Stephen Dedman

I forget where I first came across mention of Dedman, but back in 2002 I read his 1999 novel Foreign Bodies, and thought it pretty good. But quality Australian genre fiction, especially that published by small presses, is not easy to get hold of in the UK, and I seem to recall buying The Lady of Situations when I bought Justina Robson’s collection Heliotrope from Ticonderoga Press (who are definitely worth checking out as they publish some excellent books). Anyway, provenance aside, this show more is a strong collection. Several of the stories concern a man who has been befriended by vampires, particularly one that looks like a young girl. I’m no fan of vampire stories, but these are handled well – especially the one about Lewis Carroll and Alice Liddell. ‘Transit’ is probably the most sfnal story, a young love tale set on a world of hermaphrodites during the visit of some Muslims en route to Earth on Hajj. ‘Amendment’ is fun, an alternate history set at a sf con where Charles Manson turns up to get a book signed by GoH Heinlein. ‘Founding Fathers’ is a nasty story, about a world settled by a small colony of white supremacists, and a visit by a mission from Earth causes a couple of murders and reveals the horrible secret at the heart of the colony. There are a couple of slight pieces here, but the rest more than make up for them. Recommended. show less

The Dirty Little Unicorn is an illustrated story of 22 pages, with text in calligraphy done by the illustrator, Keira McKenzie. The author Stephen Dedman created this limited edition of 200 copies of the chapbook, with the binding being staples and the cover a typical glossy trade paperback cover.

The story is about a young unicorn who cannot manage to stay clean. A chameleon, a caterpillar, and a beaver all tell the unicorn that the secret to survival is not being seen. When she is sent out show more on her own by her parents, she tries to stay clean but cannot. She comes across a virgin, and being a unicorn, is inexplicably drawn to her. But the virgin screams and runs, because the unicorn is so caked with dirt that she looks like some monster. The unicorn tries to follow, and spots her sitting against a tree. SPOILER*** As she is about to step out of the woods, another unicorn, clean and shining, crosses the glade and lays its head on the virgin's lap. At that point a hunter steps out of the wood and slays the clean unicorn - it was a trap all along. The little unicorn runs away, alive. ***END OF SPOILER The end of the story:

"Alison is still a dirty little unicorn. She plays in the mud and the fallen leaves, doesn't wash, and is a good friend to chameleons and caterpillars. Only if you looked very carefully beneath the dirt and leaves and twigs could you see a unicorn. Maybe you'll never see one. (And maybe you'll never see a virgin either.)"

The writing is not nearly as polished as the author's published novels as perhaps befits the early date of publication in his career, but it suits the tale well enough. This is a marvelous little story, close to a fairy tale, and the illustrations in ink are fetching. The surprising moment at the apex of the story is a brilliant turn of events, and foreshadows the wonderful imagination displayed in the author's books 'The Art of Arrow-Cutting', etc. The chapbook seems to be very difficult to find, but it is charming. Buy it and enjoy it, if you ever come across it. show less

Abandoned after 10%. Very disappointing. I found this book not the least bit engaging. Nothing interesting, and from what I thought I remembered of Dedman's style with "The Art of Arrow Cutting", this book is very different.

Good take on time-travel, if you like that kind of thing, and gets into issues of identity.