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Games Creatures Play

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LoveReading Says

LoveReading Says

A Maxim Jakubowski selected title.

The short story is still one of the most pleasurable platforms for storytelling, a tasty bite of fiction that can be read in a single session and packs a mean punch when practiced well. Here, the creator of TRUE BLOOD and a crime writing co-editor have curated a splendid selection of fantasy stories with a twist in the tale, all somehow involving sports, a curious but most effective combination, including a new Sookie Stackhouse adventure by Harris and suspenseful material by Brandon Sanderson, Laura Lippman, Seanan McGuire, William Kent Krueger, Jan Burke, Scott Sigler, Mercedes Lackey and a host of others. Having both supernatural and crime writers together under the same cover works surprisingly well and the entertainment level is turned to the max.

 

A 'Piece of Passion from the Publisher'

I love a great anthology! I will never forget as a child, hiding under the bedclothes with a torch and copy of The Pan Book of Horror Stories, or one of Lin Carter’s selections of fantasy fiction, or a collection of Roald Dahl’s entirely unexpected tales. There’s something so satisfying about a good short story. I know it’s never an easy job – with a novel, you’ve got many thousands of words to develop your characters and make your plot work, but with short fiction you’ve got to wrap it all up in just a few pages. And of course, it’s much easier to get a really effective knock-out punch with a tight tale – Roald Dahl was one of many to prove that again and again. On top of that, anthologies are a great way to find new authors. But best of all, for me a good anthology is like the perfect box of chocolates: no two are the same, but they’re all delicious. And if you do happen to end up with an orange cream when you’d expected a praline crunch – well, it’s soon finished and there are plenty more to choose!


So that’s the ‘why I like anthologies’; here’s the ‘why I love this particular anthology’. This is the sixth one the editors, Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner, have put together, each better than the last. Theme anthologies are not necessarily my first choice of reading matter, but Harris & Kelner always make the theme as wide as possible: in this case, ‘sport’ ranges from hide and seek to lacrosse, from drag-racing to softball – with a whole lot more stops in between – which is just as well, as I’ve never really been much of a sports person (despite playing left back in the QES hockey team for several years; it was never voluntary!) But this: this is different, not least because of the fantastic collection of authors old and new they’ve persuaded to play along. For me, Joe R. Lansdale and Ellen Kushner were worth the price of admission alone, but then you add another baker’s dozen, including the likes of William Kent Krueger, Brandon Sanderson and Laura Lippman, not to mention the editors themselves, and ‘Just one more story and then I’ll turn out the light’ turns into ‘There must be torch batteries here somewhere!’


Putting a great anthology together is all about teamwork, and as far as I’m concerned, the writers in Games Creatures Play are a cheerleader’s dream: they’re winners all the way – and as a reader, I’m a winner too – and it’s nothing to do with prizes for all (although who doesn’t love a comfit?) I got a super selection of stories to while away the hours – and a list of new authors whose novels I’m pretty sure I’ll enjoy, based on their games here. So what’s not to love?' - Jo Fletcher, Publisher, Jo Fletcher Books

Maxim Jakubowski

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