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Wednesday reviews roundup for 24th June
Posted by Paul Raven on June 24th, 2009 at 14:01
Well, the longest day of the year has been and gone, and it seems like only weeks ago I was sat grouching in the cold darkness of midwinter. Where’s this year going to, I ask you?
I’ve always suspected PS head honcho Pete has some sort of time dilation machine to allow him to get everything done, but I’m increasingly fearful that as a part of the team I’ve somehow been caught up in its temporal backwash, and am experiencing a compressed perception of time as a result…
… but enough of my existential waffle. Let’s take a look at this week’s reviews!
First of all, author Clare Dudman reviews Val / Orson by Marly Youmans:
Marly Youman’s work bridges its own fantastical space. It is a charmed forgotten world into which the modern day somehow seamlessly intrudes. The effect is startling. In Val/Orson, as in all her work, there is the atmosphere of a myth. It is not just the basis of the story – the separation of twins at birth – but the general ambience of the piece. Extraordinary things are accepted with a fairytale nonchalance: in this tale for instance there are tree-sitters. They are not introduced; why they are there and what they are doing has to be gleaned from the text, and this gives the whole setting depth and power. It manages to incorporate important messages about the environment as well as give a highly satisfying tale of loyalty and search for identity. For a novella there is an impressive range – from mesmerising accounts of fairy stories to gripping and realistic accounts of childbirth.
There’s also an interview with Marly Youmans further down, so go take a look!
The Baton Rouge Advocate also took a look at Val / Orson. As it was a print piece I can’t link to it, but here’s a few snippets:
Somehow Youmans manages to tightrope along that margin between the real and the surreal in this book to create a tension that harkens back to classic fantasy novels like W.H. Hudson’s Green Mansions and the works of Jules Verne.
[...]
Val falls in love with the beautiful Diamond, a tree-sitter. But then one day she just disappears. Was she taken away by Orson? As the mystery intensifies, Youmans introduces more characters and more elements into the tale which explain previous mysteries. It’s a well-crafted and enjoyable story. As always, Youmans’ writing is something beyond mere prose. It’s near-poetry.
Also in print is a featured review of Paul Di Filippo‘s Harsh Oases in the new issue of Albedo 1:
What is striking about Di Filippo as a writer, as evidenced in previous collections, is his range, both in terms of style and subject matter. Previous collections have demonstrated a multitude of ideas that are treated sometimes in a serious vein, sometimes humorous. It is this very variety that has perhaps kept Di Filippo out of the limelight to an extent; there is no easy label that can be applied to him, there is no typical Di Filippo trait or trope that can be handily identified. And yet there is such a thing as a Di Filippoian or Di Filippesque story. It is not always easily recognised, but there is a certain gonzo quality to a typical Di Filippo story. Harsh Oases offers fresh and rewarding evidence of this in what proves to be a bumper edition of short stories.
[...]
All told, a cracking collection and one I would highly recommend as a good entry point for anyone not already familiar with the work of Paul Di Filippo.
Agreed – he’s a difficult writer to pin down stylistically, but Di Filippo’s range is his strong point, as is his sense of fun.
As always, click on the cover art to be taken directly to the catalogue page for the book in question, or just pop over to the PS webstore to have a browse. Have you read a PS Publishing title recently? If so, let us know so we can link you back from here!