Monstrous Little Voices
By Various Authors
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Abaddon (March 8, 2016)
ISBN-10: 1781083940
ISBN-13: 978-1781083949
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.7 x 7.8 inches
Publisher’s
Blurb:
It is the time
of Shakespeare. Storms rage, armies clash, magics are done - and stories are
made. Five new great and terrible tales reshape the Bard’s vision, a new set of
stories that will be told and retold down through the centuries.
It is the Year of Our Lord 1601. The Tuscan War rages across the world, and every lord from Navarre to Illyria is embroiled in the fray. Cannon roar, pikemen clash, and witches stalk the night; even the fairy courts stand on the verge of chaos.
Five stories come together at the end of the war: that of bold Miranda and sly Puck; of wise Pomona and her prisoner Vertumnus; of gentle Lucia and the shade of Prospero; of noble Don Pedro and powerful Helena; and of Anne, a glovemaker’s wife. On these lovers and heroes the world itself may depend.
Monstrous Little Voices collects five of today’s most exciting names in genre fiction – Jonathan Barnes (The Somnambulist, Cannonbridge); Adrian Tchaikovsky (The Shadows of the Apt, Children of Time); Emma Newman (The Split Worlds, multiple-award-nominated Tea and Jeopardy podcast); Hugo-nominated blogger Foz Meadows (Solace & Grief, The Key to Starveldt’s); and upcoming novelist (and journalist for the Ottawa Citizen) Kate Heartfield – to delve into the world Shakespeare created for us. With wars and romances, its magics and deceptions, discover five stories he never told, but could have. Stories of what happened next or what went before, of the things unseen or simply elsewhere in the world as Shakespeare’s own tales unfolded on the stage.
It is the Year of Our Lord 1601. The Tuscan War rages across the world, and every lord from Navarre to Illyria is embroiled in the fray. Cannon roar, pikemen clash, and witches stalk the night; even the fairy courts stand on the verge of chaos.
Five stories come together at the end of the war: that of bold Miranda and sly Puck; of wise Pomona and her prisoner Vertumnus; of gentle Lucia and the shade of Prospero; of noble Don Pedro and powerful Helena; and of Anne, a glovemaker’s wife. On these lovers and heroes the world itself may depend.
Monstrous Little Voices collects five of today’s most exciting names in genre fiction – Jonathan Barnes (The Somnambulist, Cannonbridge); Adrian Tchaikovsky (The Shadows of the Apt, Children of Time); Emma Newman (The Split Worlds, multiple-award-nominated Tea and Jeopardy podcast); Hugo-nominated blogger Foz Meadows (Solace & Grief, The Key to Starveldt’s); and upcoming novelist (and journalist for the Ottawa Citizen) Kate Heartfield – to delve into the world Shakespeare created for us. With wars and romances, its magics and deceptions, discover five stories he never told, but could have. Stories of what happened next or what went before, of the things unseen or simply elsewhere in the world as Shakespeare’s own tales unfolded on the stage.
My
Thoughts:
Many of Shakespeare’s
plays (including my favorite comedy, Much
Ado About Nothing) come together in this set of related short stories that
tell a longer narrative.
The authors do a
creditable job of giving life to the characters whose stories have ended on the
stage, but continue in this universe. They also do quite well at the language
and rhythm of Shakespeare’s writing, without forcing themselves into blank
verse. There’s some lovely alliteration that I think Shakespeare himself would
appreciate.
There’s even a
pretty plausible explanation for why the name of the Scottish Play should not
be uttered out loud.
This was not a
quick read, and there were times that I put it down for a while, but overall,
it was satisfying, right up until the final story, which—UGH!—is told in second
person present tense. That kind of brought it all crashing down for me.
It was good to see
Benedick and Don John again, though.
Possible
Objectionable Material:
Scheming, a little
lust. An accidental murder. Wars and rumours of wars.
Who
Might Like This Book:
Shakespeare fans.
If you don’t know some Shakespeare, you’re going to feel left behind on this
one. Dedicated readers—if you don’t like complex language, this might not be
for you. Likewise, if you don’t want the supernatural, witches, or fairies.
Thank you,
NetGalley, for the ARC.
No comments:
Post a Comment