Yesterday I finished reading Greetings from Lake Wu, which is Jay Lake's first short story collection. I also read Jay's new chapbook, Green Grow the Rushes-Oh, available now from Fairwood Press (the people behind one of my favourite mags, Talebones).

Jay is a prolific new writer who appeared on the scene back in September 2001 with his story, The Courtesy of Guests (included in this collection), and since then he has proceeded to write well over 100 stories, and has been published in practically every magazine under the sun (too many to list here, anyway).

He writes stories that defy categorization, although I've noticed he tends to lean towards Fantasy and Horror; but he is not averse to Science Fiction, either. Rather than having a particular style, he seems able to change his style to fit each story individually, ranging from spare, functional prose to richly-embellished poetry.

Greetings from Lake Wu, published by Wheatland Press, covers a wide variety of Jay's work, including a couple of previously unpublished stories (The Murasaki Doctrine notable among these). In addition to Jay's excellent work, we're also treated to some fine illustrations for each story by artist Frank Wu (well-known and respected in the SF community).

There are some brilliant stories in this collection, including the chilling horror tale The Goat Cutter (this is a MUST read for horror fans), The Trick of Disaster - featuring a sinister clown out to punish townspeople for their sins (I recommend Clown Eggs for even more sinister clowns!), and the action-packed SF novella, The Murasaki Doctrine.

Other stories in the collection include:
The Courtesy of Guests - a deserted sentient city and a strange humanoid confront humans returning to Earth.
Eglantine's Time - an elderly woman exacts revenge on sadistic hospital staff.
The Scent of Rotting Roses - an SF mystery featuring androids and rose-gardens.
G.O.D. - a semi-religious trio of tales.
The Angle of My Dreams - a young boy dreams of flight.
Tall Spirits, Blocking the Night - a haunting Texas bar tale.
Who Sing But Do Not Speak - an insectoid lifecycle.
Glass: A Love Story - a surrealist tale involving a man who breaks a glass woman's heart.
Jack's House - a fascinating look at a multi-level ecosystem in the house that Jack built.
The Passing of Guests - the sentient city and his companion in a dying universe.

Greetings from Lake Wu is a great introduction to the work of Jay Lake, and I can't wait for his next collection, Dogs in the Moonlight, coming from Prime Books later this year!

Meanwhile if you're after more of Jay's work, keep an eye on the bibliography on Jay's site and grab yourself a copy of Green Grow the Rushes-Oh from Fairwood Press.

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Green Grow the Rushes-Oh is a new chapbook by Jay Lake, put out by Fairwood Press. The chapbook includes twelve stories (originally published one per month at Strange Horizons) based on the verses of an old English counting song.

Each story is told in rich, poetic language, with most including references to England and derived from myth (such as the Green Man, and the Holy Grail). I'm astounded at how Jay managed to come up with twelve distinct tales, each derived from the verses of the song, and how he built on myth to create something new, while still maintaining a similar tone between stories.

So what are you waiting for? Go get yourself a copy, brew some tea, and sit back for a relaxing journey through the English countryside...

2004 Stats:

Books read:	8
Fiction Mags/Chapbooks read:	12

What I'm Reading:
Science Fiction 101 by Robert Silverberg
Analog Science Fiction, September 2003
Little Gods by Tim Pratt