Re: The Dreaming Wind

There’s lots of charming, weird, and frightful inventiveness in “The Dreaming Wind,” by Jeffrey Ford. A small town is haunted by a wind that makes dreams real, in all their uncontrolled power. You get to watch how the people deal (or fail to deal) with it, but I didn’t find it as immediate or affecting […]

Re: The Fiddler of Bayou Teche

Come here, cher, and I tell you a story. The opening lines of “The Fiddler of Bayou Teche,” by Delia Sherman establish an intimate narrative voice, so clear you can hear her speaking inside your head. Better yet, read it out loud. Cadence is an albino girl who lives out in the swamp with her […]

Re: The Evolution of Trickster Stories Among the Dogs

I’m a sucker for folktales and stories about talking animals. My favorite Nancy Kress story stars a talking dog. So I sat up and listened when the dogs started to talk in “The Evolution of Trickster Stories Among the Dogs of North Park After the Change,” by Kij Johnson. The title suggests that it’s going […]