Speaking to Skull Kings and Other Stories

by Emily B. Cataneo

Description

A ballet dancer can't escape an unwanted suitor--even after death. Three sisters live by a strict etiquette book in an abandoned house, until one of them starts to question why. Two children venture into the treacherous forest to find their missing bird-guardian. A magician struggles to find a cure for the plague descending on her city before it's too late.Emily B. Cataneo's debut fiction collection is rife with the decayed grandeur of old Europe, girls who love and loathe ghosts, and magic show more that comes with a price. These stories, many of which have appeared on year's best longlists, span the gamut from soft science fiction to noir, to high fantasy and everything in between. They unfold in settings rendered both beautiful and sinister: a wintry post-Revolution Russia, a gossipy New England town, a lonely bathhouse where robots go to die.As the characters in these tales live out their lives, from childhood to death and beyond, they search for meaning, connection, and safety, struggling to transcend their circumstances and ultimately grappling with the question: how far will they go to escape? show less

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cdealba 2 reviews

Emily B. Cataneo's Speaking to Skull Kings is full of stories for weird kids who grew up into weird adults -- or for fans of Kelly Link, Karen Russell, Shirley Jackson, and Angela Carter. Every story transports the reader perfectly into a fully realized and often terrifying world, from the gothic horror of "A Guide to Etiquette and Comportment for the Sisters of Henley House" to the post-revolution steampunk Russia of "The Firebird" and the dystopian, portal-filled Boston that unfolds in "Purple Lemons." Despite the fact that the settings vary so widely across the book, they feel cohesive in their themes: grief, loss, regret, and the intensity of female friendship and family ties. If you've ever lost someone, you will see yourself in show more these stories, even as they deal with hair-eating ghosts and children raised by a bird. This is an exciting and imaginative debut collection, and I can't wait to see what Cataneo does next. show less

Jul 16, 2017

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