Angels in Fiction: A Collection of Short Stories

Before I picked up Visitants, a collection of short stories that involve angels, I would have ventured to say that the heavenly host are there for humanity's well-being.

Now... well, now I am not so sure.

You may not like every story in this collection, but you will never think of the heavenly host the same, ever.

I first became interested in this book because of Neil Gaiman: his is the first story in the collection. His tale, "Murder Mysteries," is personal and unreal at the same time, a character that makes the entire story immediate and plausible.

I felt brave, so I soldiered on.

From plagues to plays, from computers to curses, each author takes an interesting turn around the block with this subject. Each was interesting in its own right, and editor Stephen Jones arranges them in an interesting, attractive order. I have to admit, I was awash with a particular tide for a while, but as I read one or two stories a day, I wasn't too overwhelmed when a particular theme wove through too many in a row.

My favorites? Aside from Gaiman's story, I liked "An Infestation of Angels" and "Plague Angels." Both shared with me a perspective of angels I never imagined.

If you can read only one story (aside from Gaiman's), go for "Molly and the Angel."  Second choice: "Things I Didn't Know My Father Knew," which wasn't as much an angel story as — well, you'd have to read it to understand.

Pick up this great collection and prepare to be amazed.

Discovering a Shirley Jackson Award Winner

I have become a fan of short-story collections.  I have enjoyed the works of John Connelly, not enjoyed the works of Kelly Link — then I encountered Tunneling to the Center of the Earth.  Please stop what you are doing (yes, reading this review) and go purchase a copy, read it and return to this review.

See???????

Holy cow.  This begs not only the question of who thinks of this kind of stuff, but how can someone make the telling of it so right?

Like with other collections, the first story had a wow-factor of 11.  The idea of a "professional" grandparent is intriguing, and a business that would be really pretty win-win for all parties involved.

If that's where Kevin Wilson left it, I'd be impressed.  No, it's where he goes with "Grand Stand-Ins" that haunts me now, weeks after my first encounter with it.

And "The Shooting Man" may not have been a total surprise, but — again — it's where the story travels after it leaves my imagination that rocks my world.  

Not to brag, but I have a pretty twisted mind, having grown up on Stephen King and book after book of hauntings and spirits and the like.  I have scared myself awake from a dead sleep more times than my husband cares to count, and I have kept myself awake in total fear more than once.  And yet, Kevin Wilson surprises me in the best way possible.

Every single story is unique, every single story is different — and yet, every single story enchants, startles, frightens, unsettles... whatever path Wilson intends it to take, that's where it goes.  

I, for one, will follow him wherever he leads, including his new novel, The Family Fang.

By the way, if you need just one more push: Tunneling to the Center of the Earth won a 2009 Shirley Jackson Award.  

Alright, if you're still reading, I appreciate your dedication, but I release you from those bonds.  Go get this book.  However, you must tell me what you thought.  Okay?