A collection of science fiction, including two previously-unpublished stories. I liked the first four most of all. "The Beautiful Biting Machine" and "Moon Wolf" could just as easily fit under horror, a genre to which I think the author was more suited. Most of the rest are okay at best and didn't make much of an impression on me. ( )

This review and others posted over at my blog.

Shorts collections can be hit or miss whether the stories are from one or multiple authors. This is a solid sci-fi collection with a range of futuristic worlds and a few really stellar stories.

The collection starts off with a dedication to Tanith’s husband that made me smile:

To my Husband and Angel, John Kaiine.
From whom great inspiration I gaiine;
And whose name is such fun,
Since almost no one
Can pronounce it – until we explaiine.

I think it’s creative and adorable and I’m happy to know that I’ve always pronounced it correctly.

Ok, on to the stories. For the first time, I think, I’ve got a little something to say about the plot of each story and my thoughts.

The Beautiful Biting Machine – A Tanith twist on vampirism in a technologically advanced future. It’s more than the pervy tale that it appears! This was an excellent choice for an opener.

Moon Wolf – Werewolves on the moon? Honestly, this story was too vague for me to comprehend, though atmospheric.

Felixity – Held prisoner by her husband, a woman finds strength in watching a version of herself revealed to her through a mirror. This was middle of the road for me – a little cliché, as there’s a dumpy to frumpy transformation. The end was the best part, though very literal.

The Thaw – A woman finds herself with a houseguest who happens to be a relative of hers who was frozen for over 200 years. She must help her aunt (?) acclimate to an unfamiliar world but soon finds the woman has some disturbing tendencies. This story was crazy and creepy and I loved it. The protagonist also coins the term nightcarlas instead of nightmares and it was perfect.

You Are My Sunshine – Another transformation story, but this one has ramifications of epic proportions. I really enjoyed this one.

With a Flaming Sword – An alien/cavewoman take on Adam and Eve. This was too religious for me and while, as usual, I thought the writing was quality, I didn’t enjoy the plot or characters.

Black Fire – Another biblical alien invasion, though with some female empowerment…sort of. It was better than Flaming Sword, but not fabulous.

Written in Water – My notes say: what happens when aliens arrive after a plague to the last woman on earth. What even does that mean? I don’t know. I don’t remember this one. Womp.

Tonight I Can Sleep Quietly – Ex-lovers are out of prison and in different bodies and meet in a coffee shop. This one was too introspective for me. But I wanted to know more about the character’s past and the world.

Stalking the Leopard – A jaded rich girl “falls in love with” a mysterious assassin. I liked this one. The world was rich and the ending was unexpected.

Dead Yellow – what happens when the color yellow disappears from the face of the earth. I’ve never read about a plague that targets a color and it was interesting to read about how something seemingly harmless can affect life.

By Crystal Light Beneath One Star – A prison that shows you past memories to torture you. I really wasn’t interested in this one.

A Day in the Skin (or, the century we were out of them) – After a tragic accident, workers in a mining colony find themselves trapped in a sort of limbo while the bodies of the survivors are loaned out for short periods of time. Essentially you get x number of days in a body every x number of days. But you never get to go back into your own body. It’s complex but understandable. I loved this one and I think it should have ended the collection because it was so strong. It was giving me Altered Carbon vibes except this came first!

Within the Ghost – A man is stranded on his ship after the planet he was working on is destroyed. The ship finds a mysterious signal from a planet with no signs of life and from there the three build a relationship. This one was odd…but intriguing.

If you like sci-fi shorts this is a collection worth checking out, especially if you tend to be more of a deep thinker than I am. Some of the stories that confused or bored me might be your standouts! ( )

Okay, this is how this went down. I went to the library in search of some non-genre fiction. I wanted a break from sf as I was still under the shadow of The Highest Frontier. I was cruising the new fiction section, where everything looked BORING, except one title I was on the fence about but wanted to check goodreads reviews first when BAM! I ran into this. I loved the cover design, and the title, and then I saw Tanith Lee and it was over.

I haven't read so much by Tanith lee, but what I have read I liked, and clearly it was time to read more.

So I was excited picking it up, excited checking it out and taking it home, and then I examined it more closely and UGH! it is a collection of short stories. Let me not get into all my short story issues here, I will just say it's not my favorite format. So in very short order I went from fangirl flailing to "meh." It was with rather lackluster enthusiasm that I actually started reading.

Now, can I say? I repent! I repent! Dear universe, I repent! I was in love from the very first story all the way to the end. (Almost. More on that in a moment.) Some of the stories were so perfect I wanted to kiss them. Special favorites were "The Beautiful Biting Machine," "Moon Wolf," "You Are My Sunshine," and "Within the Ghost." Oh, and "With a Flaming Sword." I do love retellings of the Adam and Eve story. Pretty much every time.

Tanith Lee is one of those authors that makes me tag my books as sf for speculative fiction rather than just science fiction. For the most part, I have followed my father's opinion that science fiction is clearly the superior half (not just that, but the only worthwhile half) of the science fiction and fantasy section. But Lee has always blurred the lines between science fiction and fantasy. Sometimes with a little bit of horror. Yes, there is future tech and world colonization and AI, but sometimes there are vampires and werewolves and goddesses, too. But these fantasy elements are thoughtful and smart and integral to what each short story is exploring, and it's all so seamless with the science fiction that I kind of adored it.

The only story I didn't love was "By Crystal Light Beneath One Star." I kept turning the pages, thinking, "What, so she think's she's Philip K. Dick now?" It never came together for me.

Anyway, the stories may be short, but the ideas are still big. The power of beauty and attraction. The worth, meaning, and purpose of a life. The line/interactions between human and the divine.

Absolutely loved this. ( )

A collection of newer short stories. Lee's stories are original, almost always beautiful, and often disturbing. Some are love stories (not necessarily *healthy* love stories), some take on old myths and folk tales for a new perspective. They are different from each other in narrative style and subject matter, but they have memorable images and words. ( )