Her Husband's Hands and Other Stories

by Adam-Troy Castro

A utopia where the most privileged get to do whatever they want to do with their lives, indulging their slightest whims via the bodies whose wombs they occupy; a soldier's wife tries to love a husband who is little more than backup memory; a society in which the citizens all make merry for nine remarkable days, and on the tenth get a taste of hell; the last ragged survivors of an expedition to a savage backwater world hunt down an infamous war criminal; a divorcing couple confront their myriad troubles to gain resolution, reason, respect—but not without sacrifice. Introducing these stories (and more) from Adam-Troy Castro, whose short fiction has been nominated for two Hugos, three Stokers, and eight Nebulas.

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Anthologies, Horror, Fantasy, Ebooks, Fiction

336 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 4, 2013

About the author

Adam-Troy Castro made his first professional sale to Spy magazine in 1987. Since then, he's published 12 books and almost 80 short stories. Among those stories are "Baby Girl Diamond" (nominated for the Bram Stoker Award) and "The Funeral March of the Marionettes" (nominated for the Hugo and Nebula Awards in 1998). "The Astronaut from Wyoming," a collaboration with Jerry Oltion, appeared in Analog and was nominated for the Hugo and Nebula Awards in 2000, before winning the Seiun (Japanese Hugo) for best translation in 2008.

His "Of A Sweet Slow Dance in the Wake of Temporary Dogs" was nominated for the 2003 Nebula. His original short story collections include Lost in Booth Nine (published by Silver Salamander Press in 1993), An Alien Darkness and A Desperate Decaying Darkness (published by Wildside Press in 2000), Vossoff and Nimmitz (2002), and Tangled Strings (2003). He is also the author of the Spider-Man novels—Time's Arrow: The Present (written in collaboration with Tom DeFalco), The Gathering of the Sinister Six, Revenge of the Sinister Six, and Secret of the Sinister Six—as well as the nonfiction My Ox Is Broken! The Andrea Cort novels include, Emissaries from the Dead, The Third Claw of God, and a third installment currently in progress, tentatively titled The Fall of the Marionettes.

Castro, who married the divine Judi on 25 December 2002, lives in Florida with his wife and four cats: Maggie, Uma Furman, Meow Farrow, and the latest acquisition, Ralphie, an orphan of 2005's hellacious hurricane season.

Reviews

[Figgy · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like stories that make you think more closely about the way you view the world,

All things have faces even when they don't have faces; the human eye insists on putting faces on them.

this book is for you.


If you like stories that give interesting, apt observations about the way the world and fate work,

The Heavens always favor those who would reduce the heavens to ashes.

this book is for you.


If you like a story full of descriptions given in such a way that you know exactly what the author is talking about, no matter how disturbing you may find them

...but the atmosphere in here was always like a deep whiff of a sweaty sneaker that had been allowed to marinate in rotten bananas and then soaked in a puree made from the contents of a rancid diaper.

this book is for you.


If you like stories that have you entering through the “what the fuck” door, then this collection is definitely for you.



Had I not known from the get go that these stories were written by the same author, I would likely have been shocked when you informed me. Each story was very different from the others, but still had a similar thread running through it. A similar style of writing.

Each story opened right in the middle of the world, leaving the reader to run along after, trying to pick up the pieces and put them together. In some cases, the very point of the story didn’t come about until the last paragraph, or even the last sentence.

The stories looked at abortion, grief, the price we pay for “paradise”, the sins of man, the lengths people will go to to win an argument, and various other things deeply ingrained in our society, descriptive of our nature. Each left the reader feeling disconcerted and squeamish, but unable to stop reading. And, once finished a story, not entirely sure how they felt about it.

Being that I’m not entirely sure how I felt about it, I’m not sure what else to say without spoiling the individual stories. I pretty certain it did make me think things, and feel things, and want to read more by this author, but how do I put this in words that help you decide whether to buy the book? Well, I guess it goes back to the first sentence of my review. If you like not knowing where you’re going, and feeling like the writer could take you anywhere at any time, and still be loyal to the world he’s introducing you to, pick this one up.

If you’re still not sure, I believe the author has stories in various zines and anthologies.

I’ve never read anything by Adam-Troy Castro before, but will definitely be looking into more of his work.

This review is of an advance reader copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Stefan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came to the works of Adam-Troy Castro quite late. Specifically, the first story I remember of his is “Of a Sweet Slow Dance in the Wake of Temporary Dogs” in the excellent dystopian anthology Brave New Worlds, edited by John Joseph Adams. (This anthology ended up being my springboard to a number of other great authors, but that’s another story.) Shortly after I read that collection, the author’s name popped up on the Nebula short list a few times, for “Her Husband’s Hands” and “Arvies.”

I’m bringing this up because I believe that, based on the three stories I’ve mentioned so far, there may be many people who labor under the misapprehension that Castro only writes short fiction that is so extraordinarily dark that it borders on the disturbing. In the afterword for his newest collection, Her Husband’s Hands and Other Stories, the author explains at length that he has also written many optimistic, entertaining and uplifting stories and novels, and that he is “not just a sick bastard.” Well, sure. I’ll take his word for it. However, you really couldn’t tell from the stories in this collection, which is as grim as it is brilliant.

Read the entire review on my site Far Beyond Reality!

[DeAnna Knippling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sturgeonesque. One of my favorite short story collections aVERY log time. Just wonderful.

[Wayne McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Her Husband's Hands and Other Stories' by Adam-Troy Castro is a series of disturbing short stories. I found them bizarre and chilling, and I enjoyed them.

The title story tells of a woman who receives the remains of her husband after he's been at war. All that is left are his hands, and they move and communicate by typing. It seems they might have PTSD as well, as if two hands moving and communicating weren't creepy enough.

'Cherub' finds us in a strange world where everyone has a small creature riding our backs that shows their true ugly natures to the world. What happens to a child who is born a complete innocent in a world like this?

'The Shallow End of the Pool' takes custody fights to a brutal end as a brother and sister are pitted in a death match against each other while their estranged parents look on.

Those are just a few of the stories you'll encounter in this collection. I've read some Adam-Troy Castro short stories before and these are quite different from other ones I've read by him. He makes reference to it in a good essay at the end of the book. He's a good storyteller and I recommend this collection for those looking for stories on the strange and dark side.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Diamond Book Distributors, Prime Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

[Veach Glines · Rating 5 out of 5]

When reading these short stories I am constantly aware that each sentence, then paragraph; dialogue, then page are stitched together with exquisite care and skill---It is chilling to read such amazing use of language all in one place.

There are no cliches. There are never expected outcomes.

As mentioned in the introduction: One can not read a short story and continue reading the next one and then gorge on a third . . . the brain can not handle multiple detonations of nuclear idea bombs in one sitting. These need to be savored with sufficient time to let the horrors and huge implications shore up one's philosophies (or erode them).

There are not many collections of short stories I keep for a 2nd or a 3rd read. This is my first.

[Mjhancock · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice blend of unsettling horror and speculative fiction--it also really earns that speculative fiction title, as it's not quite weird fiction, and not quite science fiction "proper" whatever that may mean. Often, the short stories are about working out some sort of metaphor, in literal and horrific fashion. Arvies is a horrific look at class-based society and a literalization of life beginning at conception; Her Husband's Hands literalizes what it means for a person to return from war in pieces. Cherub is a biblical intepretation, with a world where we literally bear our sins on our shoulders; I could imagine an entire novel taking place in this milieu. The Shallow End of the Pool is a brutal take on competitive parenting, and the final story The Boy and the Box feels very much like a certain Twilight Zone episode. There are others as well; not every story concludes in a satisfying manner, and some are a bit oblique. There's a definite darkness to the set as a whole, but if you break up the reading over time, it's a very satisfying collection that reminded me of the value of short story books.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

CW: mention or depiction of rape & pedophilia in several of the stories.

There is a little bit of the juvenile edgelord to this collection, complete with a rebuttal about how the author is totes not a juvenile edgelord, but the stories are definitely interesting and original.

Not all the stories are sci-fi but they are each driven a big idea let loose, which is what I liked best in a collection like this. The characters are cardboard but the ideas are strong and the pacing brisk enough to get away with that.

A couple of these definitely had me thinking about what I would do in the same circumstances...

[Sara]

The hardniss of yr farniss
black night where my heart colocet wounded
lonly duty and many thinkiy
pity and cold gray cloud
and missing to yr hand
that wind take y make y forget yr pellow
and our bed
and make y to me another almund tree
i meet yr hand and set at stoon
throw our photo
and make our goodbay to our fav star
yr hands that what ramin
and many flesh lost at bridg of echo of war
just i pray to hand make my happy
and make many gd aplogise
just forget about me
yr hand still there in silver box

[Blutrippe]

I don't finish this book.
Not because I dont like his work, I found out about him via nightmare magazine and loved his stories there, but because I just can't find my way into these stories.
So far it's kinda sci-fi horror and I have trouble feel for the stories, tho I'm breathless at the way Castro plays with words.
I will pick this up some time later in life again and give it another shot, but for now I dont wanna fight my way through it and that's why I won't give stars just now.

[Matevž · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting collection of stories. As usual I found some to be... skippable. But the rest was quite interesting.

The first thing to note is that the author's style is different and refreshing. The best I can say is that his sentences are easy to read, direct and give you plenty to think about.

Recommended.

[Charl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't give 5 star very often, but I'd give this more if I could. A collection of dark (some of them VERY dark) stories, every single one fresh, original, and slapping you with very unexpected endings. They're not all SF (my reading preference), but they're ALL excellent. Just be prepared to have to set the book down a couple of times.

[Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good stories. Seriously good horror. Not all in this tome are horror per se, but all were good reads. I found Adam-Troy Castro from a dystopian anthology I just finished (Wastelands-The New Apocalypse) and just had to read more of his work. He does not disappoint. His stories are weird and often pretty wonderful.

[Jessica McDonough · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story is so much about love and what it takes to get through and also about circumstances outside of your control and the way life will throw you through a loop but you'll still find each other in the end if you're truly in that love space and I found a story to be pretty erotic also full stop what a weird awesome story I loved it!

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great collection of short stories, some dark.

[Jaye Brokaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always end up feeling pretty meh when it comes to anthologies, there are always a few duds that drag the whole experience down. That is not the case with this book, absolutely fantastic.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic (and unsettling) collection.

[John Gunders · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not for the faint-hearted...

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an electronic advanced reading copy of this from the publisher via NetGalley.

An Adam-Troy Castro story was the cover feature for the first short story genre magazine issue I discovered, relatively late when entering grad school. I continue to wish his name would pop in issues more frequently. This collection is perfect for someone like me who is unfamiliar with a large amount of his previously published work.

The stories in this collection are united in being exceptional. They also share a common grim thread of disturbing themes or tones, at times moving into outright horror. This isn't all Castro writes. In fact, he is rather adept at switching forms and styles. The stories here, however, illustrate his prediliction and talent for darkness. Each showcases his ability to take core aspects of human relationships or conditions and taking them to extremes, to regions where the recognizable beauty of family, love, reproduction, etc begin to become warped into forms only partially recognizable, distorted and often very frightening.

In "Arvies" a world is postulated and explored where a devotion and respect for unborn life is taken to its extreme, at the expense and expoitation of the born, in the title story, with shades of '50s B-movies, a grieving widow is reunited with her deceased soldier husband's conscious, in the only part of his body left: an extreme of devotion and connection to the physical for ties to the emotional. "Shallow End of the Pool" takes sibling rivalry to extremes, and the closing "The Boy and the Box" switches up distortions from the human to the divine, taking a theology (in this case a rather poor theology) to absurd maximum.

I adored most of the other stories and appreciated the afterward by Castro regarding his writing and some of the inspirations and reactions to his work. (I still don't get the significance of the title 'Arvies' though - ovaries??). "Our Future" stands out as the most unique work here, more traditional and less disturbing, making it easy to see how it could form a part of a larger series of stories as it is. Though it doesn't quite fit the collection perfectly it is a superb story with interesting ideas about 'otherness'. The award-winning "Of a Sweet Slow Dance in the Wake of Temporary Dogs" was actually my least favorite story in that it just didn't connect at all, meaning I may just need to reread it. The fragmentary and distant nature of its narrative voice was just too much the moment I read it I think.

The most profound and staggering story here is "Cherub", a wonderfully conceived fable-esque fantasy where judging people's moral standing from outward appearances is rendered fully manifest, but with the same basic problem. A gut-wrenchingly beautiful tale, said without hyperbole. This story conveys in purest terms Castro's ability to look upon the basics of humanity, even in its darkness, and construct a fantastic story of the concept's extremes without rendering anything cliched, absurdly silly,or insincere. Instead, his stories stay brutally honest, despite extremes woven around speculative plots, transcending into a basic communication with the reader that more often than not connects with a wisp of beauty shining from within the outer layers of disturbing darkness.

Any SF/Fantasy reader should give this a read, as well as anyone liking literary fiction on a darker edge. I don't get to keep the NetGalley eFiles, but that's fine. This is one collection I am picking up in physical form ASAP.

[Manda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short-story sci-fi collection that covers a range of subjects. Going in I was a little hesitant. The foreword was a little too smug and name-droppy for my taste, and the first story, about a world in which fetuses run the world and life begins at conception and ends at birth, made me a bit apprehensive that the whole book might substitute interesting ideas for controversy-stirring political fables. Happily, this was not the case.



I liked some of the stories over others. "Her Husband's Hands," about a woman whose soldier husband returns home as a pair of hands attached to a back-up memory, had a great deal of emotional resonance, and Castro did a wonderful job of portraying the woman's struggle to adjust to her husband's new life.



"Of a Sweet Slow Dance in the Wake of Temporary Dogs" is quite possible the best story in the collection, about a paradise in which all residents truly love and value life—but at a great cost.



"Cherub," however, is my personal favorite of the lot. In this story, everyone is born with a demon clinging to them, revealing their bad traits for all to see. Rapists, murders, the lazy, all are marked from birth. And then a child is born with not a demon clinging to him, but a cherub. Although a short story, the world-building was well done and convincing, and I was genuinely surprised by every turn the story took. I was still thinking about the ending for days afterward.

[Mary Lowd · Rating 4 out of 5]

All of the stories in this collection are written with a stunning clarity, and they're all gripping. On top of that, some of them deeply explore the human condition -- the trade-offs of good and evil, what those ideas even mean, and what exactly it takes to count as human. I especially recommend "Arvies," "Of a Sweet Slow Dance in the Wake of Temporary Dogs," and "Cherub." Though, I will warn that these are not easy stories; this books contains some of the darkest material I've ever read.

[Elena Gaillard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adam-Troy Castro's latest story collection really has some of his best work all in one place. Many stories here were nominated for major awards, deservedly so. Slightly twisted views of the world, designed to make you squirm while you turn the pages. "Arvies" and the title story are two of the strongest, but all are rewarding.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

A while back I read Adam_Troy Castro's "Vossoff and Nimmitz: Just a Couple of Idiots Reupholstering Space and Time" -- a wild and very entertaining collection of humorous science fiction stories. This collection is quite different. These stories are dark, disturbing and will hit you right between the proverbial eyes. I was blown away and now I know I must read more of Mr. Castro's work!

[Josef Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strong short story collection of bizarre tales

For a full review, please go to http://www.examiner.com/review/her-hu... and follow me on Twitter @josenher

[Jaime · Rating 4 out of 5]

8 relatos cortos de ciencia ficción y fantasía. Algunos de ellos son perturbadores, pueden incluso a incomodar a los lectores más sensibles. Buen nivel en todos los relatos.

[David Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best collection so far this year!

http://opionator.wordpress.com/2014/0...

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written, but. Holy. Hell. Those were brutal.

[Bill Borre]

"The Boy and the Box" - This story is like a more philosophical version of The Twilight Zone episode "It's A Good Life."

"Pieces of Ethan" - wc