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Sparks and Shadows
Creative Guy Publishing is very pleased to bring you this new edition of Sparks and Shadows, originally published by HW Press. Sparks and Shadows won the 2008 Editors' Choice Black Quill Award for Best Dark Genre Collection. The award is sponsored by Dark Scribe Magazine.Fans of Lucy A. Snyder's Jessie Shimmer series won't want to miss this book, which includes a trio of stories featuring Miko, Sara, and characters who appear in Snyder's urban fantasy novel Shotgun Sorceress . This collection of seventeen short stories, seven poems and four humour essays from Lucy A. Snyder will appeal to any reader of the dark fantastic. By turns touching, chilling, surreal, wryly satiric, seductive, macabre and laugh-out-loud funny, this book will take you from adventures in the farthest reaches of outer space to the darkest shadows beneath the surface of modern America.
354 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
3 people are currently reading
118 people want to read
About the author
Lucy A. Snyder
142 books616 followersLucy A. Snyder is a five-time Bram Stoker Award-winning writer and the author of the forthcoming Tor Nightfire novel Sister, Maiden, Monster. She also wrote the novels Spellbent, Shotgun Sorceress, and Switchblade Goddess, the nonfiction book Shooting Yourself in the Head For Fun and Profit: A Writer's Survival Guide, the poetry collections Exposed Nerves and Chimeric Machines and the story collections Halloween Season, Garden of Eldritch Delights, While the Black Stars Burn, Soft Apocalypses, Orchid Carousals, Sparks and Shadows, and Installing Linux on a Dead Badger.
Her writing has been translated into French, Italian, Russian, Czech and Japanese editions and has appeared in publications such as Apex Magazine, Nightmare Magazine, Pseudopod, Strange Horizons, Steampunk World, In the Court of the Yellow King, Shadows Over Main Street, Qualia Nous, Seize The Night, Scary Out There, and Best Horror of the Year, Vol. 5.
She writes a column for Horror World and has written materials for the D6xD6 role-playing game system. In her day job, she edits online college courses for universities worldwide and occasionally helps write educational games.
Lucy lives in Columbus, Ohio and is a mentor in Seton Hill University's MFA program in Writing Popular Fiction. You can learn more about her at www.lucysnyder.com and you can follow her on Twitter at @LucyASnyder.
Her writing has been translated into French, Italian, Russian, Czech and Japanese editions and has appeared in publications such as Apex Magazine, Nightmare Magazine, Pseudopod, Strange Horizons, Steampunk World, In the Court of the Yellow King, Shadows Over Main Street, Qualia Nous, Seize The Night, Scary Out There, and Best Horror of the Year, Vol. 5.
She writes a column for Horror World and has written materials for the D6xD6 role-playing game system. In her day job, she edits online college courses for universities worldwide and occasionally helps write educational games.
Lucy lives in Columbus, Ohio and is a mentor in Seton Hill University's MFA program in Writing Popular Fiction. You can learn more about her at www.lucysnyder.com and you can follow her on Twitter at @LucyASnyder.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 17, 2015
I thoroughly enjoyed this twisted collection of dark tales. Snyder has the ability to conjure stories in a variety of landscapes--from hard sci-fi to our own everyday world. Whatever the setting, she always brings to the table a powerful voice fueled by strong wit, tight prose, and a razor sharp edge. Maybe my favorite aspect of this collection is the sheer diversity of the stories. They range from outright horrifying to full-on intriguing. The essays contained in this volume were a real treat, as well.
November 29, 2007
This is a treasure chest filled with little gems of horror, fantasy, science fiction, poetry, and essays. It's by turns amusing, horrific, erotic, and thought-provoking. "Soul Searching" is an especially poignant story, as is "Darwin's Children," but all of the contents are well worth reading. It's a shame that this volume didn't have a much wider distribution.
January 5, 2009
"Sparks and Shadows" is a collection of poems, short stories, and essays by GUD contributor Lucy Snyder ('Sublety', Issue 2). Snyder has a unique voice and her work is almost instantly recognisable. Dive into this collection and you begin to feel like you're swimming around inside her head. It's not necessarily comfortable in there, but it's certainly interesting.
It's rare to encounter a writer who so loves words and the changes that can be rung and the tricks that can be played. Rare and precious. But because of Snyder's versatility, it's difficult to give an overview of this collection. Every piece is different, and every piece demands attention. So I'm just going to pick out a few to comment on, and you'll have to buy a copy if you want to know the strangeness and wonder of the rest.
In the short story 'A Preference for Silence', we meet Veronica, who has "never lost her tea in zero gee", but for whom the predilection of the title becomes more and more pressing while she and companion Melvin keep watch on a sleepship travelling through space. It's always the little things that wear you down, and even out in the deep black, peace isn't so easily found. Snyder presents the story with confidence, explaining only that which you need to know, and leaving the rest to silence.
The hilarious short story 'Boxlunch' starts with a slightly risky hunt for a condom and ends with a race-against-time through mortar attacks in order to save a recorded ('boxlunched') personality from data decay. This story started off by reminding me of "Appropriate Love" by Greg Egan in which a woman must incubate her dead husband's brain, but it soon went off in an entirely different direction. Egan's story was more disturbing; this is funnier.
"I know you’ll fly to me;
babies can’t resist the shiny, pretty things,"
So speaks the narrator of 'Dark Matter', the "death we cannot see", or, given our endless curiosity, elude. The poems in the ebook version tend to have their last stanza dropped onto a second page, which can give a false impression of where the poem ends. Here, I thought it ended nicely before I even noticed the last stanza--maybe it's one stanza the poem could have done without?
'Through Thy Bounty' presents a chef forced by alien invaders to cook the relatives of the resistance of which she (or he? the narrative doesn't specify) was once a part. The chef's only salvation is a telepathic link with her mother, the organiser of the fight against the Jagaren. Urged by her mother to stay alive, the chef cooks meal after meal, day after day, butchering men, women, and children alike with a dreadful, self-willed calmness. Disgusted by her mother's plan to sacrifice herself trying to rescue her "helpless, useless child", the narrator belatedly discovers there's more to it than that. Although heavy with backstory, this macabre tale is gripping. The reader is forced to balance sympathy for and dislike of the narrator in about equal measure.
In a more light-hearted vein, we have "The Fish and the Bicycle", a poem that explores the incompatibility between the eponymous creations.
"Consider the physics:
how could she pedal
with fragile fanning fins,
sit with slippery tail,
steer with gasping mouth?"
In its subtle way, the poem is a commentary on the saying from which it derives its concept. A fish may be unable safely to ride a bicycle, but, Snyder says, that doesn't mean she doesn't want to. The deadly attraction can't be denied.
With the short essay 'Camp Songs', Snyder takes an idea about indoctrination via Girl Scout songs and runs with it--some might say too far. It's probably best to enjoy the ride, both here and with the essays that follow. Like 'Why I Can't Stay Out of My Husband's Pants'. No, not in THAT way--go wash your brain out! "And, oh, the pockets! Deep, capacious pockets! I could keep all my hopes and dreams in pockets like those." But she can't just go out and buy men's pants. This is Ohio, after all. Fortunately, her husband can solve the problem, if he can only pay attention to it, rather than her, for long enough. This is more of a rant than an essay, but it's touching, all the same. As for 'The Dickification of the American Female', I honestly can't tell you whether it's a rant, a story, two interviews, or an essay. I know for certain it's not a poem. It starts innocently enough by letting you think that "dickification" only refers to famed SF author Philip K. Dick, whom Cassandra (whose story this is) apparently discovered much younger than I did--lucky her! But then it's time for Randi's story, which goes into "Tiny Tango" territory (anyone else know that "undrag" story?) until an almost complete dickification has been achieved. Very strange stuff. Finally, 'Menstruation for Men' is the essay so many women have wanted to write, but only Snyder has. A shame that men will probably wince and skip it.
The discomforting poem 'The Jarred Heart' plays with two meanings of "jarred"--the narrator's heart is literally in a jar, and she (or he? again, we don't know, and we're forced to deal with that not-knowing), and her love for the enchanter who "wooed me and won me // fed me lies sweeter than the opium wine" has been jarred by the discovery of treachery, and poison. But the narrator's not going to put up with this situation for long. Lots of play on words here; it's a delight.
'...Next on Channel 77' gives a literal bent to the idea that our deceased relatives are looking over us in Heaven. Tom's Aunt Fran comes back as a news announcer who's determined no harm will come to him, or to the two sisters he hasn't seen in years. While running hither and thither to do her bidding, Tom rediscovers connections to his family that he (and they) thought were gone forever. There's perhaps one too many emergencies in this story; it started to lose credibility towards the end. Better pacing might have helped, but this is ultimately a feelgood story with not much more to offer.
Dark, funny, and romantic by turns, "Sparks and Shadows" is a must read. Go! Buy! Read!
It's rare to encounter a writer who so loves words and the changes that can be rung and the tricks that can be played. Rare and precious. But because of Snyder's versatility, it's difficult to give an overview of this collection. Every piece is different, and every piece demands attention. So I'm just going to pick out a few to comment on, and you'll have to buy a copy if you want to know the strangeness and wonder of the rest.
In the short story 'A Preference for Silence', we meet Veronica, who has "never lost her tea in zero gee", but for whom the predilection of the title becomes more and more pressing while she and companion Melvin keep watch on a sleepship travelling through space. It's always the little things that wear you down, and even out in the deep black, peace isn't so easily found. Snyder presents the story with confidence, explaining only that which you need to know, and leaving the rest to silence.
The hilarious short story 'Boxlunch' starts with a slightly risky hunt for a condom and ends with a race-against-time through mortar attacks in order to save a recorded ('boxlunched') personality from data decay. This story started off by reminding me of "Appropriate Love" by Greg Egan in which a woman must incubate her dead husband's brain, but it soon went off in an entirely different direction. Egan's story was more disturbing; this is funnier.
"I know you’ll fly to me;
babies can’t resist the shiny, pretty things,"
So speaks the narrator of 'Dark Matter', the "death we cannot see", or, given our endless curiosity, elude. The poems in the ebook version tend to have their last stanza dropped onto a second page, which can give a false impression of where the poem ends. Here, I thought it ended nicely before I even noticed the last stanza--maybe it's one stanza the poem could have done without?
'Through Thy Bounty' presents a chef forced by alien invaders to cook the relatives of the resistance of which she (or he? the narrative doesn't specify) was once a part. The chef's only salvation is a telepathic link with her mother, the organiser of the fight against the Jagaren. Urged by her mother to stay alive, the chef cooks meal after meal, day after day, butchering men, women, and children alike with a dreadful, self-willed calmness. Disgusted by her mother's plan to sacrifice herself trying to rescue her "helpless, useless child", the narrator belatedly discovers there's more to it than that. Although heavy with backstory, this macabre tale is gripping. The reader is forced to balance sympathy for and dislike of the narrator in about equal measure.
In a more light-hearted vein, we have "The Fish and the Bicycle", a poem that explores the incompatibility between the eponymous creations.
"Consider the physics:
how could she pedal
with fragile fanning fins,
sit with slippery tail,
steer with gasping mouth?"
In its subtle way, the poem is a commentary on the saying from which it derives its concept. A fish may be unable safely to ride a bicycle, but, Snyder says, that doesn't mean she doesn't want to. The deadly attraction can't be denied.
With the short essay 'Camp Songs', Snyder takes an idea about indoctrination via Girl Scout songs and runs with it--some might say too far. It's probably best to enjoy the ride, both here and with the essays that follow. Like 'Why I Can't Stay Out of My Husband's Pants'. No, not in THAT way--go wash your brain out! "And, oh, the pockets! Deep, capacious pockets! I could keep all my hopes and dreams in pockets like those." But she can't just go out and buy men's pants. This is Ohio, after all. Fortunately, her husband can solve the problem, if he can only pay attention to it, rather than her, for long enough. This is more of a rant than an essay, but it's touching, all the same. As for 'The Dickification of the American Female', I honestly can't tell you whether it's a rant, a story, two interviews, or an essay. I know for certain it's not a poem. It starts innocently enough by letting you think that "dickification" only refers to famed SF author Philip K. Dick, whom Cassandra (whose story this is) apparently discovered much younger than I did--lucky her! But then it's time for Randi's story, which goes into "Tiny Tango" territory (anyone else know that "undrag" story?) until an almost complete dickification has been achieved. Very strange stuff. Finally, 'Menstruation for Men' is the essay so many women have wanted to write, but only Snyder has. A shame that men will probably wince and skip it.
The discomforting poem 'The Jarred Heart' plays with two meanings of "jarred"--the narrator's heart is literally in a jar, and she (or he? again, we don't know, and we're forced to deal with that not-knowing), and her love for the enchanter who "wooed me and won me // fed me lies sweeter than the opium wine" has been jarred by the discovery of treachery, and poison. But the narrator's not going to put up with this situation for long. Lots of play on words here; it's a delight.
'...Next on Channel 77' gives a literal bent to the idea that our deceased relatives are looking over us in Heaven. Tom's Aunt Fran comes back as a news announcer who's determined no harm will come to him, or to the two sisters he hasn't seen in years. While running hither and thither to do her bidding, Tom rediscovers connections to his family that he (and they) thought were gone forever. There's perhaps one too many emergencies in this story; it started to lose credibility towards the end. Better pacing might have helped, but this is ultimately a feelgood story with not much more to offer.
Dark, funny, and romantic by turns, "Sparks and Shadows" is a must read. Go! Buy! Read!
November 30, 2015
I was given this book to review by the author.
I'm a big fan of Snyder's Jessie Shimmer series, which is often considered by readers more horror than urban fantasy. I expected much the same going into Sparks and Shadows. But instead of a rich, dark collection of horror I found Sparks and Shadows to contain Snyder's other trademark, sexy, playful stories, that just happen to be science fiction, fantasy or horror. There are poems, fantasy, horror and science fiction stories bound together on these pages, most of which, despite the terror or pain the characters go through, left me smiling.
Sparks and Shadows is a great read, particularly for those who love dark humor, or readers who love seeing writers play with all manner of storytelling tools, from regional mythos to genre. And of course, it's a must have for Snyder completeists, or even Jessie shimmer fans as it contains side stories from Snyder's dark, demon-ridden world. Sparks and Shadows is definitely an excellent read for fans of the fantastic dark.
I'm a big fan of Snyder's Jessie Shimmer series, which is often considered by readers more horror than urban fantasy. I expected much the same going into Sparks and Shadows. But instead of a rich, dark collection of horror I found Sparks and Shadows to contain Snyder's other trademark, sexy, playful stories, that just happen to be science fiction, fantasy or horror. There are poems, fantasy, horror and science fiction stories bound together on these pages, most of which, despite the terror or pain the characters go through, left me smiling.
Sparks and Shadows is a great read, particularly for those who love dark humor, or readers who love seeing writers play with all manner of storytelling tools, from regional mythos to genre. And of course, it's a must have for Snyder completeists, or even Jessie shimmer fans as it contains side stories from Snyder's dark, demon-ridden world. Sparks and Shadows is definitely an excellent read for fans of the fantastic dark.
May 9, 2015
A Preference for Silence
A story about how you should not be alone too long
Boxlunch
A hunt for a condom goes wrong
You know what, I do not remember all the titles.
There was this story about a cook preparing human flesh for alien invaders.
Let's see what else. A story about if men had periods.
See this is why I hate anthologies. I never remember the titles, and the stories are so short, and there are so many so if I do not write it down I forget them at once.
But I do remember they were all funny and strange. The poems so far I have skipped.
Ok the end. And like I have said before, I can't remember titles or stories. I think I skimmed two, I skipped the poems but the rest were fun and macabre.
When it comes to anthologies I have to write down the title and what I thought at once, cos else everything goes into each other.
But, fun!
A story about how you should not be alone too long
Boxlunch
A hunt for a condom goes wrong
You know what, I do not remember all the titles.
There was this story about a cook preparing human flesh for alien invaders.
Let's see what else. A story about if men had periods.
See this is why I hate anthologies. I never remember the titles, and the stories are so short, and there are so many so if I do not write it down I forget them at once.
But I do remember they were all funny and strange. The poems so far I have skipped.
Ok the end. And like I have said before, I can't remember titles or stories. I think I skimmed two, I skipped the poems but the rest were fun and macabre.
When it comes to anthologies I have to write down the title and what I thought at once, cos else everything goes into each other.
But, fun!
December 28, 2012
SPARKS AND SHADOWS is one great read. Period. I truly loved these tales and poems. A few of the stories reminded me of something Rod Serling would have written, or even Ray Bradbury. Each of Lucy A. Snyder's stories kept me turning the page to find out what happened next. However, what happened next steered far from a cliche'. The results were uncanny, leaving me with horrors which will not leave my memory. If you are a new reader of Mrs. Snyder's work, be prepared to be carried off into her imagination that will leave a trail of dark memories behind.
December 14, 2007
Sequential Tart review. There's an interview on there, too, but I can't get a second link to take, and I didn't realize the "add to my update feed" button was defaulted to "on," so I probably just spammed everyone with all my attempts to make it work. Sorry!
September 7, 2016
A mixed bag. Snyder can lean towards horror, and I tend not to like horror. But I did enjoy getting a deeper look at some of the side characters in her other books, and I enjoyed most of the stories (including a few that were technically horror).
April 29, 2011
Teeny bit annoyed that the Miko and Charlie stories were already told in Shotgun Sorceress, but otherwise a worthy read.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews