Strange But Not a Stranger

This is definitely a good collection of stories, having no less than three with a 4.5 rating, and a 3.60 average overall. Golden Gryphon have a pretty nifty logo, too. It has an intro by Connie Willis, and a reasonably detailed afterword where Kelly describes the genesis of each of the stories. Strange But Not a Stranger : 1016 to 1 - James Patrick Kelly Strange But Not a Stranger : Lovestory - James Patrick Kelly Strange But Not a Stranger : Feel the Zaz - James Patrick Kelly Strange But Not a Stranger : Unique Visitors - James Patrick Kelly Strange But Not a Stranger : The Prisoner of Chillon - James Patrick Kelly Strange But Not a Stranger : Candy Art - James Patrick Kelly Strange But Not a Stranger : The Propagation of Light in a Vacuum - James Patrick Kelly Strange But Not a Stranger : Hubris - James Patrick Kelly Strange But Not a Stranger : Glass Cloud - James Patrick Kelly Strange But Not a Stranger : Proof of the Existence of God - James Patrick Kelly Strange But Not a Stranger : The Cruelest Month - James Patrick Kelly Strange But Not a Stranger : Chemistry - James Patrick Kelly Strange But Not a Stranger : The Pyramid of Amirah - James Patrick Kelly Strange But Not a Stranger : Fruitcake Theory - James Patrick Kelly Strange But Not a Stranger : Undone - James Patrick Kelly Time traveler wants kid to save the world, at least with Galaxy and Green Lantern preparation he has a decent shot at it 4.5 out of 5 Alien baby changes. 3.5 out of 5 Schizo CAT woman has old time star turns Down. 4.5 out of 5 Upload immortality, longtime. 3.5 out of 5 Spook journalist thinks spiders and snakes is WILDLIFE overload. 4 out of 5 Ancestral timeshare problems. 3 out of 5 Lightspeed not at all lucid loopy love. 3 out of 5 History never repeats, I tell myself before I read a heap. 3.5 out of 5 Alien architecture requirements are quite whacky. 3.5 out of 5 Multiversal self-belief can be shocking. 3.5 out of 5 Ghost phone release. 3.5 out of 5 Lack of hormones gambler. 3.5 out of 5 Structural belief is slow. 3 out of 5 Alien bloody xmas incident. 3 out of 5 Future escape a problem of many dimensions. 4.5 out of 5

James Patrick Kelly's second collection of stories (published by Golden Gryphon, a fine publisher) is a treasury of superbly crafted gems. 15 of them, actually, with a foreword by Connie Willis and an afterword by the author himself.Highlights are 1016 to 1 (Hugo Winner, novelette category), Undone (Nebula nominee, Novelette category), and Glass Cloud. But nearly each story is insightful.Contents follow:Lovestory, Feel the Zaz, Unique Visitors, The Prisoner of Chillon, Candy Art, The Propagation of Light in a Vacuum, Hubris, Proof of the Existence of God, The Cruelest Month, Chemistry, The Pyramid of Amirah, Fruitcake Theory, and the above 3 mentioned.

Why has James Patrick Kelly not reached a mass-market audience? Why have his two short story collections been published by small print houses? "Why" has always been a difficult question to answer, but I believe there are two reasons for this. The first, of course, is his relatively slow writing pace. American audiences demand things that are NEW; new films, new books, new television shows. As Charles Dickens said, any book you haven't read before is new. If you've never read The Pearl by John Steinbeck, or Animal Farm by George Orwell, why aren't they considered new? And so, ranting aside, I present unto you my review of James Patrick Kelly's wonderful collection of short stories, Strange but Not a Stranger. By turns witty, funny, insightful, frightening, and intense, the word that practically springs to mind that describes the collection is entertaining. Your attention quotient, as Connie Willis duly noted in the introduction, will be at a constant peak. Thus, I present as evidence for my cause: "Hubris," "The Propagation of Light in a Vacuum," "10^16 to 1," "Undone." But where is the description of these aforementioned stories, you ask? Where are the cleverly placed lines of wit, the insightful comments? As with all James Patrick Kelly stories, you have to read it to believe it. But be forewarned: reading these stories is merely half of the journey, for the stories have hidden meanings that will haunt you until you're sure you've figured them out, sure that you've gotten your full money's worth out of them, and suddenly, without warning, they come at you again with another viewpoint or idea for consideration. To put it succinctly, and to practically make the rest of this review obsolete, this book is worthy of a spot on your bookshelf. Enough said.