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'With a twang in its heart and a song for luck on its tongue, Songs for Dark Seasons takes readers back to the lonesome dream counties introduced in the World Fantasy Award-nominated collection, Bluegrass Symphony.
'Trailer parks and graves are only temporary homes for souls in these tales, where gods dwell in churches and parking lot groves. Friday night football stars mingle with sirens; hunters’ wives help their kids not to shoot, but to fly; Chanticleers spar their way into local government; and rash-afflicted men take dryads for lovers. In backwater towns, some witches have the know-how to pin pageant queens pretty, while others relieve girls of highfalutin aspirations. Local crow-boys and bloodthirsty Ursines are the best miners around.
'In these thirteen stories, forests are imbued with the deepest, saddest strains of country music, cornfield horizons stretch as long as a lone fiddle’s wail, and distant hills make mandolin promises: sweet and catchy and short-lived.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
Notes
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Originally scheduled for publishing by ChiZine as Little Digs, before the collapse of ChiZine in late 2019.
Contents
- Soft Sister Sixty-six, single work short story (p. 25-36)
- The Coronation Bout, single work short story fantasy (p. 37-53)
- A Grand Old Life, single work short story (p. 53-66)
- Four Facts about the Ursines, single work short story (p. 67-78)
- Something Close to Grace, single work short story horror (p. 79-98)
- The Canary, single work short story fantasy horror (p. 99-108)
- Little Digs, single work short story horror (p. 109-124)
- Surfacing, single work short story (p. 125-136)
- Snowglobes, single work short story horror (p. 137-146)
- Blues Eater, single work short story (p. 147-162)
- Sugared Heat, single work short story fantasy horror (p. 163-178)
- The Wail in Them Woods, single work short story (p. 179-194)
- By Touch and by Glance, single work short story fantasy (p. 195-264)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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[Review] Songs for Dark Seasons
2020
single work
review
— Appears in: Aurealis , no. 133 2020;
— Review of Songs for Dark Seasons 2020 selected work short story -
Locus Looks at Books
2020
single work
review
— Appears in: Locus , May vol. 84 no. 5 2020; (p. 19)
— Review of The Heart is a Mirror for Sinners & Other Stories 2020 selected work short story ; Songs for Dark Seasons 2020 selected work short story 'British and World Fantasy Award recipient Angela Slatter’s writing is elegant, eloquent, evocative, and exquisitely disturbing; polished to the rich patina found only on the finest quality antique silver, it casts a spell on the reader. Luckily, the Australian author is nearly as prolific as she is talented. The Heart Is a Mirror for Sinners and Other Stories is her eighth collection (two of the seven previous ones were co-written with Lisa L. Hannett.)' (Introduction)
-
Locus Looks at Books
2020
single work
review
— Appears in: Locus , May vol. 84 no. 5 2020; (p. 19)
— Review of The Heart is a Mirror for Sinners & Other Stories 2020 selected work short story ; Songs for Dark Seasons 2020 selected work short story 'British and World Fantasy Award recipient Angela Slatter’s writing is elegant, eloquent, evocative, and exquisitely disturbing; polished to the rich patina found only on the finest quality antique silver, it casts a spell on the reader. Luckily, the Australian author is nearly as prolific as she is talented. The Heart Is a Mirror for Sinners and Other Stories is her eighth collection (two of the seven previous ones were co-written with Lisa L. Hannett.)' (Introduction) -
[Review] Songs for Dark Seasons
2020
single work
review
— Appears in: Aurealis , no. 133 2020;
— Review of Songs for Dark Seasons 2020 selected work short story