The Chains That You Refuse (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Fans of literate fantasy may embrace the 22 inventive tales in Bear's first story collection, but others will be put off by the experimental entries with their nonlinear, often static narratives and extreme emotional detachment. Little happens, for example, in the opening tale, "L'esprit d'escalier: Not a Play in One Act," about a man writing a play about Christopher Marlowe, John Keats and Allen Ginsberg in the afterlife. Bear (Hammered) is better when forced into the more traditional discipline of the Victorian pastiche with "Tiger! Tiger!" in which the world of Sherlock Holmes collides with that of H.P. Lovecraft. Perhaps the most successful story is "Seven Dragons Mountain," which mixes Chinese dragons and airships, but again a clever idea could have benefited from a more gripping execution. (July)
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From Booklist

The title story of Bear's collection is a tiny piece on the uselessness of knowing the future. Its volume mates leap from one trope to another, all over the genre map. Without exception, they are bright moments of storytelling, whether they concern mysterious creatures a la Lovecraft, time travel, political intrigue, epic battles, or the queen of the Seelie Fay. In "This Tragic Glass," Kit Marlowe's data throw off research on Renaissance poets at the University of Nevada, and the scholars arrange to bring him to their time (they've already got Keats) to reveal his greatest secret. Bear is as comfortable reimagining great literary figures--in "L'esprit d'escalier--Not a Play in One Act," besides Marlowe and Keats, she brings in Ginsberg, Shakespeare, Shelley, even Brautigan--as extrapolating physicists: "Schrodinger's Cat Chases the Super String" includes a conversation among Bohr, Schrodinger, Einstein, Heisenberg, and the Curies. An extraordinary gathering of stories that showcases Bear's chops most effectively. Regina Schroeder
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Night Shade Books (May 29, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597800481
• ISBN-13: 978-1597800488
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #49,787 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting stuff., September 20, 2006

By	Robert P. Beveridge "xterminal" (Cleveland, OH) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Elizabeth Bear, The Chains that You Refuse (Night Shade, 2006)

When a writer opens a book of short stories with a vignette about a bar in the afterlife where a number of controversial writers from the ages congregate, it's pretty easy for me to rest assured that I'm going to like the book a bunch. It was no surprise whatever to me that Miz Bear didn't let me down.

The Chains That You Refuse consists of twenty-two stories (and one poem), whch range from the good ("Gone to Flowers," which-- I admit-- I might've liked more had I actually gotten off my duff and read the Jenny Casey novels before getting to this) to the "worth the price of the book for this story alone" ("Tiger! Tiger!," in which... oh, you just have to read it for yourself, too many people have already given it away).

The biggest thing that bugged me had not to do with the stories themselves, but the caesurae. Booklist's review comments that on the fact that the stories are "all over the... map," and this is certainly the case. It can be quite jarring going from one story to the other and finding oneself not only in a different world with different characters, but in a different time period, writing style, and genre. Once you've gotten over the initial jar, though, each of these stories is satisfying. There is a good deal here to be enjoyed, so go enjoy it, why don't you? *** ½

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A dazzling collection, March 30, 2008

By	Erin Kissane (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This collection contains some of Elizabeth Bear's very best work -- extraordinary, challenging, genre-hopping stories written in spare, word-perfect prose. Sometimes playful, always clever, often haunting. (The Publisher's Weekly reviewer, apparently put out by his/her unfulfilled genre expectations, utterly misses the point.)

If you've enjoyed any of Bear's novels, buy this collection.