Last night I finished reading Tim Pratt's story collection, Little Gods. The collection includes stories going as far back as 2000, and there are also some cool poems which fit in thematically with a couple of the stories.

Tim is a relatively new writer, first published in 1998 (according to his bibliography), and has appeared frequently in Realms of Fantasy and Strange Horizons, among others. He is also editor of the literary 'zine Flytrap along with Heather Shaw.

I was first introduced to Tim's work through his reviews in Locus, and later came across his poetry and fiction in Asimov's Science Fiction (his poem, My Night with Aphrodite) and Intracities (Broken Branches, co-written with Heather Shaw). I soon came upon his online journal at Journalscape and found out about this short story collection.

Tim has a very smooth, easy to read style, rich in imagery and metaphor. His stories straddle genre boundaries, tending toward Fantasy and magical realism, and his influences are wide-ranging.

I was very impressed with Little Gods (also the title of the lead story)--there's not a weak story in the bunch! Tim certainly knows how to provoke a sense of wonder and stir the reader's emotions; this is especially true with the sad and touching Little Gods (read it here). The sense of love and loss in that story is simply incredible.

Other stand-out stories in this collection include The Witch's Bicycle (a sinister bike, school bullies, and young love collide in spectacular fashion), The God of the Crossroads (a humourous and meaningful poem, similar in theme to The Scent of Copper Pennies, also in this collection), Fable from a Cage (gather around, youngsters, and listen to the rambling tale of a wild man in a cage!), Bleeding West (a masterful Western tale), Captain Fantasy and the Secret Masters (gay superheroes, Nazis, evil masterminds--this one's got it all!), and Pale Dog (a twisting tale featuring a mysterious dog, a haunted zoot suit, and a pair of disgruntled sorcerors).

Other stories in the collection include:
The Fallen and the Muse of the Street - a pair of fallen angels give the Muse a hard time.
Annabelle's Alphabet - an alphabetical tale of an ordinary girl named Annabelle; or is she something else?
The Scent of Copper Pennies - a story of what might have been, or may be in an alternate universe.
Behemoth - a meeting of ancient beasts!
Bone Sigh - a creepy tale about a man with a bonsai scar.
Daughter and Moon - a whimsical poem involving the missing moon.
Entropy's Paintbrush - a reclusive artist commissions art for gods and other beings from his moon-based studio.
My Night with Aphrodite - a poem about a night of passion!
Unfairy Tale - a repulsive djinn trumps a dashing hero in this twisted fairytale.
Down with the Lizards and the Bees - ride a train to the underworld.
Orpheus Among the Cabbages - a poem with puns and the head of Orpheus.
The Heart, a Chambered Nautilus - a short multi-layered magical realist tale.

After reading Little Gods, I'm keen to read more of Tim Pratt's work. I know there are a couple of stories in Realms of Fantasy that I'm yet to read, and also a new one in the first issue of H.P. Lovecraft's Magazine of Horror (Helljack, co-written with Michael Jasper). Quite a few of Tim's stories can be found online via the links here. Also, he recently announced the forthcoming publication of his first novel, tentatively titled The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl.

What are you waiting for? Run, not walk, to your nearest bookstore (or online) and pick up a copy of Little Gods. You'll thank me for the recommendation later ;)

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We've had a nice weekend so far, watching Rounders on DVD last night (this one's a real nail-biter!), and going shopping for work clothes for me this afternoon. We also watched The Recruit (starring Colin Farrell and Al Pacino) earlier in the week and we were quite impressed with it (it was both intriguing and suspenseful). We'll either take things easy tomorrow or we'll enjoy the cooler weather and go for a walk. After our gastronomic overindulgences of late, I think that'd probably be a good idea. I may also do a little writing if I'm in the mood :)

On Thursday I drove into Chicago to try and get a pressing issue resolved, but it ended up being a massive waste of time. This is despite the assurance I received over the phone that I could just drop by the Chicago office and all would be well. Apparently everyone you speak to in the bureacracy has a different story. Don't you just love when that happens? *sigh*

I still haven't heard anything official about either of the job interviews, but I have gotten a couple of hints that I may have some good news soon. I suspect both companies are waiting for their respective HR departments to get things processed. Watch this space :)

2004 Stats:

2004 Word count:	20,103
Stories written:	8
Total submissions:	18
Total acceptances:	0
Total rejections:	15
Waiting for response:	5
Books read:	9
Fiction Mags/Chapbooks read:	14

What I'm Reading
Science Fiction 101 by Robert Silverberg
Realms of Fantasy, December 2003
Song of Susannah (Dark Tower VI), by Stephen King
Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet #14
Electric Velocipede, Issue 6