Customer Reviews

In the Shadow of Evil (Daw Fantasy Anthology)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Themed anthologies can be tricky: sometimes they wander off topic or off mood; sometimes the quality of the writing varies noticeably from story to story. In the Shadow of Evil does a good job of maintaining topic, mood, and quality from cover to cover. The topic, is, of course, a bit depressing (stories set where evil has triumphed over good) and the tone is, accordingly, somewhat melancholy, but the quality and the originality of the material in undeniable. Goodness even manages to triumph from time to time in the stories. In "To Embrace the Serpent," Tim Waggoner deals with the grim choices a parent has raising a child under the spectre of evil; in "Few of Us," Jean Rabe relates an amusing action tale that shows that perspective can be key in labeling the forces of darkness and light; in "The Angel Chamber," Russell Davis demonstrates that innocence and hope can remain alive under the worst circumstances; in "Ineffable," Isaac Szpindel shows that evil begets evil; in "Flint and Iron," Rick Hautala reminds us that evil can and will be resisted; in "Peel," Julie E. Czerneda demonstrates the power of thought; in "Comes Forth," Jane Lindskold embraces the power of prophecy to keep hope alive; in "Climb, Said the Crow," Brooks Peck tells the tale of one man's quest to be free for just a few moments and the consequences that can flow from that simple yearning; in "Red Star Prophecy," Mickey Zucker Reichert teaches us not to condemn a man until you understand his mind and the details of his circumstances; in "Rekindling the Light," Jody Lynn Nye sings a song of light hidden, but never extinguished; in "Iraqi Heat," Gregory Benford reveals that even nature understands evil; in "Slow Poison," Tanya Huff proves that an army lives on its stomach; in "The Weapon," Michelle West demonstrates that evil is learned, but that wisdom and justice can be brought forth instead; and in "The Captain of the Dead," Fiona Patton sets forth a haunting tale that teaches that some choices must not be made. Altogether a fine and compelling anthology. Highly recommended. Donald J. Bingle, Author of Forced Conversion.

Once again, Martin Greenberg and DAW produces a devilishly masterful anthology, this one centered around stories that captures traditional stories at the beginning or the middle, the time that evil has absolute control. The heroes have been beaten, and live in the shadows.

A complete listing of the stories follows:
*** The Embrace of the Serpent by Tim Waggoner, *** Few of Us by Jean Rabe, *** The Angel Chamber by Russell Davis, *** Ineffable by Issac Szpindel, *** Flint and Iron by Rick Hautala, *** Reel by Julie E. Czerneda, ***Comes Forth by Jane Lindskold, *** Climb, Said the Crow by Brooks Peck, *** Red Star Prophecy by Mickey Zucker Reichert, *** Rekindling the Light by Jody Lynn Nye, *** Iraqi Heat by Gregory Benford, Slow Poison by Tayna Huff, The Weapon by Michelle West, and The Captain of the Dead by Fiona Patton.

Most of the stories have a melancholy note, which is to be expected given the circumstances. Some of the stories take place in our own history, some take place in fantasy realms. The only reason I gave this story 4 stars instead of 5 is several stories have a very unfinished feel about them, and a few of the stories are just poorly written. But only a few clinkers with the rest of the stories being as strong and fierce as they are makes this anthology well worth the price.

Highly recommended!

Short stories can be a guilty pleasure, like a satisfying snack for the imagination they can contain a lot of flavor in very little space. This collection was decent and I didn't feel guilty skipping the stories that weren't up my alley since I didn't like all of them , some were too heavy and clunky, even too modern and not enticing enough, but skipping around turned out to be a stress free option. I got this book from the library, but some stories were good enough that I would get the book if I ever ran across it.

Best story that set the mood was the well chosen first tale "Embrace of the serpent" by Tim Waggoner, which fit the book cover and the theme. It had a heavy dose of fantasy with the feel of a bright painting but I would have loved to read a whole novel dedicated to the topic, that's when you know the short story is good, when you get so engaged you wish there was more. When the meat of the tale is better than the variety of the "new" that awaits next (which is the real kicker for getting a short story collection to start with!) you know it's a good read. I also enjoyed "Climb said the crow" by Brooks Peck, which was extremely vivid, almost cartoon like yet strangely satisfying. "Slow poison" by Tanya Huff made me very hungry, that's one thing that strikes me about it, the food described and then ways it was used ( which was a surprise) made it for such a different read that it has stuck itself in my memory like a piece of sweet caramel on a tooth. I didn't enjoy the modern stories too much, considering how everyone has different taste it's probably best that the book has variety, I just didn't think that few that were chosen meshed well, in my mind it created gaps in the perfect setting, I like holes in cheese but they don't really provide anything other than a novelty, same for a few tales. Overall a nice ready, something that can be read in one day or slowly savored.

- Kasia S.

These stories are all set where evil may not actually win, but it's where "good" is clearly not ascendant, and people struggle to live in a wicked, wicked world.

The stories are all good (or better), with enough variety in their approach to the theme to keep it from being repetitive. (Even when Nazis show up more than once, the stories are quite distinct in tone, mood, and outcome.) The stories range from the supernatural to the utterly naturalistic, all while keeping the same tone.

While all the stories are good, there are several that are exceptional. Tim Waggoner's "To Embrace the Serpent" is chilling and utterly believable. Gregory Benford's "Iraqi Heat" is an excellent character portrayal. Tanya Huff's "Slow Poison" had me grimly smiling along with the cook, and Michelle West's "The Weapon" somehow packs a novel's worth of story into an intense short story.

This book really got me back into reading. (I have been spending waaaay to much time staring at my computer screen.) Its intelligent, thought provoking and even has a good amount of action. There is alot of [...] in the fantasy/scifi section of my local barnes and nobles, and I am so glad I found this book in the midst of all the cliche novels and drab story collections. Its wonderful. My favorite story is "Red star Prophesy". All the stories are so different, its amazing how many talented authors can come up with stories so vastly unique when posed with the same idea. Awesome book!