Tales of Pain and Wonder [Paperback]

Caitlin R. Kiernan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2002

Included in this collection are 21 short stories by the award willing author of Silk. Caitlin R. Kiernan has added a new voice to the world of horror and supernatural writing. Her stories consistently make it into The Years Best Fantasy and Horror and The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror. Her writing is unique, thought provoking, and leads you to places that you fear, yet find fascinating.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Each story in this definitive third edition of Kiernan's loosely linked collection stands alone as a visceral slice of life. While Anamorphosis and To This Water rely on the overdone menaces of pedophilia and rape, Bela's Plot (a four-time IHG award winner) establishes a delicate balance between the romance of decay and deliberately undercutting characters' gothic pretensions. Glass Coffin, Salammbô, Salmagundi, ...Between the Gargoyle Trees and the previously unpublished Salammbô Redux relate the history of sisters Salmagundi and Salammbô Desvernine and their disturbed and disturbing extended family. Paedomorphosis and Rats Live on No Evil Star approach closest to classic horror, driven by revulsion and fear of the alien, while in Estate, a human terrorizes a supernatural creature, and San Andreas relies on pure human nature for its shuddery effect. Together, the impact of these stories is stunning: glancing collisions between psychics, runaways, junkies, artists and whores (who, as in Kiernan's Silk, function as a loose alternative to a family) add up to a portrait of something broken and beautiful. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 344 pages
• Publisher: Meisha Merlin Publishing, Inc.; 2 edition (January 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 189206538X
• ISBN-13: 978-1892065384
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,223,534 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Caitlin R. Kiernan was born near Dublin, Ireland, but has spent most of her life in the southeastern United States. In college, she studied zoology, geology, and palaeontology, and has been employed as a vertebrate palaeontologist and college-level biology instructor. The results of her scientific research have been published in the JOURNAL OF VERTEBRATE PALAEONTOLOGY, THE JOURNAL OF PALAEONTOLOGY and elsewhere. In 1992, she began writing her first novel, THE FIVE OF CUPS (it remained unpublished until 2003). Her first published novel, SILK (1998), earned her two awards and praise from critics and such luminaries as Neil Gaiman, Clive Barker, Peter Straub, and Poppy Z. Brite. Her next novel, THRESHOLD (2001), was also an award-winner, and since then she has written LOW RED MOON (2003), MURDER OF ANGELS (2004), DAUGHTER OF HOUNDS (2007), and, forthcoming, THE RED TREE. She is a prolific short fiction author, and her award-winning short stories have been collected in TALES OF PAIN AND WONDER (2000), WRONG THINGS (with Poppy Z. Brite; 2001), FROM WEIRD AND DISTANT SHORES (2002), and TO CHARLES FORT, WITH LOVE (2005), ALABASTER (2006), FROG TOES AND TENTACLES (2005), TALES FROM THE WOEFUL PLATYPUS (2007), and, most recently, the sf collection, A IS FOR ALIEN (2009). She has also scripted comics for DC/Vertigo, including THE DREAMING ('97-'01), THE GIRL WHO WOULD BE DEATH ('98), and BAST: ETERNITY GAME ('03). Her short sf novel THE DRY SALVAGES was published in 2004, and has published numerous chapbooks since 2000. Caitlin also fronted the goth-rock band Death's Little Sister in 1996-1997, once skinned a lion, and likes sushi. She lives in Providence, RI with her partner, Kathryn, and her two cats, Hubero and Smeagol. Caitlin is represented by Writer's House (NYC) and United Talent Agency (LA).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Postcards from the End of the World, April 20, 2002

By 

James Knox (Tarrytown, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tales of Pain and Wonder (Paperback)

Caitlin R. Kiernan's magnificent first short fiction collection, TALES OF PAIN AND WONDER, is a dazzling triumph for dark fantasy. The author blends elements of horror and terror (the Gothic), noir, and hints of Lovecraftian sci-fi, for stories that are utterly unique in their scope and tone. Kiernan has established herself as the premiere stylist of dark fiction and nowhere does her talent and skill with words shine more brightly than in this accomplished collection. An informed and conscientious reader doesn't need the introduction by Douglas Winter or the afterword by Peter Straub to tell him that this book is something special. each page - indeed, each sentence - declares that fact. Many of the stories are linked by recurring characters and related events, and even the unconnected stories are related to the others in theme, so that TALES OF PAIN AND WONDER becomes almost a sort of pseudo-novel. With these stories, Kiernan explores the disintegration of society, faith, humanity, and, indeed, the fabric of the world itself, offering a lonely and disturbing view of the survivors. These stories frighten, strike awe, sadden, inspire wonder, and even offer slim bits of hope, but they never merely entertain. Scholars of fantastic fiction should take note: Caitlin R. Kiernan is one of the few important voices in genre today.

That said, the Meisha Merlin edition is a disappointment, a shoddy, unprofessional effort with one of the most garish and inappropriate covers I've seen in ages. The interior layout is slipshod, Richard Kirk's gorgeous interior illustrations are reproduced a bit to darkly, and the book is marred by errors that would have been eliminated from a more skillful printing. I encourage readers who can't afford the pricey Gauntlet hardback to pick up this edition - it's far better than nothing - but I regret that Kiernan's masterwork has been done such a disservice.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, Lousy Cover, April 17, 2002

By 

Sutton Cassill (Little Rock, Arkansas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tales of Pain and Wonder (Paperback)

Caitlin R. Kiernan's TALES OF PAIN AND WONDER is easily one of the most important collection of dark fiction in years. These stories rank with the best of Ligotti, Campbell, Lovecraft, and Bradbury, and it's great to see them finally available in an inexpensive trade paperback. Hopefully Kiernan's exquisitely-penned stories of Salmagundi Desvernine and Jimmy DeSade will find a wider readership now. However, buyers should be warned that this edition is inferior to the Gauntlet hardback in several respects. To start with, the awful cover, which is as misrepresentative of Kiernan's work as possible. Also there are many more typos in the edition, including some that make reading the book difficult at times. If you can afford it, buy the hardback. If not, at least this edition does include all of Richard Kirk's beautiful artwork. I'm giving this book five stars, because the writing and artwork are deserving of high praise, despite the publisher's shoddy packaging of the collection.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must of Horror Readers, April 19, 2002

By 

Emily Peeples (Las Vegas, Nevada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tales of Pain and Wonder (Paperback)

Caitlin R. Kiernan's Tales of Pain and Wonder is a superb volume, and is requisite reading for all afficianados of dark fiction. However, I was very disappointed in the quality of this edition and prefer the hardback. From the garish cover to a text fraught with printer's errors, the paperback does a disservice to Kiernan's exquisite prose.