Ellen Datlow comes through again

Blood and Other Cravings

Edited by Ellen Datlow
TOR 2011

Reviewed by Deirdre Murphy

I’m a fan of fantasy of all flavors, light and dark, but horror?  Not so much. Still, Blood and Other Cravings was rarely dull, and held a number of stories that I enjoyed. 

The book starts with a breath of hope, the tale of a man who, despite all likelihood, survives a mining disaster.  He’s sure he will savor every moment of the rest of his life, and indeed, that’s how it starts.  But then he’s visited by a hungry stranger and a story that could have been uplifting turns dark.

My favorite story here is "First Breath" by Nicole J. LeBoeuf.  A teenager seeking herself, a chance encounter in a bar, a first kiss.  It is a very normal story which gracefully and inevitably turns strange and creepy.  It probably says something about me that I found the end more poignant than dreadful.

"Mrs. Jones" by Carol Emshwiller is another twisted love story.  We start with the sad tale of two spinster sisters who live together without sharing anything of significance, except a certain poverty of character. When strange noises hint that something might change, the two sisters each rise to the challenge as they perceive it; one wins the prize, if prize it is, but that’s just the beginning.

"The Third Always Beside You" by John Langan is another story of love gone wrong, of a family in the wake of an infidelity where the presence of the “third” lover colors every moment of their family’s life, becoming an obsession of the children that lasts into their adulthood, even though (as with most obsessions in horror collections) they would doubtless have been happier if they could have let it go and  focused on their own lives.

"Keeping Corky" by Melanie Tem stars a very loving mother, but things start subtly wrong and move forward inexorably to a proper Twilight Zone-style ending.

"Mulberry Boys" is creepy and disturbing and all too memorable.  I could say more, but I’d really rather not revisit that story in my mind.

                                                                                                                                                                                     

Blood and Other Cravings ends with "The Siphon" by Laird Barron.  It starts much like standard horror fare, a routine trip that turns strange and deadly, but the author has a sure touch and the story is beautifully written.  It offers more than despair and gore, though there is plenty of that too.

Overall, I was very impressed with this anthology, even though, as a general rule, I prefer happy endings. Whether you’re a die-hard horror fan or just dabble in the genre from time to time, I think you’ll enjoy this this horror anthology. 

The Gift of SF – It’s Not Just for Birthdays, Arbor Day, and Easter Anymore

Today is, of course, the day we in the US celebrate Thanksgiving. The Canadians, ahead of us in so many more things than we willingly admit, already did theirs, Jour de l'Action de grâce, last month. But it's never too late for a party. After we finish the turkey (or ham), the fixin’s, the pie (or pies), the football game (or marathon Risk game), and the perfunctory family chats about holidays of yesteryear, eventually our minds turn toward the other part of this weekend’s traditions: Black Friday. Tomorrow, some of us will be up at pre-dawn, joining the rest of the “Open Open Open!” crowd for that great bargain price on the latest electro-high-def-wonder-spiffy-amazing gizmo. Still others of us will be at home, cowering in fear for what our significant others are doing to our cumulative credit card debt.

Yet there are other ways to gather your holiday gifts, ways that say “Enjoy!”, “Live life!”, and “Celebrate!” without busting the bank or forcing you to merge with the larger herd of shopping frenzied humanity. Yes, my dearest daughter / son / wife / husband / girlfriend / mom / dad / Barely Acquainted Facebook Friend (BAFF), you can learn the ways of the shopping force and become an SF shopping master like your “person of interest” before you. Just buy me something from the Science Fiction gift tree.

Other than making me happy, which of course is a virtue with its own rewards, there is all the good it does to support our beloved authors, artists, and creators of all these wonderful, inspiring, imaginative worlds and characters. No facetiousness here: they feel the tough times just like we do. So throw them a bone and spare me the usual trip to Goodwill to donate all those "imaginative" sweaters.

Don’t know what to buy me? Hmmm, lemme think. Oh, yeah! Here’s a short list:

• Cool stuff from Bradley W. Schenck’s Retropolis line of inspired SF art wares. These include T-shirts, coffee mugs, and the usual Café Press fare, but with some outstanding illustrations. And yes, there are Bradley’s books, too. My favorite item has got to be the Space Piracy poster, though it would make a great coffee mug, too. And the clocks, boxes, and blank books are also pretty cool. Other favorites of mine include Don’t Trifle with the Big Brain and Ask Me about My Death Ray. It would not be fair to skip over Bradley's gorgeous Celtic art works, either. The style, design, and color choices are just very wow indeed.
  


• A copy of Digital Domains, edited by Ellen Datlow. I heard good things about this anthology and it speaks to my love of the fine stories that appeared in OMNI under her watch back in the day. (See Ann Wilkes’ intereview of Ellen here: http://sciencefictionmusings.blogspot.com/2010/09/editor-ellen-datlow-anthology-queen.html )
  


• A copy of New Model Army, by Adam Roberts, mostly because I want to see what the fuss is about and see if I can detect ‘literary scifi’ within.
  


• A copy of the Inception DVD. Yeah, I know I saw it in the theater, but my DVD player really wants to play it!
  


• A copy of the DVD set for the original Invaders TV series, seasons 1 and 2.
  


• Tickets to Tron Legacy! But at the theater with the good seats and the popcorn made the same day we see the movie. ( Catch Ann Wilkes’ “TRON Legacy – First Glimpse” article here: http://sciencefictionmusings.blogspot.com/2010/10/tron-legacy-first-glimpse.html )
  


• A decent copy of the entire Star Trek TOS on DVD. It’s not too late for me to step into the 90’s. Buy me something slightly newer, even if you get it used off of eBay. My old, crusty VHS-conversion copies are frail and pale compared to the DVD versions.
  


• A subscription to Analog, Asimov's, Locus, or Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine.

That’s all I can think of for now. But hey, you know what I like. There are literally hundreds of very awesome sites out there with amazing fiction content, art content, even SF-inspired music. If you are having trouble figuring out the whole on-line purchase thing, I know at least a couple of close friends/relatives who can help you. And yes, Holiday SF shopping can also be green, or at least greener. You can always drop by my favorite bookstore if you want to think globally but shop locally.

This year, I promise not to peek.

- D. E. Helbling

---

Image courtesy of Bradley W. Schenck. Any plugs for Bradley's wares and those of other authors, artists, and enterprises are unencumbered, "for the love" recommendations.

---

Lincoln Note: Last week I mentioned the Time Lincoln comic from Antarctic Press, which I inadvertantly ordered in hardcopy, thinking I had ordered access to on-line copy. Well, the magazine arrived in just 3 mail days and I really enjoyed the issue. I don't really need more reasons to buy stuff, given that half or more of my volitional spending is already on books, but this could lead me to a new comic buying habit. Hey, fun is fun!

---

Happy Thanksgiving! Shopping or no, a sincere wish to you all for a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend, no matter how much snow, ice, wind, bad stuffing, and airport probing you have to endure.

Editor Ellen Datlow, Anthology Queen

As promised, meet Ellen Datlow, editor of numerous anthologies, winner of almost as many awards and champion of excellent speculative fiction in all its various genres. Last weekend, she won --and not for the first time -- a Hugo for Best Editor - Short Fiction.

AW: You are, without a doubt, the Anthology Queen. How many have you edited now? What do you think is the secret to your success?

ED: I’ve lost count, but I’ve edited 21 YBFH [Year's Best Fantasy and Horror] and two Best Horror reprint anthologies so that’s 23 right there. I only propose anthologies on themes in which I have an interest. If I don’t feel strongly about something I’m editing I couldn’t do a good job. As an editor I buy the stories that I love—I entertain myself first and hopefully my taste coincides with the readers’. Some of my anthologies sell better than others. I don’t believe it’s a difference in quality but what hits the zeitgeist at the right time. I’ve anthologies about which I felt very strongly that sold terribly but I’m still glad I was able to sell and edit them (although the publishers might not have felt that way).

AW: SciFiction was a treasure trove. Do you see yourself ever getting involved with an online magazine again? What were the greatest challenges?

ED: Thanks. Sure, if I was offered a job. However, the weekly aspect of online webzines is exhausting and I’d hope that if I worked on a webzine again I’d have a managing editor and someone to assist me more. Buying and editing the fiction, doing all the administration, working with the copy editor and proofreader and the in-house production department is a lot for one person.

AW: You are tied, with co-editor Terri Windling, as the recipient of the most World Fantasy Awards in the organization's history. Your list of horror awards is becoming equally impressive. And more recently, you won, once again, the Hugo for Best Editor - Short Fiction. You seem at home in all three genres. Which is your favorite and why?

ED: I love all three equally. In fact, I’d love to sell more mixed-genre anthologies like The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy—I love working on more than one project at a time—often in different genres—I can refresh my palate by spending a certain amount of time reading submissions in sf/fantasy, or horror.

AW: Which of your anthologies is nearest and dearest to your heart and why?

ED: That would be like picking one favorite child over another, although I probably love my solo anthologies more than my collaborations as they’re exclusively my taste—no compromise.

AW: How does your career differ from what you imagined it would be going in? If you had your own personal time machine, would you go back and change anything?

ED: I had no idea how much I would enjoy my career. I feel lucky to have fallen into the best job in the world, doing exactly what I love doing. I would change nothing.

AW: What are your three biggest pet peeves regarding short fiction writing?

ED: Sloppy writing will stop me dead. I don’t think of this as a pet peeve but a judgment call. If a sentence in a story (or novel) stops me dead because its meaning is unclear and/or it stops the flow of the story, to me that’s sloppy. (This goes for experimental as well as non-experimental styles.) The job of the writer is to communicate with her reader.

Writers who send out obvious first drafts.

Writers who think writing good short stories are easy and don’t take the time to hone their craft.

A fourth: stories that are not about anything and leave me wondering, Why did the writer write this? It’s about nothing.

AW: What do you think about steampunk? Will it be a flash in the pan or a major player?

ED: I love reading it, but have been reading it for decades. Nothing particularly new about the sub-genre except that it’s hit the culture, which is fun but not especially pertinent in the long run.

AW: What's your favorite paranormal type of character and why?

ED: I have to say it's a toss up between vampires and ghosts. Both paranormal critters are so versatile that good writers can continue to make up brilliant stories using them. You know the expression "it ain't the meat, it's the motion?" Same thing with tropes and themes in fiction. It ain't the trope or theme that counts, it's what you do with it that matters. Anything old can be made new by the right writer.

AW: What are you working on now?

ED: Best Horror #3, and another YA anthology with Terri Windling. I’m hoping to sell a few more anthologies in the coming months.

AW: Tell me about the books you have coming out in 2011.

ED: In addition to the Best Horror of the Year, volume 3, I have a very big volume of all original urban fantasy stories coming out from St Martin's called Naked City: New Tales of Urban Fantasy. It's my more traditional interpretation of the sub-genre--hearkening back to what the phrase originally meant: fantasy in urban settings.

Teeth, edited by me and Terri Windling, is a YA anthology of vampire stories that will hopefully counter the sparkly vampire syndrome :-). It'll be out from HarperCollins.

Supernatural Noir (title self-explanatory, I think--although it has very few detective stories) will be coming out from Dark Horse.

Blood and Other Cravings is an adult vampirism anthology that is a kind of follow up to my earlier vampirism anthologies Blood is Not Enough and A Whisper of Blood (which are still available in a gorgeous double volume reissued by the Barnes and Noble imprint Fall River Press). B&N is also bringing out a new edition of Terri and my first adult fairy tale anthology, Snow White, Blood Red.

Read more about Ellen Datlow at www.datlow.com.

vote it up!