Publishers Weekly
★ 05/25/2015
Cooney’s brilliantly executed collection of five stories is a delicious stew of science fiction, horror, and fantasy, marked by unforgettable characters who plumb the depths of pathos and triumph. In “Life on the Sun,” sacrifice and rebirth are explored in a fantastical desert where future tech and wizardry mingle, as a mystical pharaoh-like figure forces a young rebel fighter to stoically embrace her fate. Children bravely battle to survive an adult-free, post-apocalyptic Earth in “The Big Ba-Ha,” even though they know their demise—hungrily anticipated by the ghoulish creatures that now share their world—is inevitable. In the title story, a macabre fairy tale told by a wisecracking lovesick rat, the Pied Piper exacts revenge on an ogre-enthralled village that’s guilty of the grisly extermination of shape-shifting swans. Cooney’s magical prose elicits laughter even as gruesome scenes induce shudders, and her expert pacing breathlessly buoys the reader to each story’s conclusion. All of these stories could easily serve as the foundation for novels while also working beautifully at their current length. These well-crafted narratives defiantly refuse to fade from memory long after the last word has been read. (July)
From the Publisher
"Writing without ostentation and featuring characters who may be flippant, terse, or even tongue-tied, Cooney produces memorable prose propelled by extraordinary ideas . . . Faced with such twisted genius, I'll say no more!" ---Locus Magazine Starred Review
From the Publisher - AUDIO COMMENTARY
"Writing without ostentation and featuring characters who may be flippant, terse, or even tongue-tied, Cooney produces memorable prose propelled by extraordinary ideas . . . Faced with such twisted genius, I'll say no more!" —Locus Magazine Starred Review
Library Journal - Audio
06/01/2017
In Cooney's (The Witch in the Almond Tree) first short fiction collection, the five stories are a mix of sf, horror, and fantasy tales, with some fairy-tale elements. "Life on the Sun" is a fantasy about war; "The Bone Swans of Amandale" contains bits of the Pied Piper and the Juniper Tree; "Martyr's Gem" is about arranged marriages; "How the Milkmaid Struck a Bargain with the Crooked One" is an inventive retelling of Rumpelstiltskin; and "The Big Bah-Ha" is a fantasy set in a postapocalyptic world. Each tale is creative, with solid worldbuilding. Read by the author (a narrator, performance poet, and singer-songwriter), the pace is brisk, and the wit, humor, and horror of the collection shine through. VERDICT Of interest to lovers of short fiction, fantasy, and fairy-tale renderings. ["Short stories…[are] usually not where you find vivid worldbuilding or immersive storytelling, but this gorgeous new collection reveals that both are possible in the short form": LJ 7/15 review of the Mythic Delirium hc.]—Denise Garafalo, Mount Saint Mary Coll. Lib., Newburgh, NY
Library Journal
07/01/2015
In five beautifully crafted stories, Cooney (Jack O' the Hills) builds imaginary worlds full of flying carpets, fairy-tale characters, and children confronted with a postapocalyptic Earth. In addition, each tale packs in enough plot for a novel, with adventurous characters who brim with wit. In "Life on the Sun" a young woman's fate catches up to her. In the title story, Maurice the rat hires the Pied Piper to help out a swan princess. The marvelous "Martyr's Gem" begins with a marriage and ends with true love. "How the Milkmaid Struck a Bargain" is another fairy tale, this time a play on the Rumpelstiltskin story. Cooney's final piece, "The Big Bah-Ha," shows her virtuosity with language, as she tells of doomed children striking a bargain with the monster who would eat their bones. VERDICT Short stories, especially in the speculative fiction arena, often feature a clever idea and a punchy delivery. It's usually not where you find vivid worldbuilding or immersive storytelling, but this gorgeous new collection reveals that both are possible in the short form.—MM
JUNE 2017 - AudioFile
Cooney delivers her award-winning collection of science fiction stories with enthusiasm and engagement. She approaches the stories with little subtlety or nuance, more like a storyteller to a large group than an intimate gathering of friends. Her narration is clear and her characters are well distinguished. Generally, the stories are bold and innovative, and Cooney’s narration reflects those qualities. But for the story “Martyrs Gem,” she adopts a quieter tone that provides a nice contrast. Cooney brings out the rhythm in passages that are more poetry than prose, and her presentation of children’s rhymes is reminiscent of play. Overall, her energy is sustained for the duration of each novella-length story. J.E.M. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
