Customer Reviews

Finding Creatures & Other Stories

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It's become a cliché to say: life's like a chocolate box, you never know what you're gonna get. But my overall impression after reading C. June Wolf's Finding Creatures & Other Stories was that of a broad and varied selection: sweet and savoury, realistic, fantastic and whimsical. Her stories also tackle gritty social and personal issues, from street kids, poverty, loneliness, and the need for forgiveness.
Each story in Finding Creatures engages with surprise: you never do know what you're going to get. The author may have taken a risk in compiling such a varied selection in one volume, but it works exactly because of this. I most enjoyed `Claude and the Henry Moores' (I'll never look at a Henry Moore again without thinking of this story), `Dana's Hand' and `Mr Cowmeadow's Sky,' both poignant and touching. I encourage readers to buy this collection and find their own favourites.

This first collection of speculative stories by C. June Wolf is a lovely surprise. Wolf embraces and re-invents every variation of the genre, from traditional science fiction to literature of the fantastic, with settings that range from the streets of Haiti to northern Canada to distant planets and the far reaches of time. Every one of these beautifully crafted stories, from the deeply serious to the engagingly irreverent, reflects an abiding empathy and compassion for everything that lives, be it human, animal or extraterrestrial. This is a book to be savoured by devotees of the fantastic, and by those who have yet to discover the pleasures of the genre. Unreservedly recommended.

Finding Creatures contains an eclectic collection of short stories from different times, cultures, and even planets. Many I had heard read at my writers' group of which the author is also a member.

I am not usually a reader of short stories but these -- WOW!!

I have been truly amazed at the layers in every story I've read so far. Each time I read them, I discover more innuendos, more knowledge, and more delights. Wolf's intellect is so vast and keen; her observations, acute. I am thrilled by the changing voices, characters, and philosophies too.

The writing is deft, funny, poignant, and passionate. Each story has been written with love and care. Word choice is wonderful.

Highly recommended to buy for your own bookshelf or as a gift.

Once opened Finding Creatures and Other Stories turned out to be impossible to close, I had to keep going and read just one more until too soon I reached the end. Even the most fantastic dreams, beings from other worlds and wild creations of human mind were made so real you'd almost expect to see some when you raise your eyes from the page. If only the book itself was as magical as its contents, after finishing one story there would forever be another.

Minna Kuosmanen on behalf of Päivi Kuosmanen

When you pick up a book by a new author, you never know what you're going to get. However, those of us that read a lot get a feeling for what a book will be like. Looking at Finding Creatures, I expected a blending of Celtic and Native American mythology ("Aboriginal" if you're Canadian ;) In such collections you often find similar characters that all inhabit the same world, and each story follows a pattern of introduction, meeting the other, learning the other isn't so strange after all, oh wait, yes they are, but they're OK anyway.

I am pleased to say that this collection does not match the trope.

Each story is unique and special. Moreover, each is told in a slighly different way. In fact, were it not for a common thread, it would feel much like reading a collection by many authors. Wolf doesn't so much have a authorial voice as a subvocalization, which makes reading a collection very interesting.

The stories range throughout space and time, ignoring genre in favor of characterization and exploration. It is tempting to launch into a story-by-story analysis, but to do so would not do justice to the stories. So let me just say that the aliens are actually alien, not just humans-with-twist. The gods are god-like, with all that that historically implies. Humans, wherever they are, are still human with human concerns and flaws. The ideas may not be new, but many of them were fairly new to me.

If you want a collection for "more of the same" this is not the collection for you. However, if want an interesting exploration of place, culture and the people and ideas within, this is a good one to read. In the end, I'm glad that I gave it a try. I will certainly pick up the next collection.

Finding Creatures and Other Stories is a tour of the human condition. Sometimes tongue in cheek, but always with insight, caring and grace. I was transported to each story and found myself immersed in the lives of the characters
A great first book; Wolf is a story teller extraordinaire. Can't wait for her next creation.

What do aliens inside solid objects, a lonely girl and a horse, futuristic matchmakers, time machines, and archeologists have in common? The answer is that they're all featured in a new short story collection called Finding Creatures & Other Stories by talented writer, C. June Wolf.

In his introduction, Charles de Lint refers to Wolf's use of different voices and styles to tell her stories in the best way possible, and this variation gives the collection delicious unpredictability. Every story offers a unique setting, some in the future, others in contemporary time. Some characters are human, others are not.

At the beginning of each story, Wolf shares her inspiration for the piece or reflects on the setting or the psychology behind the story. The collection is so eclectic and multi-levelled that readers will likely have different interpretations for each piece. I especially liked the careful balance between real world and alien world stories. In one of my favourites, "Claude and the Henry Moores", she does both.

I don't read short story collections often, nor do I read enough speculative fiction, but it's great fun to immerse oneself in a compelling collection by an author the world hasn't yet discovered. Check out Finding Creatures and see which stories are your favourites. I'm guessing you'll find several.

I like story collections, and speaking as one who writes for kids, it has always puzzled me why many mainstream publishers are reluctant to publish them. Short stories are far less intimidating and generally more enjoyable than novels for "reluctant readers." I have seldom been disappointed with a story collection, though I may have been disappointed with one or more of the stories in them. Still, as with an eclectic buffet, one can usually find something they like.

Finding Creatures & Other Stories by Casey June Wolf is by no means a young-adult book, though I'm sure that many teens, especially those who like sci-fi and fantasy, will enjoy it; and Ms. Wolf has offered a lavish and varied buffet with well-prepared entrees that should please most everyone, whether or not they hate vegetables or don't eat meat.

While the stories are as varied as vegan salad and truck stop steak -- indeed, one of the stories, After Hours At The Black Hole, is about a space-going garbage truck -- it's clear that Ms. Wolf knows her way around a literary kitchen, and even the most picky eater or fanatical food-faddist may be tempted into sampling things they thought they didn't like.

The collection opens with an offering titled Claude And The Henry Moores, about a security guard in an art gallery who senses the life trapped within certain pieces of sculpture and ultimately sets those lives free. In a case of "it tastes like chicken," I was reminded of Thorne Smith's novel, Night Life Of The Gods, although Mr. Smith tended to use magic and the supernatural merely to present his situations and then get on with the tale, while Ms. Wolf takes us much more deeply into how the magic happens and what the characters feel. There are also subtle echoes of Anne Rice and the process of transforming into a vampire, though by no means sinister.

However, Ms. Wolf is also adept in the horror genre with offerings such as Dana's Hand and Aggie's Game, both of which may generate within the reader a macabre but titillating tingle similar to forbidden or potentially deadly foods -- fugu fish come to mind -- that must be prepared with much skill by only the most experienced of chefs.

The title story, Finding Creatures, about a girl who finds a ethereal though not imaginary horse who helps her make friends, reminded me of The Celestial Omnibus by E. M. Forster, one of many stories that so-called adults should read from time to time to remind them that children usually see clearly though grownup pretension, self-involvement, indifference and hypocrisy.

As for the other stories, and as one reviewer eloquently put it, they "range throughout space and time... the aliens are actually alien, not just humans-with-twist. The gods are godlike, with all that that historically implies. Humans, wherever they are, are still human with human concerns and flaws."

While, as I'm sure will be the case with many readers, I liked some of the stories better than others, I devoured every one and none disagreed with me. If I absolutely had to find a flaw in this book it would be the author's introduction to each story. Having been a voracious reader since a very early age, I quickly learned to avoid prologues or introductions, especially those that tend to either describe a story or, worse, hint at or give away the ending. Nor am I interested in why an author wrote a story, what inspired it, or the author's own interpretation of their work, though of course other readers may feel differently. In any event, it's simple enough to ignore the intros -- as one might ignore a platter of Vienna Sausage appetizers -- and get to the good stuff.

Jess Mowry

Finding Creatures & Other Stories
by C. June Wolf
Wattle and Daub Books, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-9810658-0-9
240 pages
Fiction


Casey Wolf submitted her book Finding Creatures & Other Stories to be reviewed on The Deepening World of Fiction's horror blog. We both knew, in advance, the collection probably wouldn't fit the horror genre. Yet Wolf's stories dig at the soul in a sometimes dark and subtle way. Much of the fiction is also speculative, a type which lends itself well to horror.

There's Aggie's Game a disturbing look at a child's battle with the grim reality of her life. This is a fine horror story. It contains a few computer generated formatting problems that messed up some words, but the piece is an otherwise superb example of what good horror writing is. Truth be told, Wolf makes me wish I was a better writer than I am. Her work touched me in deep places.

Dana's Hand is another of Wolf's stories which resonates with a quiet horror. A mother lost in dementia is guarded during the day by her offspring, Dana, and calmed of her night-time terrors by the strange healing powers of Dana's left hand. But it is not the subtle horror of the situation which captures us. No, it is Dana's capacity for joy and her appetite for life that reaches us, that lifts our spirits to a sweet sadness too many of us already know.

Mr. Cowmeadow's Sky is at once disturbing and uplifting. A story about a dying man on a dying world who yet finds joy in the continued existence of his son, the only thing in his life he ever considered worthwhile.

The rest of the stories in this wonderful collection? I think the talented and accomplished author who introduces the book sums it up perfectly: "Wolf uses different genres, different voices, different cultures--in short whatever she needs to make the story work. What ties it all together is her sure-handed prose and a depth she brings to her writing, that indefinable element that rises up from between the lines and gives a good story its resonance... --Charles de Lint--

Finding Creatures & Other Stories is excellent fiction--period. I heartily recommend it.

Finding Creatures & Other Stories

Copyright © Clayton Clifford Bye 2009

A collection of short stories is a good way to get a feel for an author. Canadian author C. June Wolf's writing style comes across loud and clear in Finding Creatures & Other Stories.

Finding Creatures & Other Stories is a collection of 15 short stories. While some of the stories are fantasy and some are sci-fi, a few are closer to just plain fiction. In all of them, though, the main character learns some important inner truth, but often in a bittersweet way. A lot of the stories also have origins in religions and beliefs from various parts of the world, making each unique in their own way.

Out of all of the stories, the two that I enjoyed the most were the title story, "Finding Creatures" and "Miss Lonelygenes' Secret". "Finding Creatures" is a heartwarming story about a lonely girl who meets an invisible horse who helps her make friends to fit in at her new school. Also ending on a positive note is "Miss Lonelygenes' Secret," a sci-fi tale about a matchmaker who finds a way to make her own match.

Wolf excels at poetic prose, as evidenced in every one of her stories in Finding Creatures & Other Stories. However, most of these stories, while beautiful, were hard to really get into, lacking a connection between the reader and the main characters. Also, the dismal endings of some made the whole collection somewhat of a downer. Plus, many of the stories has a post-modernist feel to them as they lack an easily identifiable climax or conclusion.

If you enjoy beautiful short stories or learning about other philosophical beliefs, C. June Wolf's writing will appeal to you. However, for those looking for a fun paranormal read, I would suggest looking elsewhere.

Reviewed at Bitten by Books Paranormal Fiction Review Site by Ricki