This collection of nine short stories (some not so short. perhaps they even qualify as novellas) is highly imaginative. From a man who finds diamonds in shoulder blades to a little girl who becomes a queen but loses her humanity to another little girl who talks to the moon to the murder of the direction East, these stories will take you places that you have never imagined.



For me, it was hard to get into this collection. The first three stories were fairly long and a little bizarre for my tastes. The last six stories were just as bizarre but for some reason, they appealed to me more. All of these stories reminded me of those stories that they made you read in school so you could discuss their meanings. There isn't anything wrong with that type of story. I just prefer my reading to be more on the fun side. (I never did like being told what to read, even if it was something I would enjoy. This is especially true if someone tries to tell me what the story should make me think or feel. That may have been what the author meant, but it doesn't mean I felt that or that either of us were wrong. Climbing off the soapbox now.) A lot of the stories in this collection deal with loss or sacrifice and the consequences of those.



I wouldn't call these stories bright, feel good reads. They are dark fantasies. Some might be a little too strange for your tastes, even if you read sci-fi and fantasy as much as I do. Still, I think most fans of those categories will find some stories to their tastes. And the best part is that no one will quiz you on them when you are done.