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Unthology: No. 2
UNTHOLOGY No. 2 is the second of Unthank Books' annual collection of unpredictable, unconventional short fiction. Like its predecessor, UNTHOLOGY No. 2 showcases established writers on great form and introduces exciting new voices. Its thirteen stories depend upon choices voluntary or otherwise, incarcerations and manic episodes and moments of doubt and transcendence. A man on his stag night encounters a woman who threatens all his certainties. The most ridiculous Health and Safety rules ever infect a company HQ. The complete lexicon of the poets of Radial City is finally made available. These are resonant tales for anxious times.
Contains writing by: Joshua Allen, Sarah Evans, Shanta Everington, Paul A. Green, Lander Hawes, Ian Madden, Melissa Mann, M. Pinchuk, Stephanie Reid, Ashley Stokes, Nick Sweeney, Tessa West and Charles Wilkinson.
Contains writing by: Joshua Allen, Sarah Evans, Shanta Everington, Paul A. Green, Lander Hawes, Ian Madden, Melissa Mann, M. Pinchuk, Stephanie Reid, Ashley Stokes, Nick Sweeney, Tessa West and Charles Wilkinson.
218 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 27, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 13, 2011
a great bunch of stories to get your teeth stuck into, and most live up to the claim of 'unpredictable, unconventional' fiction, although the first one 'Stuck' was quite conventional (and very good) - about a man having second thoughts on his stag night in Prague. This is one of several pieces featuring the British abroad, mostly on the end of bad stuff - a scam in Katowice; a gay man who finds his night cruising very dangerous in a homophobic Sultanate, but is unable to stop it - and all are shivery with fear or displacement, as well as sometimes amusing.
There is plenty of inventive stuff - in one story set in an office everybody has to carry a bucket of water in case there's a fire (the government have disbanded the fire service), and staff attend weekly repetitive fantasy workshops and if you're poor you can't enter high credit zones. Other stories are literary (in a good way), in 'Poets of the Radial City' there is a funny 'Notes on Contributors', here's one entry:Hereward Neubauer: 'Poetry is blood, incense and toil' states Neubauer. In addition to verse he has published a fantasy saga 'Dungor Lord of the Tidal Flats' and is working on a biography of the late Rudolph Lubbock'. My friend (and writer's group colleague) Charles Wilkinson's tightly written, Nabokovian story (first line: The deterioration in my eyesight has been most welcome.) has his academic protagonist tracking down information about obscure (& fictional) poet Keidrych Gomer-Rice. A third is set in a library: From the scuffed purple carpet to the dust on the picture rail, I knew the library from cover to cover. It’s a Victorian hardback with superficially modern binding.
The mag also champions the long short story and probably the stand out story is a forty pager called ‘The Swan King’ by Ashley Stokes (who also edits), loaded with menace and mystery as a voyeur across the road watches the hero with his new girlfriend from across the road (To the left of her ear the Swan King hung in his box of white dazzle). The girl becomes convinced that the man is holding a missing girl and convinces the boyfriend to investigate.
Altogether an interesting selection and I look forward to number 3.
There is plenty of inventive stuff - in one story set in an office everybody has to carry a bucket of water in case there's a fire (the government have disbanded the fire service), and staff attend weekly repetitive fantasy workshops and if you're poor you can't enter high credit zones. Other stories are literary (in a good way), in 'Poets of the Radial City' there is a funny 'Notes on Contributors', here's one entry:Hereward Neubauer: 'Poetry is blood, incense and toil' states Neubauer. In addition to verse he has published a fantasy saga 'Dungor Lord of the Tidal Flats' and is working on a biography of the late Rudolph Lubbock'. My friend (and writer's group colleague) Charles Wilkinson's tightly written, Nabokovian story (first line: The deterioration in my eyesight has been most welcome.) has his academic protagonist tracking down information about obscure (& fictional) poet Keidrych Gomer-Rice. A third is set in a library: From the scuffed purple carpet to the dust on the picture rail, I knew the library from cover to cover. It’s a Victorian hardback with superficially modern binding.
The mag also champions the long short story and probably the stand out story is a forty pager called ‘The Swan King’ by Ashley Stokes (who also edits), loaded with menace and mystery as a voyeur across the road watches the hero with his new girlfriend from across the road (To the left of her ear the Swan King hung in his box of white dazzle). The girl becomes convinced that the man is holding a missing girl and convinces the boyfriend to investigate.
Altogether an interesting selection and I look forward to number 3.
January 15, 2013
[Edited on 15 Jan: an html typo blocked most of this review.]
For my complete review & reviews of individual stories, please visit Casual Debris.
It took me some time to get through volume two of the Unthology anthology published annually by Unthank Books. There's something about the dense print and the odd minimal spacing between paragraphs that I just don't like. If we're trying to reduce space and page numbers we can eliminate the individual story title pages which aren't necessary, otherwise I don't see the purpose of such compressed print. My vision is 20/20 and I don't expect something along the lines of the Magnum Easy Eye Books, but something a little more aesthetically appealing and, since I do read a fair amount, less straining to the eye.
Content-wise (which is also important) Unthology No. 2 is on par with its predecessor. While there are some fine and varied stories, many do fall a little flat. The problem with trying to be different and offering less of the same is that not every story will appeal to every reader. While no story is strictly bad, there are just some that I simply, within the boundaries of my own eclectic tastes, did not care for. Variety is the winning force, something the Unthology has so far proven to contain more than other periodicals, and variety forces the brain to work a little harder. My favourite stories include the non-experimental opening story by Sarah Evans and the surreal "Siramina" by M. Pinchuk. Other strong entries are those by Melissa Mann, co-editor Ashley Stokes, and the closing story by Joshua Allen.
For my complete review & reviews of individual stories, please visit Casual Debris.
It took me some time to get through volume two of the Unthology anthology published annually by Unthank Books. There's something about the dense print and the odd minimal spacing between paragraphs that I just don't like. If we're trying to reduce space and page numbers we can eliminate the individual story title pages which aren't necessary, otherwise I don't see the purpose of such compressed print. My vision is 20/20 and I don't expect something along the lines of the Magnum Easy Eye Books, but something a little more aesthetically appealing and, since I do read a fair amount, less straining to the eye.
Content-wise (which is also important) Unthology No. 2 is on par with its predecessor. While there are some fine and varied stories, many do fall a little flat. The problem with trying to be different and offering less of the same is that not every story will appeal to every reader. While no story is strictly bad, there are just some that I simply, within the boundaries of my own eclectic tastes, did not care for. Variety is the winning force, something the Unthology has so far proven to contain more than other periodicals, and variety forces the brain to work a little harder. My favourite stories include the non-experimental opening story by Sarah Evans and the surreal "Siramina" by M. Pinchuk. Other strong entries are those by Melissa Mann, co-editor Ashley Stokes, and the closing story by Joshua Allen.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews