The Best of Catherynne M. Valente, Volume One
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
The celebrated author of Fairyland, Space Opera, and much more, Catherynne M. Valente is also known for her stunning prose and captivating worldbuilding. From life on Mars to the zombified streets of Augusta, Maine, she has taken readers on unforgettable journeys for two decades.
Subterranean Press is proud to present: The Best of Catherynne M. Valente, Volume One, the first comprehensive collection of Valente’s short fiction, soaring through eighteen years of pushing the edges of storytelling.
Among her award-winning stories, you’ll find everything from melancholy robot girls to Eurydice and Orpheus; from detectives in Purgatory to time-traveling squirrels to a very different Santa Claus; from the grey coast of Washington to Alice’s Wonderland.
Valente’s work is an open, beating heart, ready to welcome you in to its darkness and its light.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Valente (Space Opera) shows off her versatility in this mind-blowing collection of 45 stories. The standouts are an irreverent take on the Cthulhu Mythos and a thought-provoking look at artificial intelligence. "Down and Out in R'lyeh" opens with the line, "In his house at R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu farts in his sleep," instantly puncturing the Lovecraftian menace with humor. Cosmic horror tropes are further subverted by the narrator, a being who was born in the underwater city where the tentacled Cthulhu is confined and is utterly bored by his life there, complaining of "the ugly, kitschy non-Euclidean central business district." The satire of this piece couldn't be more different from the heartfelt thought experiment of "Silently and Very Fast," in which Elefsis, an AI who originated as a smart house, pushes back on the trope of a man-made intellect wanting to become human, but both work on every level. Other entries—including a disturbing alternate history, "Fade to White," and clever myth retelling, "L'Esprit de L'Escalier"—are equally challenging.The result is an impressive showcase for a gifted author who never plays it safe.
