Bandersnatch

by Paul Tremblay, Sean Wallace

Rich in curiosity and virtue, poor in dirths of the imagination and the dull phrase, Bandersnatch in this dead trees edition, eschewing flesh-and-blood for pulp, deals in the currency of wonder and mystery.

Genres: Fantasy, Anthologies, Horror, Literature, Short Stories

192 pages, Hardcover

First published November 15, 2007

About the author

Paul Tremblay has won the Bram Stoker, British Fantasy, the Sheridan Le Fanu, and Massachusetts Book awards and is the author of the New York Times bestselling Horror Movie, The Beast You, Are, The Pallbearers Club, Survivor Song, Growing Things, Disappearance at Devil’s Rock, A Head Full of Ghosts, and the crime novels The Little Sleep and No Sleep Till Wonderland. His novel The Cabin at the End of the World was adapted as the Universal Pictures film Knock at the Cabin. His short fiction and essays have appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Entertainment Weekly online, and numerous year’s-best anthologies. He has a master’s degree in mathematics and lives outside Boston with his family. He is represented by Stephen Barbara, InkWell Management.

Reviews

[Melanti · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll admit to being a bit shallow. This little volume caught my eye at the library because it was odd. First I noticed the lack of any sort of title or description of any kind anywhere on the cover and none on a non-existent flyleaf. Next, I noticed the strange shape and size - much smaller than a mass market paperback, but hardback. So, that weirdness combined with a title of Bandersnatch meant I gave it a chance.

Many of the stories included don't seem to make sense at first, until you get to the end and realize they do after all. Overall, I was a bit bemused by this volume and that's a perfect reaction to a book named "Bandersnatch."

So, why is a raven like a writing desk?
My favorite answer to that riddle is "Because there is a B in both and an N in neither."

[Aishe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book full of short stories that dashed back and forth and all about and sometimes seemed difficult to follow but other times surprised you when the method within the madness made all plain. In any case, it is full of dark, twisting tales, and just begs to be explored. I think I am maybe just as confused about the creature of the Bandersnatch as I was before I read the book, but isn't that the point of a Bandersnatch anyway? Frumiousness... Read it!

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I l hate one of these stores, I like eight and four of them are some of the finest stories I've ever read. I'll let you read this book and judge for yourself.

[Ursula Pflug · Rating 5 out of 5]

My story, "Border Crossings" is in this wonderful little book from 2007, a beautiful object and a joy to read. In fact, it looks so cool I often think I should order a dozen or so to sell at book fairs. As well, there were moments in the writing of the story that were pure magic, a little like flying, which, as any writer knows, is a rare feeling that makes it all worthwile.

Here is a review on Fearzone:
http://www.fearzone.com/blog/bandersn...

From the publisher:
"Rich in curiosity and virtue, poor in dearth of the imagination and the dull phrase, Bandersnatch in this dead trees edition, eschewing flesh-and-blood for pulp, deals in the currency of wonder and mystery. A new original anthology series is not to be sniffed at, not when it contains work by the likes of Alan DeNiro, Nick Mamatas, Ursula Pflug, and Karen Heuler...And thus it begins: your journey into the frumious and hungry mouth of the Bandersnatch. Go quietly and gracefully into its gullet. You will not regret it."

[Jack Haringa · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the interest of full disclosure, my story "A Perfect and Unmappable Grace" appears in this anthology. The full table of contents is as follows:

Taiga Taiga Burning Bright, Alan DeNiro
You are Not My Husband, Aimee Pokwatka
I am Meyer, Carol K. Howell
Summon Bind Banish, Nick Mamatas
Scar Stories, Vylar Kaftan
Border Crossing, Ursula Pflug
The Children, Bogdan Tiganov
The Sidewinders, Seth Ellis
Calamansi Juice, A.M. Muffaz
Roadkill, Seth Cully
Pink, Laura Cooney
A Perfect and Unmappable Grace, Jack M. Haringa
Down on the Farm, Karen Heuler

The stunning and disturbing cover art is by Danny Malboeuf.

[Pamster · Rating 3 out of 5]

i like that this speculative fiction anthology ignores all marketing rules, like put the title & authors on the book. the only reason you'd pick it up & look at it is because it's beautiful. these stories ranged from 2 to 5 star. it felt a little like a bonus ish of lady churchill's rosebud wristlet, but of course that would get 5 mill stars. so why haven't i read my best-of book of that, i wonder? self-punishment? yes. that.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic. My favorite story in the collection is "You Are Not My Husband", but they are all by turns striking, or shocking, or too surreal to wrap your brain around. Happily they are the kind of surreal that makes you want to obsessively read and reread, to try to see if you can, in fact, comprehend...