Gavin J. Grant
Author of Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories
About the Author
Image credit: By Cory Doctorow from London, UK - Gavin Grant and Kelly Link, Hayakawa reception, Tokyo, Japan.JPG, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4168381
Series
Works by Gavin J. Grant
Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories (2011) — Editor — 705 copies, 26 reviews
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Nineteenth Annual Collection (2006) — Editor; Editor — 241 copies, 4 reviews
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Seventeenth Annual Collection (2004) — Editor — 237 copies, 9 reviews
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Eighteenth Annual Collection (2005) — Editor — 224 copies, 5 reviews
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 2007: 20th Annual Collection (2007) — Editor — 214 copies, 3 reviews
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 2008: 21st Annual Collection (2008) — Editor — 170 copies, 5 reviews
Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet No. 17 — Editor — 5 copies
Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet No. 16 — Editor — 4 copies
Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet No. 18 — Editor — 3 copies
Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet No. 12 — Editor — 3 copies
Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet No. 7 — Editor — 2 copies
Lady Churchill's rosebud wristlet 2 copies
Heads Down, Thumbs Up (short story) 2 copies
Janet Meet Bob 2 copies
Widows in the World 2 copies
Yours, Etc. 1 copy
Editing For Content 1 copy
You And Me 1 copy
Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet No. 8 — Editor — 1 copy
Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet No. 10 — Editor — 1 copy
Hold Tight 1 copy
Associated Works
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Fifteenth Annual Collection (2002) — Contributor — 268 copies, 4 reviews
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Fourteenth Annual Collection (2001) — Contributor — 250 copies, 2 reviews
Sex in the System: Stories of Erotic Futures, Technological Stimulation, and the Sensual Life of Machines (2006) — Contributor — 27 copies, 1 review
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- Scotland (birth)
- Birthplace
- Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland, UK
- Places of residence
- Northampton, Massachusetts, USA
- Occupations
- editor
writer - Relationships
- Link, Kelly (partner)
- Organizations
- Small Beer Press
Members
Reviews
Lists
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 56
- Also by
- 11
- Members
- 2,513
- Popularity
- #10,211
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 84
- ISBNs
- 70
- Languages
- 3
I did not initially intend to read the entire thing in just over a day, as the plan was to use it as light relief from [b:Little Dorrit|31250|Little Dorrit|Charles Dickens|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1496619146l/31250._SY75_.jpg|80851]. Then my period arrived and I needed a distraction from the pain. 'Monstrous Affections' was ideal for this, as it's very easy to read and contains a suitably interesting variety of fantastical concepts. As it turned out, 'Wings in the Morning' proved rather a let-down. It's fun and engaging in exactly the same way as [b:In Other Lands|31944679|In Other Lands|Sarah Rees Brennan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1496783711l/31944679._SY75_.jpg|52603350], but only adds a different point of view on the same events of the novel (Luke's, rather than Elliot's). I had hoped to find out what happened next and did not. On the other hand, several other stories exceeded my expectations. The most moving and atmospheric was 'Left Foot, Right' by [a:Nalo Hopkinson|27528|Nalo Hopkinson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1361387199p2/27528.jpg]. A memorable portrait of grief and the clear highlight of the book. Several stories transpose demonic elements into the American suburbs, or even present Hell as a suburb in 'Son of Abyss'. As American suburbs already seem uncanny and horrifying to me without the need for demons, I found that these fell a bit flat. I preferred the convincingly intense teenage girl friendships and ghostly happenings in 'The New Boyfriend' and 'Mothers, Lock Up Your Daughters Because They Are Terrifying'. These two stories have more imaginative and unexpected details, rather than just giving high schoolers horns and tails.
Other stories had appealing world-building without making a strong impression overall, particularly 'Quick Hill' and 'Moriabe's Children'. In the latter, I liked the background kraken lore while finding the plot limited even for 24 pages. That's always a point of tension with short stories, how much plot can and should be crammed in. It seems like a very difficult art. Too little plot, and characterisation and setting will need to be exceptional to compensate. Conversely, there is always a risk of trying to cram too much into a small space, such that events appear truncated. This latter was notable in, 'Ten Rules For Being An Intergalactic Smuggler (the Successful Kind)'. Nonetheless, there were no stories in this anthology that I disliked or was bored by. They all had some intriguing element and, crucially, were distinctive. As a collection, they were well chosen and a pleasantly undemanding read when recuperating on the sofa. Nonetheless, I am a bit disappointed about 'Wings in the Morning'.… (more)