Strange Stars & Alien Shadows: The Dark Fiction of Ann K. Schwader [Hardcover]

Ann K. Schwader (Author), Kevin L. O'Brien (Editor), Robert M. Price (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 2003

Ann K. "Ankh" Schwader is a well-known science fiction, fantasy, and horror poet, but she is also a prose writer. Here at last is a collection of her dark fiction, including all her Cthulhu Mythos tales to date. Included are "Home Visitor" and "Twenty Mile", both of which have received honorable mentions in the Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, as well as "Mail Order Bride" and "Lost Stars", possibly her best work to date. With a preface by the author, a foreword by Robert M. Price, and cover and interior artwork by Steve Lines. Edited by Kevin L. O'Brien.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 260 pages
• Publisher: Lindisfarne Press (November 15, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0974029734
• ISBN-13: 978-0974029733
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,852,797 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible mythos and a touch of dark sci-fi, May 17, 2009

By 

Jeffrey Sinclair (Niagara Falls, ON Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Strange Stars & Alien Shadows: The Dark Fiction of Ann K. Schwader (Hardcover)

"Ankh" Schwader writes incredibly good short fiction. I have really enjoyed her poetry in the past, but until now was unaware that her prose writing was this good. Her use of language is efficient and yet very suggestive.

The stories in this book are mostly cthulhu-esque, although some lean more toward sci-fi. However, all are excellent and original reading. (A brief word by Robert M. Price about Ann Schwader's writing and place in the mythos is included, which is a good endorsement in my opinion)

My favorite was "twenty-mile", which begins a series of short stories about Cassie Barrett, the reluctant inheritor of a cattle ranch with a buried secret...a secret that comes out periodically to do unspeakable things to local cattle. Of course, things get ugly when the local cattle run out. Incidentally, the second story about Cassie, "Experiencing the other" is also included in this anthology.

Contents:

The Tulu Jar
Balancing
In the Airlock
Body of Work
Scrawler
Fade Away
Twenty Mile
Experiencing the Other
Home Visitor
Old Glass
The Gazing-Globe
Mail Order Bride
If He Calls
The Matthias Critical Method
Tattered Souls
Meeting Mr. Marmalade
Objects from the Gilman-Waite Collection
The Prince of Perfect
Lost Stars

I also really liked the interior art - black and white art by Steve Lines opens each piece. A nice added touch.

This is one of my two favorite Cthulhu Mythos reads this year. I highly recommend it.