Hart & Boot & Other Stories [Paperback]

Tim Pratt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 30, 2007

Hart & Boot & Other Stories collects thirteen stories of love, death and monsters, including new story "Komodo," a tale of lizards, sex magic and dangerous men. The title story, "Hart & Boot," was chosen by Michael Chabon for inclusion in The Best American Short Stories: 2005.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A simple theme unites the 13 stories in this solid collection from Pratt (The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl): extraordinary things can happen to ordinary people. In the title story, a western, Pearl meets—or perhaps creates from nothing—a man she names John Boot, who proves to be her salvation. In "Impossible Dreams," a videophile repeatedly returns to a mysteriously appearing video store from an alternate reality. In "Bottom Feeding," Graydon, mourning the death of his brother, conquers a giant catfish that has magical properties. Elements from Greek myth play important roles in such tales as "Terrible Ones," in which an actress finds herself followed by a Chorus and sought out by the Furies, and "Living with the Harpy," about a woman who gives up her harpy roommate for love. Pratt's straightforward style, ordinary Joe protagonists and often hackneyed plots render his bizarre landscapes all the more plausible and the emotional connections all the more wrenching. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Full of a keen sense of usual fantasy--strange creatures and legends--and the fantastic in ordinary life, Pratt's stories are a lot of fun. "Hart & Boot" is a western in which Pearl Hart determines to make her fortune as an outlaw with the help of the mysterious Boot, who appeared to her out of nowhere. "Terrible Ones" seasons the last days of the Eumenides with a modern performance of Medea. "The Tyrant in Love" is so bored with causing pain that he tries love and makes rather a mess of it. The girl "In a Glass Casket" is there because her father doesn't want her ever to leave him. "Living with the Harpy" is on one level about the benefits of having a myth for a housemate but also considers giving up the merely fantastic for something even riskier. Pratt's notes reveal the motives behind each story; for example, he aimed "The Tyrant in Love" at a woman he hoped to seduce (not his best idea, he says--the seduction, that is). Regina Schroeder
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Night Shade Books; First Edition edition (January 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597800538
• ISBN-13: 978-1597800532
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,432,487 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fresh and fun, recommended, March 19, 2007

By 

xiann "a reader" (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hart & Boot & Other Stories (Paperback)

Clever and highly imaginative. My favorites were probably "Cup and Table" and "Dream Engine". Bonus points for a story titled "Romanticore". I'll certainly be reading more from Tim Pratt. One reason I almost gave the book four stars (but went with five in the end) is because I expect even better from Pratt in the future.

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice collection, June 19, 2011

By 

Von Welch - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hart & Boot & Other Stories (Kindle Edition)

I started reading Tim's books through the Marla Mason series and thought I'd give his other stuff a try. This is a nice collection, well worth the money with the same quirky style that I enjoyed in Tim's Marla work.

4.0 out of 5 stars Hart & Boot, not what you'd expect, March 31, 2011

By 

Thomas Sobieski "Phoghat" (Elmhurst, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hart & Boot & Other Stories (Kindle Edition)

I liked this book because of the writing which flows well and because of its originality.
My favorite is the first story "Joe Boot" which is a Western of sorts, but not a Western like anything you've read before.