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To Charles Fort, with Love
To Charles Fort, with Love is award-winning fantasist Caitlín R. Kiernan's third collection of short fiction, a haunting parade of the terrible things which may lie beyond the boundaries of science, the minds which may exist beyond psychology, and the forbidden places which will never be located in any orthodox globe.
270 pages, Hardcover
First published September 30, 2005
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558 people want to read
About the author
Caitlín R. Kiernan
416 books1,666 followersCaitlín Rebekah Kiernan is an Irish-born American published paleontologist and author of science fiction and dark fantasy works, including ten novels, series of comic books, and more than two hundred and fifty published short stories, novellas, and vignettes.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
April 5, 2020
Very interesting and creepy set of stories. Some connect to one another, some to her novels, and some are stand alone (or connect to something I haven't read yet).
Also entertaining are the author's notes about the contexts of writing and publication, which are sometimes erudite and other times bitchy. (Eg., "So-and-so rejected this story. I got a prize for it the following year.")
Be aware going into that this really is horror: most stories will not end happily, and the collection ends on a strongly sad note.
Also entertaining are the author's notes about the contexts of writing and publication, which are sometimes erudite and other times bitchy. (Eg., "So-and-so rejected this story. I got a prize for it the following year.")
Be aware going into that this really is horror: most stories will not end happily, and the collection ends on a strongly sad note.
April 21, 2009
WOW. Caitlin Kiernan is amazing and brilliant - every time I read another book of hers I'm just more and more impressed. I think one aspect I love most is the amazing worldbuilding. It's different than the usual way I think of worldbuilding in fantasy - hers is slower and more intricate, threads of ideas winding through all of her work. The connections built between characters throughout all of her short stories and novels give a really deep sense of history that just gets deeper the more you read. It's exhilarating.
My favorite stories here were "La Peau Verte" and "Andromeda Among The Stones". Both of these are among the longer in the collection, and I think I loved them so much because their length just let me feel lost in reading them. Both of these stories really exemplify something of what Kiernan's so great at, too - leading you right to the edge between worlds, building up an amazingly creepy tension, and then just leaving you there. It's incredibly satisfying and unsatisfying at the same time (and I mean that in a good way).
Plus, she's so freaking smart and it shows. Fantastic book from an author I just keep loving more and more.
My favorite stories here were "La Peau Verte" and "Andromeda Among The Stones". Both of these are among the longer in the collection, and I think I loved them so much because their length just let me feel lost in reading them. Both of these stories really exemplify something of what Kiernan's so great at, too - leading you right to the edge between worlds, building up an amazingly creepy tension, and then just leaving you there. It's incredibly satisfying and unsatisfying at the same time (and I mean that in a good way).
Plus, she's so freaking smart and it shows. Fantastic book from an author I just keep loving more and more.
August 26, 2016
Kiernan nicely characterizes the spirit of this collection in the afterword to “Nor the Demons Down Under the Sea,” where she writes:
Recommended.
This is one of those stories which takes very seriously my belief that dark fiction dealing with inexplicable should, itself, present to the reader a certain inexplicability. It’s not about resolution nor understanding, but that brief, disturbing contact which usually characterizes actual paranormal encounters. (p. 232)
Recommended.
September 14, 2023
CAITLINNNN CAITLINNN SEN MUHTESEM BIRISIN OMGGGG
October 28, 2023
There were more bad short stories than good ones, however, I can see myself rereading some of the short stories next year as well!
May 20, 2011
It's probably not fair to only give this three stars when my only real issue with it is that I don't particularly care for horror. There's some really fantastic imagery and tight little portraits of characters that make these short stories very neatly done, and if you're into Lovecraft or a creeping sense of unease then I'd definitely pass these along.
I found them a little light on actual plot to my taste - several of them came across more like paintings than stories, which is not what I'm generally looking for. There are definitely some seeds of neat ideas though, and on most of those the end-notes indicate that one of her novels ended up based around the story.
Ultimately I'm glad I picked it up, but I think I'm going to stick with her novels in general.
I found them a little light on actual plot to my taste - several of them came across more like paintings than stories, which is not what I'm generally looking for. There are definitely some seeds of neat ideas though, and on most of those the end-notes indicate that one of her novels ended up based around the story.
Ultimately I'm glad I picked it up, but I think I'm going to stick with her novels in general.
January 16, 2021
And with the following words from this final story, I finish my review of this whole book:- “Wondering if the quest had been a fool’s errand from the very start, and he’d wasted so many years of his life and so much of his inheritance chasing connections and truths that only existed because he wished to see them.” — the ultimate Fortean angst or dilemma. But this book has constructively forged a new confidence in me with its otherwise discrete stories of wondrous depth.
The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long or impractical to post here.
Above is one of its observations at the time of the review.
The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long or impractical to post here.
Above is one of its observations at the time of the review.
May 5, 2023
Kiernan is one of the few authors whose writing genuinely transports me. When I read their stories, I’m no longer in my living room; I don’t even feel like I’m in my own head, anymore.
These stories are eerie and sensual. They all perfectly recreate this sense that there’s something just a little bit off about the world; that at any minute you might slip through a crack and fall into some deep, drowning space.
These stories are eerie and sensual. They all perfectly recreate this sense that there’s something just a little bit off about the world; that at any minute you might slip through a crack and fall into some deep, drowning space.
February 24, 2016
CRK is simply the best in her genre and one of the best humans writing in any genre. The value of a collection of previously published short stories, gathered around a theme and devoted to one of her primary inspirations is that, I, the obsessive fan, don't have to hunt all over to find these great short works. I'm not that obsessive that i would hunt down all the periodicals and anthologies in which they originally appeared (but who knows, I may do that anyway). The joyful plus of this volume is that the author comments on each story after you have read it and this gives sometimes fascinating insight into Ms Kiernan's thought processes both currently and at the time she wrote it. Don't ask me to pick a favorite but many of these stories and cycles are worth the price of admission in and of themselves. A wonderful addition for collector's like me.
July 18, 2022
To experience the familiar in an unsettling way is the basis of the uncanny. But what if the familiar was already unsettling?
This is the kind of recursive dread Caitlín Kiernan deals with in To Charles Fort, with Love, and they use it to good effect in some, but not all, of its stories. Per Kiernan, this is intentional: the write ups that proceed and and follow each story emphasize that plot takes a back seat to atmosphere in this body of work.
It's a risky move, but Kiernan has the chops to pull it off. Their atmospheres and characters are compelling, their scenarios are creative, and their depiction of interpersonal relationships is on point. Even when stories sprawl without a locus to drive them forward, the sprawl is enjoyable, like floating down the river Styx on an inner tube, sipping absinthe and listening to disconcerting, macabre discourses at every bend.
***
There are explicit references to Lovecraft throughout the stories, and Kiernan really does capture the feel of Lovecraft without reverting to antiquarian language. For people who find Lovecraft's prose to be old-fashioned or otherwise exasperating, but can't get enough of his creeping sense of dread, Kiernan is a natural choice.
In To Charles Fort, with Love, Kiernan balances wordcount and pacing by setting the table and inviting readers to serve themselves. They permit their readers a glimpse of the things their characters themselves only see out of the corners of their eyes, which is literally how the protagonist of "Valentia" realizes that an ancient artifact links her recurring dream to a hastily destroyed archeological site.
Mostly traditional in its scope and generous with its clues, "Valentia" eases readers into Kiernan's world of academics, creatives, the lovelorn, and other over-thinkers who, nevertheless, cannot think their way out of the unthinkable. Then they pull the rug out from under readers with "Spindleshanks," where a recently dead woman makes brief, disturbing contact with a grouchy writer in the midst of a strained relationship.
If there's a connection between the two, or a reason why the dead woman wants to make contact, Kiernan is not telling. There is no editorializing in any of Kiernan's stories; it's all just the facts (or fictions, I guess), please and thank you.
Occasionally, I wanted a little more from each story, and even had to disabuse myself of the notion that I was reading a handful of really good stories interspersed with works that hit dead ends before being polished and shipped in order to keep the supply chain moving.
***
I listened to "So Runs the World Away" away twice before deciding it was masterclass in world building, but a snub to my proletarian sensibilities about plot. Its depiction of a ghoul society and hierarchy, as well as the misfits that find themselves outside it, is charming in its taking the gothic obsession with death and aversion to the mundane to its extreme. Spoiler: even after death life still involves more pain than pleasure.
***
"Standing Water" gets the collection back on track by forcing two recently separated lovers to confront the depths of the unknown when a curious, apparently endless mud puddle appears and disappears in alleyway. It's followed by "La Mer des Reves," a strong, short, violent piece of expressionism that uses an unreliable narrator to evoke a sense of pity and horror from the reader, and its blending real and imaginary circumstances makes for a compelling guessing game with high stakes for the protagonist.
Like "Spindleshanks," the longer, undeniably creepy "The Road of Pins" has Kiernan revisiting troubled relationships and creative types facing writers block, but adds a kind of soft fatalism to the mix by exposing the protagonist to dreary artwork, dreamy dilettantes, and dread-inducing arthouse films, all of which the protagonist would prefer to avoid, and all of which foreshadow an unsettling conclusion. It reads like a more subtle version of The Ring and it was my favorite story from the collection.
"Onion" is my second favorite story. In it, survivors of traumatic, horrific experiences of the Lovecraftian genre relive their trauma for themselves (and perhaps each other) in a misguided form of therapy orchestrated by a sort of twelve-step program. But the therapeutic value of the program to the characters, including the underachieving narrator, is uncertain, because he does not seem to be on the road to recovery. Indeed, the protagonist's girlfriend has decided to reverse course and probe deeper into the terrors that plague her, putting her on a path that the protagonist seems unlikely, although not unwilling, to follow them down.
"La Peau Verte" concerns a strange culmination of childhood trauma. An artist finds herself becoming artwork for an unsettling audience that took an interest in her and her sister when they were younger. The exposition comes from a flashback, dreams, and a counseling session, and makes for a degree of uncertainty that fits well with Kiernan's overall atmosphere, and the mysterious elements at the end of the story are all the more impactful as a result. Kiernan notes that she considers this work to be her most accomplished short story.
"The Dead and the Moonstruck" reads like Young Adult fiction, which is a genre I thought I'd grown out of, but its descriptions and emphasis on the uncertainties of youth are excellent. Like "So Runs the World Away," this story gives humanizing qualities to the inhuman, namely ghouls, who are preparing for graduation rituals.
***
The last three stories all center around a woman who appears to be holding back an onslaught of otherworldly horrors. All of the characters are drawn to her, or perhaps the the portal she blocks, and we learn something about the cults and beliefs that it attracts and affects. The stories seems to run in reverse chronological order, and the combination of misinformation and uncertainty around the portal makes from some very realistic fantasy indeed.
***
This is the kind of recursive dread Caitlín Kiernan deals with in To Charles Fort, with Love, and they use it to good effect in some, but not all, of its stories. Per Kiernan, this is intentional: the write ups that proceed and and follow each story emphasize that plot takes a back seat to atmosphere in this body of work.
It's a risky move, but Kiernan has the chops to pull it off. Their atmospheres and characters are compelling, their scenarios are creative, and their depiction of interpersonal relationships is on point. Even when stories sprawl without a locus to drive them forward, the sprawl is enjoyable, like floating down the river Styx on an inner tube, sipping absinthe and listening to disconcerting, macabre discourses at every bend.
***
There are explicit references to Lovecraft throughout the stories, and Kiernan really does capture the feel of Lovecraft without reverting to antiquarian language. For people who find Lovecraft's prose to be old-fashioned or otherwise exasperating, but can't get enough of his creeping sense of dread, Kiernan is a natural choice.
In To Charles Fort, with Love, Kiernan balances wordcount and pacing by setting the table and inviting readers to serve themselves. They permit their readers a glimpse of the things their characters themselves only see out of the corners of their eyes, which is literally how the protagonist of "Valentia" realizes that an ancient artifact links her recurring dream to a hastily destroyed archeological site.
Mostly traditional in its scope and generous with its clues, "Valentia" eases readers into Kiernan's world of academics, creatives, the lovelorn, and other over-thinkers who, nevertheless, cannot think their way out of the unthinkable. Then they pull the rug out from under readers with "Spindleshanks," where a recently dead woman makes brief, disturbing contact with a grouchy writer in the midst of a strained relationship.
If there's a connection between the two, or a reason why the dead woman wants to make contact, Kiernan is not telling. There is no editorializing in any of Kiernan's stories; it's all just the facts (or fictions, I guess), please and thank you.
Occasionally, I wanted a little more from each story, and even had to disabuse myself of the notion that I was reading a handful of really good stories interspersed with works that hit dead ends before being polished and shipped in order to keep the supply chain moving.
***
I listened to "So Runs the World Away" away twice before deciding it was masterclass in world building, but a snub to my proletarian sensibilities about plot. Its depiction of a ghoul society and hierarchy, as well as the misfits that find themselves outside it, is charming in its taking the gothic obsession with death and aversion to the mundane to its extreme. Spoiler: even after death life still involves more pain than pleasure.
***
"Standing Water" gets the collection back on track by forcing two recently separated lovers to confront the depths of the unknown when a curious, apparently endless mud puddle appears and disappears in alleyway. It's followed by "La Mer des Reves," a strong, short, violent piece of expressionism that uses an unreliable narrator to evoke a sense of pity and horror from the reader, and its blending real and imaginary circumstances makes for a compelling guessing game with high stakes for the protagonist.
Like "Spindleshanks," the longer, undeniably creepy "The Road of Pins" has Kiernan revisiting troubled relationships and creative types facing writers block, but adds a kind of soft fatalism to the mix by exposing the protagonist to dreary artwork, dreamy dilettantes, and dread-inducing arthouse films, all of which the protagonist would prefer to avoid, and all of which foreshadow an unsettling conclusion. It reads like a more subtle version of The Ring and it was my favorite story from the collection.
"Onion" is my second favorite story. In it, survivors of traumatic, horrific experiences of the Lovecraftian genre relive their trauma for themselves (and perhaps each other) in a misguided form of therapy orchestrated by a sort of twelve-step program. But the therapeutic value of the program to the characters, including the underachieving narrator, is uncertain, because he does not seem to be on the road to recovery. Indeed, the protagonist's girlfriend has decided to reverse course and probe deeper into the terrors that plague her, putting her on a path that the protagonist seems unlikely, although not unwilling, to follow them down.
"La Peau Verte" concerns a strange culmination of childhood trauma. An artist finds herself becoming artwork for an unsettling audience that took an interest in her and her sister when they were younger. The exposition comes from a flashback, dreams, and a counseling session, and makes for a degree of uncertainty that fits well with Kiernan's overall atmosphere, and the mysterious elements at the end of the story are all the more impactful as a result. Kiernan notes that she considers this work to be her most accomplished short story.
"The Dead and the Moonstruck" reads like Young Adult fiction, which is a genre I thought I'd grown out of, but its descriptions and emphasis on the uncertainties of youth are excellent. Like "So Runs the World Away," this story gives humanizing qualities to the inhuman, namely ghouls, who are preparing for graduation rituals.
***
The last three stories all center around a woman who appears to be holding back an onslaught of otherworldly horrors. All of the characters are drawn to her, or perhaps the the portal she blocks, and we learn something about the cults and beliefs that it attracts and affects. The stories seems to run in reverse chronological order, and the combination of misinformation and uncertainty around the portal makes from some very realistic fantasy indeed.
***
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 29, 2022
Although I haven't read all of Kiernan's works I have read the bulk of them. This one is good, just like the others, be they full books or short stories as here. Reading Kiernan never seems to be a disappointment. Always giving us a peak into the dark side, then a peak more, maybe again before she pulls us away. Masterful, like Lovecraft, her main inspiration, but with a bit more flourish, he'd be proud I'm sure. I think I have one more of her books before I have to order more.
Adds this. I think I read at some point she was scratching around on what to write next. Seemed open to ideas...(at the time, I believe she's filled her plate since then). But if that mood should come again, perhaps a look back to the first known author. Lot of virgin ground there abouts with Enheduanna. Google her. Wolkstein and Meador good places to start, might spark something as its followed up through the ages.
Adds this. I think I read at some point she was scratching around on what to write next. Seemed open to ideas...(at the time, I believe she's filled her plate since then). But if that mood should come again, perhaps a look back to the first known author. Lot of virgin ground there abouts with Enheduanna. Google her. Wolkstein and Meador good places to start, might spark something as its followed up through the ages.
April 16, 2022
"Looking for Innsmouth" (Author's Preface)
Valentia ⭐⭐⭐
Spindleshanks (New Orleans, 1956) ⭐⭐⭐
So Runs the World Away ⭐⭐⭐
Standing Water ⭐⭐⭐
La Mer des Rêves ⭐⭐⭐
The Road of Pins ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Onion ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Apokatastasis ⭐⭐⭐
La Peau Verte ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Dead and the Moonstruck ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Dandridge Cycle
• A Redress for Andromeda ⭐⭐⭐
• Nor the Demons Down Under the Sea ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Andromeda Among the Stones ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Afterword by Ramsey Campbell
Valentia ⭐⭐⭐
Spindleshanks (New Orleans, 1956) ⭐⭐⭐
So Runs the World Away ⭐⭐⭐
Standing Water ⭐⭐⭐
La Mer des Rêves ⭐⭐⭐
The Road of Pins ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Onion ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Apokatastasis ⭐⭐⭐
La Peau Verte ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Dead and the Moonstruck ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Dandridge Cycle
• A Redress for Andromeda ⭐⭐⭐
• Nor the Demons Down Under the Sea ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Andromeda Among the Stones ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Afterword by Ramsey Campbell
July 6, 2018
3.5
Excluding La Mer des Rêves and The Road of Pins I highly enjoyed all the stories in this collection. Standing Water, with it's subtle creeping dreed and Onion with it's dark and clever take on a familiar story trope were among my favorites but I could imagine most of this stories would adapt well to film.
Excluding La Mer des Rêves and The Road of Pins I highly enjoyed all the stories in this collection. Standing Water, with it's subtle creeping dreed and Onion with it's dark and clever take on a familiar story trope were among my favorites but I could imagine most of this stories would adapt well to film.
December 14, 2018
One of the most darkly beautiful and spellbinding collections I have ever read. Absolutely fantastic.
February 17, 2022
I need to reread this entire book, but I recall it was a book I highly enjoyed.
June 9, 2025
She truly is one of the best. Lyrical, oceanic, and gorgeous.
December 17, 2025
slow lyrical lovecraftian stories, lots left to the imagination . liked some a lot
December 10, 2016
Caitlín Kiernan does something a little unusual with her short story collections, in that she organizes them intentionally around a common theme, rather than just chronologically (i.e. "these are the stories I wrote in the past 5 years, here you go"). This is a great way to skip right over the main problem people cite with short collections: the hit-or-miss factor. Even the most omnivorous, egalitarian readers have their personal taste, and not all the short stories in a given collection will be for everyone. Dedicated as it is to Charles Fort, this collection is a celebration of his (I take it, not yet having read his stuff) obsession with the inexplicable, things that hover on the edge of our awareness and defy explanation.
One of my favorite things about Kiernan's writing is that she adroitly avoids explanations of any kind, rational or supernatural alike-- she glories in the truly unknown. That's what these stories have in common. This is an approach that is most definitely not for everyone. It's an approach readers of weird fiction are undoubtedly familiar with, yet for me, Kiernan's style is a bit different from a lot of other weird fiction in that she uses details sparingly, but to great effect. She mines character deeply and sensitively, but minimalistically. She uses atmosphere well and wisely, never losing you in it for the sake of a pretty turn of phrase, though there are many in these pages. An excellent example is the middle entry in the Dandridge cycle, "Nor the Demons Down Under the Sea." It's truly effective horror in which very little actually happens. It operates on suggestion and unease, the building horror springing organically from the tension between two characters. The horror comes from their disconnect, their lack of understanding, not only of each other but of the situation they stumble into. There is also a great device that foreshadows one of my favorite passages in The Red Tree, the funhouse stretching of space and time that seemingly traps you in a given geography, unable to get any closer to your destination.
Nearly half of these stories are also collected in the first comprehensive volume of her short fiction, and are some of my all-time favorites. "Onion," "The Road of Pins," and "La Peau Verte" are stories I rave about to people who don't read horror or fantasy (or whatever genre you'd call this) at all because I think these stories could convert them. Or, because I just want them to have that experience of reading something in daylight, laughing because it's so ephemeral (who could ever find that scary?) and then being up all night, nervously checking your hallway for spectral dogs.
One of my favorite things about Kiernan's writing is that she adroitly avoids explanations of any kind, rational or supernatural alike-- she glories in the truly unknown. That's what these stories have in common. This is an approach that is most definitely not for everyone. It's an approach readers of weird fiction are undoubtedly familiar with, yet for me, Kiernan's style is a bit different from a lot of other weird fiction in that she uses details sparingly, but to great effect. She mines character deeply and sensitively, but minimalistically. She uses atmosphere well and wisely, never losing you in it for the sake of a pretty turn of phrase, though there are many in these pages. An excellent example is the middle entry in the Dandridge cycle, "Nor the Demons Down Under the Sea." It's truly effective horror in which very little actually happens. It operates on suggestion and unease, the building horror springing organically from the tension between two characters. The horror comes from their disconnect, their lack of understanding, not only of each other but of the situation they stumble into. There is also a great device that foreshadows one of my favorite passages in The Red Tree, the funhouse stretching of space and time that seemingly traps you in a given geography, unable to get any closer to your destination.
Nearly half of these stories are also collected in the first comprehensive volume of her short fiction, and are some of my all-time favorites. "Onion," "The Road of Pins," and "La Peau Verte" are stories I rave about to people who don't read horror or fantasy (or whatever genre you'd call this) at all because I think these stories could convert them. Or, because I just want them to have that experience of reading something in daylight, laughing because it's so ephemeral (who could ever find that scary?) and then being up all night, nervously checking your hallway for spectral dogs.
August 30, 2007
Caitlin R. Kiernan’s new collection To Charles Fort, With Love (Subterranean Press, 2005) is a collection of 13 brooding tales about the darker mysteries of life told with a lyrical intensity and a love of all things fortean. This collection is indebted to Lovecraft and Charles Fort in ways that made me very happy to be reading them. An excellent collection that makes me want to go and find her novels and give them a try. I wouldn't call it horror, its more in the stream of fabulists like Powers or Crowley.
June 7, 2009
What to say besides that Caitlin R. Kiernan is a fantastic author. I first became aware of her work after reading the short story "Onion," published in an anthology edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling. "Onion" instantly cemented her reputation as a top-notch writer. This collection is on the same par, and each page of it is a treasure.
March 16, 2009
Lovecraftian with an extra dash of intelligibility and wit, this volume treads the line between the dark worlds we inhabit with graceful ease, and is a great addition to the subtler modern horrors I adore!
October 14, 2014
I hate to be ungenerous but I just didn't think these stories were that good. Good ideas, yes, but too verbose, and maybe too in-your-face. But I will give it another try some day down the road.
March 13, 2010
What a wonderful book! I can really see how the author has matured through the years. There is less teen angst here and more mature plots. Great book.
Want to read
May 10, 2015This is copy 201 of 250 signed numbered copies signed by the author.
June 23, 2016
it should make a second book because it was very interesting to read
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews