Thirteen Phantasms and other Stories

Thirteen Phantasms and other Stories

3.81 of 5 stars 3.81  ·  rating details  ·  77 ratings  ·  8 reviews
The first short story collection from Philip K. Dick Award-winning author James Blaylock features sixteen thought-provoking forays into the fantastic-from a tale of alien influence on an ordinary neighborhood to the story of one man's self-destructive obsession with a dragon.
Paperback, 368 pages
Published April 1st 2003 by Ace Trade (first published 2000)
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Tania
"13 Phantasms and Other Stories is rich in quiet humor and it invites us in, makes us comfortable. The edges are soft, like the lines between fantasy and reality, and each story is a world unto itself.....In keeping with nostalgia-fantasy, this book is a time capsule of the first two decades of Blaylock's early career. From the simplistic beginning of Red Planet, where we can still see the rough edges, to the mature work of Thirteen Phantasms and The Old Curiosity Shop, where the stories are pol...more
Jeff
This was my first venture into James P. Blaylock's writing. I've been wanting to read some of his work, but usually only see it on Subterranean Press's site, which is prohibitively expensive. Anyway, I also love short stories, so this book was double good. Maybe even "double-plus good."

This was a charming set of short stories, starting out with the title story, which involved some time continuum issues.

There were several Langdon St. Ives stories, which I found very satisfying. I really want to...more
Isidore
Charming, gentle stories with, for the most part, the fantasy element subtle and underplayed. There is something of the wistful soft-centredness of Bradbury, but Blaylock, unlike, RB, does not slop all over. Well worth a look.
Benedict Reid
Beautifully written... but still, uncompelling. I almost didn't finish this collection of short stories. Each story started with a bang and ended with a whimper.
laurenpie
Especially loved "Thirteen Phantasms" itself, a charming and clever short story. Made me smile. Enjoyed the other stories as well.
Taffnerd
The best of these are kin to Roald Dahl's best adult stories. Spooky and clever and quite a bit of fun.
Randolph Carter
Excellent collection of, for lack of any better description, Bradbury-esque, stories. There is a little bit of horror, some urban fantasy, some steam-punk (Langdon St. Ives), and some just plain stories. Blaylock is adept at setting the sort of wistful nostalgic atmosphere of the future (?) that Bradbury does so well and making you feel the narrator has actually remembered this tale. Many of Blaylock's stories are so gossamer that the inattentive reader may assume there is nothing there when act...more
Megan
This was a pretty fun anthology of James Blaylock's short stories. My favorites of this collection were "We Traverse Afar" and "Thirteen Phantasms."
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Thirteen Phantasms and Other Stories (Paperback)
Thirteen Phantasms
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James Paul Blaylock is an American fantasy author. He is noted for his distinctive style. He writes in a humorous way: His characters never walk, they clump along, or when someone complains (in a flying machine) that flight is impossible, the other characters agree and show him why he's right.

He was born in Long Beach, California; studied English at California State University, Fullerton, receivin...more
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