Usman T. Malik

After hearing the author speak at StokerCon this year, I couldn't resist ordering his collection. And although you'll likely have to go to the trouble of ordering it directly from the author's own website, I hope you will...because this collection is one of the best single-author collections of speculative fiction (horror or otherwise) that I've ever read. Many of the stories felt Le Guin-esque, and I adored the fact that plenty of them were long enough to really fall into and live with for show more a while. My favorite was actually one of the longer stories in the collection--"Dead Lovers on Each Blade, Hung"--but every one of these stories sucked me in, and it's rare for me to be able to say that.

Malik's talent for creating whole worlds in only a few characters and pages is incredible, and the heartbreak involved in some of these monstrous tales is nothing short of breathtaking. I'll read anything he writes from here on out.

Absolutely recommended. show less

I'd heard good things about this story before reading it, and it lived up to all of them.

Our narrator grew up hearing stories from his grandfather about the dethroned Mughal princess he knew, living in poverty, running a tea shop in Pakistan which has protected by a jinn. Those tales didn't seem significant to him until his grandfather dies, and he goes back to Florida for the funeral, from his job as a professor in the Northeast. Among his grandfather's effects he finds a journal which show more will lead him to Lahore, in search of a mysterious and secret treasure.

The story seamlessly melds Indiana Jones-style adventure with philosophical speculation on the nature of the universe, and with a sharply-drawn, contemporary depiction of the relationships between lovers, communication between generations, and the difficulties of the immigrant experience. Yes, it's a lot to take on in one short story, but it all works perfectly.

My one quibble? I've always had a fundamental objection to stories where the magical quest object or secret knowledge must be destroyed because it's just too much for humanity to take, too dangerous for the world. I prefer the burden of curatorship or guardianship to the finality of destruction. This story does that with acknowledgement of this problem - but it does it anyway. And I still didn't love that aspect. But I still loved the story. It's amazing. Read it! show less

it started off pretty mediocre in my opinion. i was unsure of whether i liked it or if it was trying too hard by the end of the first two stories. but "Resurrection Points" definitely changed my mind. that, along with several other twisted, delightfully grotesque tales such as "Dead Lovers On Each Blade, Hung" and "In the Ruins of Mohenjo-Daro" (which are among my two other favourite stories from the collection), were a step up from how the book was looking to be in the beginning. i shivered show more with disgust, delight, and suspense at many moments. also, the references to Pakistan started seeming more seamless, melding into the background and lending shape to the stories rather than sticking out awkwardly as intentionally-placed boxes to be checked off, as they had seemed to me in the beginning. i'm no critic, but these were my humble thoughts on the book. i was thinking of giving it three stars initially, but, as i mentioned before, the later stories definitely changed my mind and upped my rating to a four. and it goes without saying that as a Pakistani myself i am very proud of Malik's literary prowess, and of the fact that this brilliant book came out of my country. *wipes patriotic tears* show less

I'd heard good things about this story before reading it, and it lived up to all of them.

Our narrator grew up hearing stories from his grandfather about the dethroned Mughal princess he knew, living in poverty, running a tea shop in Pakistan which has protected by a jinn. Those tales didn't seem significant to him until his grandfather dies, and he goes back to Florida for the funeral, from his job as a professor in the Northeast. Among his grandfather's effects he finds a journal which show more will lead him to Lahore, in search of a mysterious and secret treasure.

The story seamlessly melds Indiana Jones-style adventure with philosophical speculation on the nature of the universe, and with a sharply-drawn, contemporary depiction of the relationships between lovers, communication between generations, and the difficulties of the immigrant experience. Yes, it's a lot to take on in one short story, but it all works perfectly.

My one quibble? I've always had a fundamental objection to stories where the magical quest object or secret knowledge must be destroyed because it's just too much for humanity to take, too dangerous for the world. I prefer the burden of curatorship or guardianship to the finality of destruction. This story does that with acknowledgement of this problem - but it does it anyway. And I still didn't love that aspect. But I still loved the story. It's amazing. Read it! show less