Short Stories
Dead Man’s Hand

by John Joseph Adams, ed.
Titan, May 2014, $16.95

John Joseph Adams, editor of Dead Man’s Hand, presents 24 stories of the Weird West, many of them crime-related. Walter Jon Williams’ “The Golden Age” has the origin stories of some steampunk superheroes and supervillains at the time of the California gold rush. The Reverend Mercer, Joe Lansdale’s itinerant preacher, takes on a vampire in “The Red-Headed Dead.” Christie Yant’s “Dead Man’s Hand” jumbles the cards and the time streams. One of my favorite fantasy stories is Robert Bloch’s “The Hell-Bound Train,” and Mike Resnick pays it homage in “The Hell-Bound Stagecoach.” Beth Reavis’ “The Man with No Heart” takes its title literally. This anthology is a lot of fun if you’re looking for something out of the ordinary.

Bill Crider
Teri Duerr
4663
Adams, ed.
May 2014
dead-man-s-hand
16.95
Titan

peter-swanson
Peter Swanson on Reading for the Season
Wednesday, 15 September 2021

Naomi Hirahara’s powerful new book, Clark and Division, follows the Ito family in 1944.

naomi-hirahara-on-clark-and-division
Naomi Hirahara on "Clark and Division"
jane-stanton-hitchcock-on-giving-voice-to-great-reads
Jane Stanton Hitchcock on Giving Voice to Great Reads
Thursday, 18 October 2018

"For me, the books I read were the call—the call to adventure, to thinking, to acknowledging other points of view. But to complete the ritual, I needed to respond."

kareem-abdul-jabbar-on-reading-a-call-and-response
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Reading: A Call and Response
Saturday, 16 June 2018

Cynthia RiggsI am surrounded by books. Every room, every space in my large, sprawling 1750s house is full of books...

cynthia-riggs-on-living-in-a-house-of-books
Cynthia Riggs on Living in a House of Books
Monday, 30 April 2018

Our history and experiences can define us, inspire our actions, and as writers impact our words and stories. Mine most definitely has: my father was a small-time gangster. Really.

my-book-the-gangster-s-daughter
My Book: The Gangster’s Daughter
Thursday, 12 April 2018

"My ah-ha moment came when I read The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald.... That was it for me – I was off to the races."

jacqueline-winspear-on-the-great-gatsby-2
Jacqueline Winspear on The Great Gatsby
Sunday, 01 April 2018

Nietzsche once wrote, “There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.”

test-article-as-tery-from-kate-laptop
My Book: Head Wounds
Thursday, 15 February 2018

"Mystery books were daring and exciting, firing up my imagination and making me yearn to become a girl detective or even a secret agent. They also empowered me to make up impromptu ghost stories around the campfire for my Girl Scout troop and sneak into the cemetery at night on a dare."

laura-childs-on-growing-up-reading
Laura Childs on Growing Up Reading
Thursday, 27 July 2017

vietselaineCR CristianaPecheanuFire and Ashes, the latest Angela Richman Death Investigator mystery, is an exploration of a fatal fire. To research this novel, Viets delved into the devastating consequences of junk science and arson investigations.

fire-and-ashes-and-arson
Fire and Ashes and Arson