A better than good quality collection, given that this one comes in at 3.59. Or just about a 4.25 out of 5 if you like.

Mostly of the horror or dark fantasy variety, as you will see if you look them up bunches have been included in various Year's Best Horror anthologies by various editors. Except perhaps for the title track, but plenty of dying parents stuff in there, too.

A bit of a liking for the Greek mythology stuff in contemporary times, too. The poem included also has Dionysos in the title, as more of an indication.

Last Summer At Mars Hill : Last Summer At Mars Hill - Elizabeth Hand
Last Summer At Mars Hill : The Erl King - Elizabeth Hand
Last Summer At Mars Hill : Justice - Elizabeth Hand
Last Summer At Mars Hill : The Have-Nots - Elizabeth Hand
Last Summer At Mars Hill : In The Month Of Athyr - Elizabeth Hand
Last Summer At Mars Hill : Engels Unaware - Elizabeth Hand
Last Summer At Mars Hill : The Bacchae - Elizabeth Hand
Last Summer At Mars Hill : Snow On Sugar Mountain - Elizabeth Hand
Last Summer At Mars Hill : On the Town Route - Elizabeth Hand
Last Summer At Mars Hill : The Boy on the Tree - Elizabeth Hand
Last Summer At Mars Hill : Prince of Flowers - Elizabeth Hand

They, death removalists. Rather sparkly, too.

4 out of 5

Sold my soul for rock and roll.

3.5 out of 5

I spell on you, Okie pig/dog.

4 out of 5

Elvis ate my Caddy?

3 out of 5

Genegineer stork stunt tragedy.

3.5 out of 5

Rapid-fire ending for stock market Deadly Sins.

4 out of 5

Party Time! Excellent! If we can just find a tasty man...

3.5 out of 5

Foxboy on the run
Major Apollo moon landing fun

4 out of 5

Ice cream is a seasonal thing.

3.5 out of 5

Brother, oh those empaths.

3 out of 5

Puppets (or clowns). Horror. Never a good combo if you are stuck in it.

http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2008/06...
3.5 out of 5

4 out of 5 ( )

A very impressive collection from author Elizabeth Hand, an author whom I had not previously read. These are ambitious, powerful stories with beautifully drawn characters, stories that vary in tone from almost pastoral to very angry. Several of them deal with death, others with mankind at his very ugliest. Several of them call on images from Greek mythology.

Five of these stories got added to my "all time favorite short stories" list: "Justice," a very angry story about a woman reporter who covers crimes commited by abusive men for a supermarket tabloid; "The Erl-King," a Lovecraftian Faust tale; "The Bacchae," a sort of scary antidote to James Tiptree Jr.'s classic "The Screwfly Solution;" "Snow on Sugar Mountain," a gentle story about a dying ex-astronaut and a runaway shapeshifter; and "On the Town Route," in which a young woman rides an ice cream truck to a fantastic destination. The only story that really didn't work for me was "In the Month of Athyr," the collection's sole science fiction entry.

I will definitely plan to look for more books by Elizabeth Hand. ( )