, so that may shave off some readers there. I hadn't thought of why certain people like certain books until reading so many discussions on gr threads, where people who think about stuff that never occur to me pound things out in ways that leave me gaping. Now, when I'm thinking about shyly (or pushily) recommending books I've loved in order to spread the love, I hesitate. Most of my favorite books had the worst writing and other-words-describing-style-and-method-that-I-don't-know (although I could go to karen's advisory group and reference her how-to (plug for karen's group! http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/4...)) but an exciting pace and great fight scenes and parts that make me tear up. I went with emotion and humor rather than quality. There are so many books in the world and I didn't know how to find books with both. This site by itself hadn't really helped since it's just another overwhelming pile of opinions, blind sifting is a gamble. But the other users have been the best. For me, it was key to interact with other people first and see how they think, how their opinions match to mine. I'm regularly blown away by books I read now that are based on their readings (another plug for karen's advisory group which is meant to do that! blow you away! http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/4...).

Where was I? These are fantasy or science fiction and it's unfortunate that this fact can cause people who might like it to avoid it. Not those who know their taste well but those who think FSF is just fairies and lazers. Not to tsk-tsk like a jerk, since I'm the same when it comes to books labeled as romance (although it's been fun to read them for giggles with others), philosophical, educational, and more, and recently, epics. But in defense of FSF, and to repeat thoughts that I've read other places by better thinkers and writers, it's another way of exploring the unthinkable (I'm trying to mean stuff like murder and war, but they're so common now that I guess it's not "unthinkable" really), the indescribable, the divine, the everyday, concepts that might be important but dry to lightweight minds like mine but graspable when presented differently.

"Flat Diane" - I didn't realize this is probably based on a real children's book called Flat Stanley until just today when I saw Ceridwen's review of it. Um, there's a reason why this story won some horror award. I think it's about how parents can't protect their children from everything in the world. It reminded me of when I would rage about the unfairness of certain strict rules, my mom found the perfect line (and I just heard it used on some tv show or movie! they copied my mom! hah, she probably heard it somewhere else and used it on me) to make me sputter: "I trust you! I just don't trust the world. No you can't do that/read that/go out/see that boy/have fun." Well, not the last one, but you get the sense. I was obedient to the parent's wishes for an embarassingly long time, beyond when it was probably necessary. Anyway, this story could've been an answer. I'm not skilled enough to talk about the story itself without giving it away and it would be a douche thing to do, spoiling it. There's a reason why it was also nominated for a Nebula (sci-fi award).

"The Support Technician Tango" - Programmers! An evil self-help book! Hijinks! I wonder if this is connected to "Code Monkey" somehow (listen to it here: http://www.jonathancoulton.com/2006/0...).

"Exclusion" - What the world might be like if we could completely ignore people, the effect on history and on a personal level. Sci-fi.

"As Sweet" - What love is. My favorite of this collection. A modern-day woman and Romeo and Juliet's Rosaline.

"The Curandero and the Swede" - The importance of having stories to live.

There are 4 other stories in here, all worthwhile, about wealth, on what can happen when the real rule of attraction is manipulated, justice, cycles of violence.

Huh. I didn't talk much about the book. This probably isn't a useful review.

A couple of these seem to be written for certain people, like Elizabeth may enjoy the support technician one, or bird Brian might like a couple of the ones that have that warning-against-conspiracies feel. I'm undecided about who would like "Flat Diane," but it's a wow one.

And because of this book I then tried out his fantasy series, which turned out to also be amazing. Gr works! Or rather, gr users work!

[Althea Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

In general, I don't seek out writing that deals with issues of parenting, broken homes, and the possibility of child abuse. If I read this story described that way, I probably wouldn't have sought it out. And I would've missed out.
A father's creative attempt to make his daughter feel more connected to her family backfires in a terrible way... and some problems aren't so easy to put right.

Merged review:

***** The Cambist and Lord Iron
Re-read - previously read in 'Fantasy: The Best of the Year, 2008.'
The subtitle, 'A Fairy Tale of Economics,' is technically accurate, but doesn't really give a clue to how clever and entertaining this fable is. Here, we're introduced to an unassuming man who seems fairly content with his humble life, and is notably skilled as his job at the currency exchange desk. However, when his path crosses that of a cruel and depraved aristocrat who will destroy lives - and even kill - merely because it amuses him, the cambist will have to use all his wits to escape the trap that's been set.

**** Flat Diane
In general, I don't seek out writing that deals with issues of parenting, broken homes, and the possibility of child abuse. If I read this story described that way, I probably wouldn't have sought it out. And I would've missed out.
A father's creative attempt to make his daughter feel more connected to her family backfires in a terrible way... and some problems aren't so easy to put right.

**** The Best Monkey
A reporter is put on an investigative case - it's rumored that the company known as The Fifth Layer, which 'just happens' to be headed by his ex-, is on the verge of a startling new breakthrough. The enigmatic clue is that this innovation has something to do with three men: "a mathematician, a choreographer, and a pedophile." The idea-focused story that follows is a fascinating inquiry into the nature of beauty, attraction, and what it means to be human.

**** The Support Technician Tango
Awww... this one is just heartwarming. Have you ever suspected that following the advice in self-help books might be a really, really bad idea? Here, an enigmatic volume gives different - and uniquely tempting - advice to everyone who picks it up. Disaster looms ahead, for the proto-romance of a tech support guy and the office paralegal.

**** A Hunter in Arin-Qin
Powerful story of a hunter who pursues the beast that stole her young daughter. A fantasy tale that speaks of love, loss, justice and acceptance.

**** Leviathan Wept
Full of frustration and sadness, this is one of those stories that eloquently articulates complexities in such a way that I say, "Yes! That's exactly it! But I never could have said it quite that well!"
Terrorist and anti-terrorist forces work against each other (the difference is hard to tell.) Innocents die. Ethics fall victim to agendas. Triage units rush to the scene. From a distance, all of humanity's scurrying might look like small parts of a greater organism - but what if that organism is ill and dying?

**** Exclusion
What if you could 'block' people in real life? In this future, technology has made 'exclusion' popular: much like a Facebook 'block' does in the virtual realm, an 'excluded' person can no longer see you, nor can you see, hear, or otherwise contact them. An insightful exploration which takes into account both the fact that sometimes you're really just better off without someone in your life, and the temptation to use 'blocking' as an excuse to avoid engaging with others and working out conflicts. Something to think about here for everyone who's every 'blocked' anyone, for any reason - and who hasn't?

**** As Sweet
It's been mentioned before that 'Romeo & Juliet' is perhaps not actually a very edifying story to hold up as an example of true love. But I'm not sure I've encountered a Shakespeare-influenced story that I like better. A woman going through a midlife crisis and unsure about her relationship with her aging husband, is haunted by a manifestation of Rosalind (Romeo's ex-) - which helps her see her life and relationship in a new light.

**** The Curandero and the Swede
A guy brings his fiancee to meet his family for the first time. Full of trepidation, he asks her to hide her tattoos, watch her topics of conversation, etc. At the family gathering, his elderly relative goes off on a rambling, tangential tale full of various ghost stories. Our young man doesn't feel there's a point to any of this blather - but a more patient reader will see that it's looping around...
And it does actually close a circle, impressively so. In less-masterful hands, this could've turned into a mess, but each 'tangent' is powerful on its own, and together they form a powerful message touching on history, racism, love and acceptance - and the dangers of underestimation.
In conclusion, it's really about the power of stories to create meaning in our lives.

Overall, this is really a 4.5 - the collection really shows the breadth of Abraham's talent, even more so than his epic fantasy and hard sci-fi novels do.

[Nayad Monroe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the best short story collection I've read in a long time. The title story is my favorite for its rich layering of ideas and characters, and the possibilities of human interconnectedness. Others that particularly stand out for me are: the disturbing "Flat Diane;" "The Best Monkey," which looks at human instincts and the limitations they may give us; and "Exclusion," a story about the consequences of taking the easy way out of conflicts. Each story is its own mix of insight, believable characters, and ideas that stick with me, and they're all very good. It's a collection to linger over and revisit. I checked it out of the library, but I will buy my own copy to keep.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is just for the eponymous story, which was really good.

People, agents, are wired to each other like golems, like google glass. They kind of know each other from close association. They're controlled from Langley or wherever by means and people unknown: the orders just come in and they execute, like white blood cells ordered to take on a tumor, or (in error) a transplanted heart.

It develops that we're at the singularity, and intelligences beyond our ken are running the net, and to them we are the cellular automata. Just as you can't communicate with your blood, we poor people can't communicate with the hive mind. Surely it's needless to say that it ends badly?

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entirely enjoyable, top-notch collection.

The Cambist and Lord Iron: I had read this previously in an anthology--it holds up to a second reading. A mild-mannered cambist, accustomed to changing pounds into marks into pesos into rubles, finds himself increasingly embroiled with the debauched Lord Iron, first asked to set a rate of exchange for an obscure currency and finally to judge the worth of a man's soul. He settles every puzzle ingeniously -- particularly the last, which nets him a well-earned profit.
Flat Diane: I had heard of this story before and looked forward to reading it. It was certainly good, but I think I would have been more wowed by it if I had read it cold and clean -- like the shock of jumping into icy water.
The Best Monkey: "It may be that any sufficiently advanced modification is indistinguishable from speciation." Does humanity need to divest itself of its programmed preference for symmetry in order to find "ugly" solutions?
The Support Technician Tango: An lark about a malevolent self-help book that plants devious suggestions in the minds of several employees of a law firm, from the star IT guy to the paranoid partner. Only the anthropologist receptionist can put things back on track.
The Hunter in Ain-Qin: My least favorite, but still a worthy story (fantasy just has a tougher time impressing me). It does end eloquently, proposing an untranslatable word that means, roughly, "the world has no place for justice" -- an invocation that ends conflict and resets the world
Leviathan Wept: Favorite! Heavily networked cells of operatives carry out escalating terror and counter-terror actions. Then come the anomalies -- simultaneous geographically distributed visions of a child who was killed during a prior mission, for example. Command posits a higher order system -- just as each human being is a higher order system in comparison to his individual cells. What message is this higher order system trying to send, and will we listen?
Exclusion: Intriguing, but it felt slight somehow (maybe it just suffered in comparison with Leviathan). What if we could thoroughly "de-friend" people IRL? What if anyone who offended us or wounded us just disappeared -- unseen, unheard, untouchable? Would this conflict avoidance be a boon? One man is challenged to go back and repair his exclusions, and learns that facing difficulties can be rewarding.
As Sweet: A dissatisfied middle-aged high school teacher confronts a vision of Romeo's first beloved, Rosaline, and deals with her own crush on a student's father.
The Curandero and the Swede: Second favorite. One fantastic yarn reveals the next, like Russian nesting dolls, culminating in a brilliant description of America and a stirring admonishment:
"America's a bordertown. all of it, east to west, north to south, Texas and Kansas and Alaska. It's all bordertown. We got the people who were here before us, we took it from. We got the people coming here after, looking to take it from us. And all of us got our stories to make sense of it. Sometimes those fit together. Sometimes the don't. It's a mess. Scares me sometimes, it truly does. But I see how it gives us a chance, too. Gives us wiggle room where we try to make it all make sense."

"Look here, I ask you tell me about meeting the love of your life and you say one thing led to another. What the hell is that supposed to mean? ... If you came here telling me you were getting married, and you had a sixteen-year-old Chinese hooker on your arm seven months in with someone else's baby but you had a good story about it, I'd think you might make it. You come here with this girl, and you love her. I'm not a fool, I can see you love her. But that doesn't mean anything. And if it doesn't, it will wither and it will die, and you'll be here three year from now telling me about the divorce and how one fucking thing just led to another."

[Lawrence Schoen · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my opinion, Daniel Abraham is the best living fantasy writer we have. Seriously. If you haven't read his "Long Price Quartet" then you should rush right out, right now, and pick up a copy of A Shadow in Summer and start in.

And, as this collection aptly demonstrates, the man can write short fiction too!

[Tim Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better short story collections, especially from a single author.
There's a wide range here, with fantasy, SF and some almost-real-world stuff.
Good characters, good pace, and in several cases a really excellent story idea.

At least half these stories are thoughtful and/or philosophical as well as being ripping good yarns.

Which stories did I like? I'm not telling, because you might not like the same ones. This book deserves to have you read them all anyway. Don't worry - the first is "The Cambist and Lord Iron," and after that you will want to read the next one, and away you go.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Five stars:
the support technician tango
Leviathan wept

Four stars:
The cambist and lord iron - great story but the ending seemed contrived
The swede and the curandero - made no sense until the punchline

[kelsie · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10 Stars

I'm on my phone, so I won't do a full scale review, but I wanted to say this was a really great collection of stories! Despite the fact that short stories bring on war flashbacks to high school, I had a really great time reading this collection. My favorite, by far, was As Sweet, all the stories left me needing a moment to digest the message.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

5 stars for:

* The Cambist and Lord Iron - really starts off strong with a silly historical fiction piece
* The Best Monkey

4 stars for
* A Hunter in Arin-Qin

whatever stars for the rest, they are meh, except

Negative one million stars for Flat Diane. This kind of horror story does not belong in a random short story collection for people to stumble upon unwittingly and unwantingly.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

All of the stories were really well written and very entertaining. All of them had something to them that kept me on my toes wanting to finish the story. Some of them were a bit creepy and gave me chills down my back as well.

[BL834 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr. Abraham's short stories tend to be discomforting, but in the best way.

[Vivian Belenky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every single one of these stories was good, and none resembled any of the others. All were memorable and none disappointed me. An ideal short-story experience--so much that it's downright spooky.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

The final story, The Curandero and the Swede, was my absolute favorite of them all. Stories are powerful.

[Lawrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full review: http://lawrencedebbs.home.blog/2023/0...

I found this book through reading the truly disturbing Flat Diane in a weird fiction collection, and enjoying picking up the Expanse series ages ago. It’s been out of print for ages, but hooray for a wonderful library reference archive of sci-fi. What an odd, zig zag of a collection through every style and approach imaginable.

Abraham goes for high fantasy, sci-fi, comedy, magical realism, near-future speculative, in tracing different ideas. You can really tell the range, but they’re not uniformly successful.

[Scott Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Abraham appears to be the darker portion of the James S.A. Corey duo judging by these stories. All of them have a darkness to them, and the best if anything amplify that darkness.

"The Cambist and Lord Iron" is lighter than most of the rest of the collection and is certainly an offbeat fantasy short with an unlikely protagonist.


"Flat Diane" was a Nebula-Nominee and International Horror Guild award winner and is perhaps the most haunting story I've ever read since becoming a father.

"The Support Technician Tango" takes the premise that some self-help books are actively predatory toward their readers, and actually makes it stand up in a wonderful, magical-realist, character driven short.

"A Hunter in Arin-Quin" has a hunter (re: hero) facing the consequences of her actions while tracking/attacking a monster in a traditional high fantasy setting.

"Leviathan Wept" is the most interesting application of the concept of the singularity that I've ever seen in fiction.

"Exclusion" feels very much like a literary short in a science fiction setting, the focus on interpersonal relationships is foregrounded far beyond what occurs in most science-fiction and fantasy, but the plot still moves with the strength of a writer who has mastered the primary art of storytelling and avoids "jumping in front of the camer" with self-important look at me gestures.

The remaining three stories were fun, but didn't hit me like those I've mentioned here.

[Jesse Whitehead · Rating 4 out of 5]

A timid Cambist is forced to determine the worth of the soul of his King. A man makes a paper cutout of his daughter and mails it around the country in an attempt to cheer her up after a divorce – unwittingly sending her soul along with it. A woman hunts the demon that stole her daughter away. A self-aware self-help novel sows havoc amongst an office full of lawyers.

Short stories are a fascinating genre of fiction to me. Science fiction and fantasy ones even more so. Compacting a story into the number of words that a short story requires is tremendous effort and can frequently take as long as writing an entire novel. Doing that while also setting it in a fantasy or science fiction world where things don’t work the same as they do in this one becomes an even greater task. The economy of words is phenomenal. I’ve been trying to learn more of that. Sure it’s impressive to write a series that stretches out more than a million words but what skill is required to tell a complete story with three act structure, develop characters so that readers like them – or hate them if that is desired – and introduce a new world with names and magics and technologies that we don’t understand (and make us understand it) in the space of only a few thousand.

I also find that most short stories fall short for me. I think, while I’m fascinated by the skill of making a short story work, I prefer reading longer stories. Most short stories just don’t grab me and make me think the way books do.

I liked this book in general. I loved a few of the stories in it. I hated a few of the stories in it. I didn’t care about a few of the stories in it. In all I think it’s impossible to put together a book full of short stories in which every story is the greatest thing you’ve ever read – sort of by definition – so that’s not too surprising.

I was never bored and I was frequently kept reading much longer than I should have been. “The Cambist and Lord Iron” features Daniel Abraham’s beautiful prose to perfection and magnifies his thoughtful style of story telling. “Flat Diane” will give you nightmares – not the good kind, if there is such a thing – read it if you think there is no more scary fiction. “A Hunter in Arin-Qin” is tense and brilliant and beautiful in the way that only Daniel Abraham seems to be able to do. I loved the two characters and didn’t even realize until the end that neither of them had names.

Your mileage may vary.

[Gina Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leviathan Wept is an incredibly well-written, insightful, thought-provoking and sometimes truly bizarre collection of short fiction by one of my favorite authors, Daniel Abraham (author of The Long Price Quartet and The Dagger and the Coin Series). Each story in this anthology showcases Abraham's diverse writing styles and ability to create strong, memorable characters. Among my personal favorites are The Cambist and Lord Iron, A Hunter in Arin-Qin, and The Curandero and the Swede. Although I'm not entirely sure I understood the true meaning of every story in this book, this is one of those collections that it will be a pleasure to revisit and think on from time to time. Is Leviathan Wept everything I expected? Yes and no. Yes, because Abraham's writing is stellar, which is what he consistently delivers in all of his books and what clearly makes him one of my favorite writers. The "no" part of my answer is strictly based on my preferences, being that I'm less of a science-fiction and technology geek than some other readers and tend to lean more towards the fantasy genre, so not every story appealed to me right away, although I found myself enjoying each and every one as I delved into them. I think readers of any genre will enjoy this book tremendously, perhaps some more than others, but overall, I would highly recommend it.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading this collection with high expectations. From reading The Cambist and Lord Iron when it was up for the Hugo and Hunter's Run a while later I knew Daniel Abraham's short fiction was, if anything, even better than his novels. I was not disappointed. While The Cambist is still my favorite of this selection (not surprising, it is probably my #1 favorite short story of all times), the other stories deliver very well: Solid characters, surprising but believable plots and interesting worlds make for a fun and engaging read throughout. The only thing lacking (or invisible to me) from a few of the stories is the exploration of deeper meaning: I'm probably biased due to reading Stories of Your Life and Others just before but I was expecting more profound revelations! :)

[Patrick Hurley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some stories, such as "Flat Diane" were a bit heavy-handed and clumsily executed, but others, such as the two book-ends "The Cambist and Lord Iron" and "The Curandero and the Swede," were excellent. The latter in particular really resonates with me and what I personally believe about the power of stories. If all of the other tales had been terrible, I still would have been glad to have read Abraham's collection for that story alone. Luckily, even the weakest stories ("Flat Diane" or "Exclusion") still contained good ideas that were worth exploring. My only other sort of major complaint is the bit of copy on the blurb inside the cover, which claims the anthology has a story that is "Macbeth re-told as a screwball comedy." There is no such story in the book and this bit of false advertising really irritated me, since I was really taken with the idea of "the play" re-told as a comedy. Guess I'll just have to make due with Wyrd Sisters.

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

...All in all Leviathan Wept and Other Stories is a varied collection of excellent short fiction. The breadth of Abraham's writing is showcased here. What each and every one of these stories have in common is the attention to the characters. Abraham uses very different characters in these stories, men or women, old or young, all of them are very well drawn in the limited space a short story offers. Like his novels the characterization is exceptional. So far I have only read Abraham's fantasy. From this collection it is quite clear he is capable of much more....


Full Random Comments review

[Dan Smyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good stuff in this one. Take my advice and read the first and second in a single sitting. Makes the impact of the second so much stronger that way. Most of the stories ended in odd spots for me. Abraham does an amazing job of character development and has awesome prose as always. Great book. My official review is at:

http://elitistbookreviews.blogspot.co...

[Oracleofdoom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't normally particularly care for anthologies. Generally I find that I like one or two of the stories, but for the most part I just tend to lose interest. In fact, this may be the first anthology I've read all the way through. I did enjoy some of them more than others. Generally I'm not much into science fiction, as I find the technology just seems to clutter up the story, but I still enjoyed even those. My favorites were definitely the very first and the very last stories in the book.

[Dafni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daniel Abraham presents a formidable collection of short stories. From the fairytale-like "The Cambist and Lord Iron" to the bone chilling "The Curandero and the Swede", there's a bit of everything in between for everyone. There isn't really a common thread between the stories except their ability to make you think and feel. I'd highly recommend to anyone who loves the short story format and appreciates a dark tinge to their stories.

[Dylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short story, available free (and legally free) on the 'net. Quite enjoyable. The end was a bit hackneyed, but it was still a pleasure. Almost felt like a Russian short story: the humble, timid clerk vrs. the corrupt and abusive figure of power. The net result was that it steeled my resolve to read more Abraham.

[Solomon's · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories were very hit and miss, for some I couldn't tear myself away but others took days to read through because of how little interest I had in them. It was good over all but consider skipping over anything that starts feeling like a chore to get through.

[Adam Shaeffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly excellent collection of short stories.

[DMS · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://dms.booklikes.com/post/382223/...

[DeAnna Knippling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly jealous of how well Mr. Abraham writes short stories.

My favorite was "The Cambist and Lord Iron," a proper fairy tale about a money-changer.

[Fantasy Literature · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...