What do you think?
Rate this book
Velocities
From the award-winning author of The Cipher and Buddha Boy, comes Velocities, Kathe Koja’s second electrifying collection of short fiction. Thirteen stories, two never before published, all flying at the speed of strange.
200 pages, Paperback
First published April 21, 2020
40 people are currently reading
1353 people want to read
About the author
Kathe Koja
130 books931 followersKathe Koja is a writer, director and independent producer of live and virtual events. Her work combines and plays with genres, from horror to YA to historical to weird, in books like THE CIPHER, VELOCITIES, BUDDHA BOY, UNDER THE POPPY, and CATHERINE THE GHOST.
Her ongoing project is the world of DARK FACTORY https://darkfactory.club/ continuing in DARK PARK, with DARK MATTER coming out in December 2025.
She's a Detroit native, animal rights supporter, supporter of democracy, and huge fan of Emily Bronte.
Her ongoing project is the world of DARK FACTORY https://darkfactory.club/ continuing in DARK PARK, with DARK MATTER coming out in December 2025.
She's a Detroit native, animal rights supporter, supporter of democracy, and huge fan of Emily Bronte.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews
April 21, 2020
VELOCITIES: STORIES is a diverse, energetic and mysterious collection of stories by a woman that has mastered the art of storytelling.
I am a latecomer to Kathe Koja's work, having only read one novel to date, which was SKIN. It was quite far out of my comfort zone, but as such, her writing was like a revelation to me. When I saw this collection available as an ARC I requested it right away and here we are.
Not all of the tales within worked for me, but in collections they rarely do. The stories that did work, worked so very well, they left me hungry for more.
THE MARBLE LILY was my favorite tale in this volume. A story about a janitor working in the morgue has never been so mysterious and hidden such surprises.
ROAD TRIP is the story of a man looking for redemption. I don't think it can be found.
LA REINE D'ENFER is a disturbing tale worthy of the title HELL QUEEN. The use of slang and language here was a wonder to behold.
COYOTE PASS When a full time carer loses their patient, blood relative or not, it leaves a void.
FAR AND WEE for me, had a distinct feel to it that I cannot describe. A farm boy comes to the city and says he's done with the farm and the beasts. "Plenty beasts in the City, young man."
Kathe Koja uses language in such a way...it's very special. Sometimes sharp and staccato-like, sometimes lush and luxurious. Either way, her writing is magical and I plan to eventually read everything she has written.
My highest recommendation!
Available today! https://amzn.to/3cCgkR8
*Thank you to Meerkat Press via Edelweiss for the e-ARC of this collection in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!*
I am a latecomer to Kathe Koja's work, having only read one novel to date, which was SKIN. It was quite far out of my comfort zone, but as such, her writing was like a revelation to me. When I saw this collection available as an ARC I requested it right away and here we are.
Not all of the tales within worked for me, but in collections they rarely do. The stories that did work, worked so very well, they left me hungry for more.
THE MARBLE LILY was my favorite tale in this volume. A story about a janitor working in the morgue has never been so mysterious and hidden such surprises.
ROAD TRIP is the story of a man looking for redemption. I don't think it can be found.
LA REINE D'ENFER is a disturbing tale worthy of the title HELL QUEEN. The use of slang and language here was a wonder to behold.
COYOTE PASS When a full time carer loses their patient, blood relative or not, it leaves a void.
FAR AND WEE for me, had a distinct feel to it that I cannot describe. A farm boy comes to the city and says he's done with the farm and the beasts. "Plenty beasts in the City, young man."
Kathe Koja uses language in such a way...it's very special. Sometimes sharp and staccato-like, sometimes lush and luxurious. Either way, her writing is magical and I plan to eventually read everything she has written.
My highest recommendation!
Available today! https://amzn.to/3cCgkR8
*Thank you to Meerkat Press via Edelweiss for the e-ARC of this collection in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!*
March 21, 2023
I'm a big fan of The Cipher, but based on other reviews for this book I was prepared to settle in for an underwhelming series of short stories from a talented writer.
And, well... Velocities is a weird fiction masterclass.
In fact this is one of my favourite underrated collections since Lisa Tuttle's Nest of Nightmares and Kim Fu's Lesser Known Monsters of the 20th Century.
I read and re-read this book 3 times in 2 months. And even while I was reading other books I couldn't stop thinking about the flying undead baby familiar that nibbles on people. I don't think I'll ever get that image out of my head. Even with bleach.
This is a series of fantastic, strange, deeply upsetting works. Very observant and smart characterisation. Excellent pacing and prose. The ending story is one for the ages. I went in with zero expectations I left with a few new night terrors. I dropped my defences and got my lip split.
Which is how it should be.
The best horror doesn't just 'scare' you. It scars you. It leaves a mark. It changes you. Savages you. When you wake up the next day, you're not counting how many kills the story had, you're counting your remaining fingers and dreading the full moon.
Kathe's writing has got a nasty bite and a serious killer instinct. It's an element missing from a lot of writers in this genre (and most writing in general to be fair). There's no real feeling of safety in Koja's horror or fantasy or weird fiction. Kathe's work gets hip deep in the swamps of serious emotional trauma. You sink into it and you suffocate.
It gets in your lungs.
Velocities is a perfect title for this book because it's sheer acceleration and escalation from the first story to the last.
I loved it.
I shouldn't have been surprised but I was. I'm gonna be picking up more from Kathe Koja this year. Absolutely.
And I'm really looking forward to it.
And, well... Velocities is a weird fiction masterclass.
In fact this is one of my favourite underrated collections since Lisa Tuttle's Nest of Nightmares and Kim Fu's Lesser Known Monsters of the 20th Century.
I read and re-read this book 3 times in 2 months. And even while I was reading other books I couldn't stop thinking about the flying undead baby familiar that nibbles on people. I don't think I'll ever get that image out of my head. Even with bleach.
This is a series of fantastic, strange, deeply upsetting works. Very observant and smart characterisation. Excellent pacing and prose. The ending story is one for the ages. I went in with zero expectations I left with a few new night terrors. I dropped my defences and got my lip split.
Which is how it should be.
The best horror doesn't just 'scare' you. It scars you. It leaves a mark. It changes you. Savages you. When you wake up the next day, you're not counting how many kills the story had, you're counting your remaining fingers and dreading the full moon.
Kathe's writing has got a nasty bite and a serious killer instinct. It's an element missing from a lot of writers in this genre (and most writing in general to be fair). There's no real feeling of safety in Koja's horror or fantasy or weird fiction. Kathe's work gets hip deep in the swamps of serious emotional trauma. You sink into it and you suffocate.
It gets in your lungs.
Velocities is a perfect title for this book because it's sheer acceleration and escalation from the first story to the last.
I loved it.
I shouldn't have been surprised but I was. I'm gonna be picking up more from Kathe Koja this year. Absolutely.
And I'm really looking forward to it.
November 11, 2020
I enjoyed three out of the thirteen stories. While the writing was excellent, I found many of the remaining pieces to be somewhat tedious.
August 15, 2020
Kathe Koja’s work has always wrestled with complex issues: the limits of agonistic art, performance/performativity, and expressions of embodiment. From her groundbreaking debut novel, The Cipher (1991), to her 1997 collection Extremities, the author often evaluates these topics through the porous boundaries of horror. Of course, it is not only Koja’s compelling thematic engagements that set her writing apart, but also her crackling, inimitable, urgent prose style.
Koja’s career-long fixations persist in her new collection, Velocities, one of the most vital, haunting, and commanding genre releases in recent years. Particularly noteworthy is the book’s interest in art (especially performance art) as a catalyst for negotiations with trauma. Two stand-out examples are “Velocity,” which sees its performance artist reliving a horrific event through his work, and “Pas de Deux,” which depicts a woman grappling with the interior catharsis of dance versus exterior demands on her body. Indeed, this tension between desires of interiority and those of embodied, physical reality (central to novels like Skin [1993] and Strange Angels [1994]) shows up repeatedly throughout this collection.
When dealing with Koja, one of the twentieth century’s major American horror novelists, it seems impossible to avoid the question of genre. Is Velocities a “genre” collection? Undoubtedly Koja lays bare her expertise on genre forms and modes (“The Marble Lily” might be the most convincing contemporary imitation of nineteenth-century Gothic I’ve read), but this book circumvents categorical structures at nearly every turn. Within the first couple stories, it dawned on me that Koja’s fiction is simply a genre unto itself; hers is a body of work defined by singular style. Truly, Koja’s voice is among the most distinctive and invigorating I have encountered.
Koja maximizes on that which is specific to the written medium; her wildly unique prose style delivers affective experiences that I cannot imagine transmitting fully to any other artistic form. At the same time, though, this author draws often on the tactility of performance and dance, imagining the many ways in which artistic modes can either mirror or contend with each other.
Suffice to say that Velocities is, like any other Koja book, a major event. This writer’s work has had more impact on me and my work than I can express. Time and again, her fiction has reinvigorated me and helped me to imagine the boundless literary potential of genre. It is no exaggeration to say that she is among the most important writers in horror, and a major figure in contemporary American fiction more broadly.
Koja’s career-long fixations persist in her new collection, Velocities, one of the most vital, haunting, and commanding genre releases in recent years. Particularly noteworthy is the book’s interest in art (especially performance art) as a catalyst for negotiations with trauma. Two stand-out examples are “Velocity,” which sees its performance artist reliving a horrific event through his work, and “Pas de Deux,” which depicts a woman grappling with the interior catharsis of dance versus exterior demands on her body. Indeed, this tension between desires of interiority and those of embodied, physical reality (central to novels like Skin [1993] and Strange Angels [1994]) shows up repeatedly throughout this collection.
When dealing with Koja, one of the twentieth century’s major American horror novelists, it seems impossible to avoid the question of genre. Is Velocities a “genre” collection? Undoubtedly Koja lays bare her expertise on genre forms and modes (“The Marble Lily” might be the most convincing contemporary imitation of nineteenth-century Gothic I’ve read), but this book circumvents categorical structures at nearly every turn. Within the first couple stories, it dawned on me that Koja’s fiction is simply a genre unto itself; hers is a body of work defined by singular style. Truly, Koja’s voice is among the most distinctive and invigorating I have encountered.
Koja maximizes on that which is specific to the written medium; her wildly unique prose style delivers affective experiences that I cannot imagine transmitting fully to any other artistic form. At the same time, though, this author draws often on the tactility of performance and dance, imagining the many ways in which artistic modes can either mirror or contend with each other.
Suffice to say that Velocities is, like any other Koja book, a major event. This writer’s work has had more impact on me and my work than I can express. Time and again, her fiction has reinvigorated me and helped me to imagine the boundless literary potential of genre. It is no exaggeration to say that she is among the most important writers in horror, and a major figure in contemporary American fiction more broadly.
March 21, 2020
I was initially blown away by Kathe when I read Under the Poppy. That book affected me in ways literature usually does not. Many of the books I read will linger for a short time but later become muddled up with everything else I've read before or since. Details will begin to fade and then too the plots themselves. But not so with Kathe's triology. That one has stuck with me for the long haul. It is truly dazzling stuff.
It wouldn't be fair of me to attempt to hold this latest collection up against those books. While some of the stories here are forgettable, others spoke to something deep inside me, or just plain ole creeped me out. And a few of those stories... man... they are also going to be with me for the long haul. I can feel it.
When Kathe is on, she is ON.
It wouldn't be fair of me to attempt to hold this latest collection up against those books. While some of the stories here are forgettable, others spoke to something deep inside me, or just plain ole creeped me out. And a few of those stories... man... they are also going to be with me for the long haul. I can feel it.
When Kathe is on, she is ON.
June 8, 2020
Where to begin? My book reviews are usually short and to the point, since I like to review everything I read and simply don’t have time to review at length. However, Koja’s collection deserves so much more than a few short sentences.
This is the first work I have read by her, but it certainly won’t be the last. I have to admit to being smitten. I read the whole collection in just two sessions, and even read three of the stories twice, and aloud, since they have that lyrical quality that demands to be heard, not just read in silence.
Original, unconventional, inspirational: Koja crawls into the attic space of your mind and stays there. In fact, it’s as if she’s always been there, speaking to you from your subconscious, that place where nobody is invited.
It’s difficult to say which stories are my favorite, since I loved them all, but I will attempt to do so. I’m also aware that I don’t wish to give spoilers, so here we go...
At Eventide: for the way in which the woman overcomes past adversity, those seemingly insignificant details which are actually of great significance. Anyone who has suffered trauma should connect with this story on a personal level, and if you haven’t, then all it takes is a bit of imagination, a wander into that realm of dreading the worst.
Baby: for evoking connections - “...sometimes I let my feet leave the patio, just a few inches, just balancing there on the railing, in thin air...” and the creepiness of Baby in opposition to the love and devotion she feels towards the doll.
Road Trip: written in second person POV, which demands the reader imagine himself as the MC. And that description of the accident! Short, succinct, the way in which all logical thought deserts you in such moments. And the guilt, and how is it possible to deal with something so immense?
La Reine D’enfer: evocative of old theaters, Victorian music halls, but in an non-glamorous way, warts and all. And the way in which Koja plays with the magic of language in this story – superb!
Throughout the collection, the words, phrases, sentences, bring a musical quality to the work and a sense of movement, too, which is why they deserve to be read aloud.
This is not just a work of fiction; this is a performance on a page, a textual dance, and I can’t wait to read more of her work.
This is the first work I have read by her, but it certainly won’t be the last. I have to admit to being smitten. I read the whole collection in just two sessions, and even read three of the stories twice, and aloud, since they have that lyrical quality that demands to be heard, not just read in silence.
Original, unconventional, inspirational: Koja crawls into the attic space of your mind and stays there. In fact, it’s as if she’s always been there, speaking to you from your subconscious, that place where nobody is invited.
It’s difficult to say which stories are my favorite, since I loved them all, but I will attempt to do so. I’m also aware that I don’t wish to give spoilers, so here we go...
At Eventide: for the way in which the woman overcomes past adversity, those seemingly insignificant details which are actually of great significance. Anyone who has suffered trauma should connect with this story on a personal level, and if you haven’t, then all it takes is a bit of imagination, a wander into that realm of dreading the worst.
Baby: for evoking connections - “...sometimes I let my feet leave the patio, just a few inches, just balancing there on the railing, in thin air...” and the creepiness of Baby in opposition to the love and devotion she feels towards the doll.
Road Trip: written in second person POV, which demands the reader imagine himself as the MC. And that description of the accident! Short, succinct, the way in which all logical thought deserts you in such moments. And the guilt, and how is it possible to deal with something so immense?
La Reine D’enfer: evocative of old theaters, Victorian music halls, but in an non-glamorous way, warts and all. And the way in which Koja plays with the magic of language in this story – superb!
Throughout the collection, the words, phrases, sentences, bring a musical quality to the work and a sense of movement, too, which is why they deserve to be read aloud.
This is not just a work of fiction; this is a performance on a page, a textual dance, and I can’t wait to read more of her work.
April 7, 2020
If I had to choose one word to describe this collection it would be melancholy. I feel that there is a sadness, a sense of longing, a sense of something unresolved that is present in a lot of these stories. It's a feeling that will stay with you and haunt you long after reading.
My absolute favourite of the collection is Baby, a story about a woman and an old doll she found when she was younger in her grandmother's attic. But this is no generic 'creepy doll' story. I'll just leave it at that. It is weird and I loved it.
There are so many other excellent stories here and I had a hard time just selecting a few to mention but the ones that really stand out to me are: At Eventide, Velocity, Coyote Pass, Road Trip, The Marble Lily and Pas de Deux. (I couldn't narrow it down any further but it's a good sign if over half of the stories are 'stand-out' stories!)
If you are a fan of Koja's novels then I would definitely recommend checking this collection out. If you have not yet read any of her work then this might be a great place to start as you get to experience her writing in an array of styles and stories.
My absolute favourite of the collection is Baby, a story about a woman and an old doll she found when she was younger in her grandmother's attic. But this is no generic 'creepy doll' story. I'll just leave it at that. It is weird and I loved it.
There are so many other excellent stories here and I had a hard time just selecting a few to mention but the ones that really stand out to me are: At Eventide, Velocity, Coyote Pass, Road Trip, The Marble Lily and Pas de Deux. (I couldn't narrow it down any further but it's a good sign if over half of the stories are 'stand-out' stories!)
If you are a fan of Koja's novels then I would definitely recommend checking this collection out. If you have not yet read any of her work then this might be a great place to start as you get to experience her writing in an array of styles and stories.
June 8, 2020
Thanks to Meerkat for the ARC - my review is up at Strange Horizons.
November 26, 2020
Vacillating between 2.5 and 3 stars.
Short stories really don't seem to be Koja's strong suit and a number of these are mediocre at best, but there are a few that remind me of the power and sheer weirdness of her best long-form work. Overall, I found the historical stories both most convincing and most polished, particularly "The Marble Lily' and "La Reine d'Enfer", the latter of which reminded me strongly of Koja's wonderful Under the Poppy. Of the work with contemporary or near-future settings, I enjoyed "At Eventide", "Baby", and especially "Urb Civ", which I think could be expanded into a very interesting longer work.
In general, I suspect this collection is most likely to appeal to readers who are already fans of Koja's work and are intrigued to see her explore the short form, something she rarely does. As a short story collection overall, this is less than impressive, and I can't recommend it to readers not already invested in this author.
Short stories really don't seem to be Koja's strong suit and a number of these are mediocre at best, but there are a few that remind me of the power and sheer weirdness of her best long-form work. Overall, I found the historical stories both most convincing and most polished, particularly "The Marble Lily' and "La Reine d'Enfer", the latter of which reminded me strongly of Koja's wonderful Under the Poppy. Of the work with contemporary or near-future settings, I enjoyed "At Eventide", "Baby", and especially "Urb Civ", which I think could be expanded into a very interesting longer work.
In general, I suspect this collection is most likely to appeal to readers who are already fans of Koja's work and are intrigued to see her explore the short form, something she rarely does. As a short story collection overall, this is less than impressive, and I can't recommend it to readers not already invested in this author.
April 29, 2020
Kathe Koja is a favorite writer of mine (The Cipher is my second favorite horror novel), but I’d never experienced her writing in the short form. Velocities, her second short story collection, just recently released and I figured now is the time to see what Koja can do with the short story format. And I enjoyed myself!
Like most story collections not every story here is a winner, but I disliked only three stories ... I quite loved the rest, and even the ones I didn’t quite dig are still written well. I just didn’t latch on to the narratives, couldn’t find my way in. But this is Koja, after all; her work is worthy of revisits. I know I’ll reread this collection one day.
On display is what this author does best: the weird and dark and abnormal, all written in staggering—often beautiful—prose bordering on the poetic, breathtaking and often off-putting. Light reading this is not; Kathe Koja is an artist and the reader must appreciate that, or else get left behind.
Maybe that sounds pretentious, but it is what it is: this is the work of a seasoned artist, one of the greatest gifts to grace the field of “weird”. Some of my favorite stories here are “Clubs”, a little ditty from the nineties of urban decay and party life and unsatisfied young people; searching, always searching ... for what? Is there anything beyond grim reality? And there’s the finale, “Pas de Deux”, another grimy story of just how many abuses the human spirit can take. “Velocity” is a haunting story of, well, a haunting; “Road Trip” sees a man desperately seeking salvation. The secret is, Koja knows, there is no miracle, no quick fix. Redemption is nearly impossible to find.
My ratings of the stories:
At Eventide - 5 ⭐️
Baby - 5 ⭐️
Velocity - 5 ⭐️
Clubs - 5 ⭐️
Urb Civ - 2 ⭐️
Fireflies - 4 ⭐️
Coyote Pass - 5 ⭐️
Road Trip - 5 ⭐️
Toujours - 2 ⭐️
Far and Wee - 2 ⭐️
The Marble Lily - 5 ⭐️
La Reine D’Enfer - 5 ⭐️
Pas De Deux - 5 ⭐️
Like most story collections not every story here is a winner, but I disliked only three stories ... I quite loved the rest, and even the ones I didn’t quite dig are still written well. I just didn’t latch on to the narratives, couldn’t find my way in. But this is Koja, after all; her work is worthy of revisits. I know I’ll reread this collection one day.
On display is what this author does best: the weird and dark and abnormal, all written in staggering—often beautiful—prose bordering on the poetic, breathtaking and often off-putting. Light reading this is not; Kathe Koja is an artist and the reader must appreciate that, or else get left behind.
Maybe that sounds pretentious, but it is what it is: this is the work of a seasoned artist, one of the greatest gifts to grace the field of “weird”. Some of my favorite stories here are “Clubs”, a little ditty from the nineties of urban decay and party life and unsatisfied young people; searching, always searching ... for what? Is there anything beyond grim reality? And there’s the finale, “Pas de Deux”, another grimy story of just how many abuses the human spirit can take. “Velocity” is a haunting story of, well, a haunting; “Road Trip” sees a man desperately seeking salvation. The secret is, Koja knows, there is no miracle, no quick fix. Redemption is nearly impossible to find.
My ratings of the stories:
At Eventide - 5 ⭐️
Baby - 5 ⭐️
Velocity - 5 ⭐️
Clubs - 5 ⭐️
Urb Civ - 2 ⭐️
Fireflies - 4 ⭐️
Coyote Pass - 5 ⭐️
Road Trip - 5 ⭐️
Toujours - 2 ⭐️
Far and Wee - 2 ⭐️
The Marble Lily - 5 ⭐️
La Reine D’Enfer - 5 ⭐️
Pas De Deux - 5 ⭐️
June 23, 2020
Kathe Koja’s Velocities is a short collection of thirteen stories. They are loosely broken into themes. The are as diverse as a box of very elegant chocolate, but I’d be lying if I told you they were sweet, or safe, or comfortable. Of course, anyone who has read her work knows better than to expect that. There are stories about art, and artists, drawing the last painful drop of themselves into images and pain, words and dance... there are complex relationships that leave you aching inside.
I took my time reading this. One story I read three times, because I felt I was not “getting” something… and in the end, I got something different all three times, and though it was not a beginning, middle, ending sort of story with closure, it still sticks with me. That’s what stories do when they are at their best.
I am not going to post spoilers, but I will point out a couple of favorites, and some things you may find unique. The book’s structure, for instance. The sections – AT HOME – DOWNTOWN – ON THE WAY – OVER THERE – INSIDE. They define the segments, and the divisions are sharp corners. You won’t roll from one to the next with a feeling of familiarity. The stories in OVER THERE, for instance, are of other countries and other times.
I particularly enjoyed “At Eventide,” “Clubs,” and “Pas de Deux.” I admit to a prejudice in this, because these are the stories that remind me most of the works that first drew me to this author. SKIN, and KINK, THE CIPHER and STRANGE ANGELS. What I did not expect, and blew me away, was the effortless shift of character and voice that made up the section titled OVER THERE. From street prostitutes to artists, strange landscape to city streets they are exquisitely unique.
For a final note, the story “Coyote Pass” is the one I read three times. I’ll probably read it again, or listen to the audiobook and have it read to me to see if someone else’s interpretation gives me yet another perspective.
If you love dark fiction that is also literary and amazing, do yourself a favor and get a copy of this book. I could not recommend it more highly.
I took my time reading this. One story I read three times, because I felt I was not “getting” something… and in the end, I got something different all three times, and though it was not a beginning, middle, ending sort of story with closure, it still sticks with me. That’s what stories do when they are at their best.
I am not going to post spoilers, but I will point out a couple of favorites, and some things you may find unique. The book’s structure, for instance. The sections – AT HOME – DOWNTOWN – ON THE WAY – OVER THERE – INSIDE. They define the segments, and the divisions are sharp corners. You won’t roll from one to the next with a feeling of familiarity. The stories in OVER THERE, for instance, are of other countries and other times.
I particularly enjoyed “At Eventide,” “Clubs,” and “Pas de Deux.” I admit to a prejudice in this, because these are the stories that remind me most of the works that first drew me to this author. SKIN, and KINK, THE CIPHER and STRANGE ANGELS. What I did not expect, and blew me away, was the effortless shift of character and voice that made up the section titled OVER THERE. From street prostitutes to artists, strange landscape to city streets they are exquisitely unique.
For a final note, the story “Coyote Pass” is the one I read three times. I’ll probably read it again, or listen to the audiobook and have it read to me to see if someone else’s interpretation gives me yet another perspective.
If you love dark fiction that is also literary and amazing, do yourself a favor and get a copy of this book. I could not recommend it more highly.
April 19, 2022
The writing is always excellent.
I wanted to finish every story I read, but I've truly enjoyed only some. Sometimes it feels like Koja made up a marvelous world, with new and strange beings, unique things that are meant to scare or entice. But of these worlds, these things, these beings, she decides to show us only a glimpse. A shimmer. A random moment in time. A particle of what's floating around in her mind. Sometimes it works and sometimes it falls flat. You decide.
I wanted to finish every story I read, but I've truly enjoyed only some. Sometimes it feels like Koja made up a marvelous world, with new and strange beings, unique things that are meant to scare or entice. But of these worlds, these things, these beings, she decides to show us only a glimpse. A shimmer. A random moment in time. A particle of what's floating around in her mind. Sometimes it works and sometimes it falls flat. You decide.
February 10, 2021
This was a really weird collection of short stories - all of which had a bit of horror in them. I think my favorite one was about a little girl who has a doll (he's a boy), and she grows up with this doll. She calls him "baby"...and baby apparently can come to life and crawls into her bed at night (when she's a teenager) and they get busy. She naturally has problems with real relationships. It was just a weird collection of stories.
March 9, 2020
“Right now she was working on a new box, a clean steel frame to enclose the life inside: her life: she was making a box for herself.”
Velocities by Kathe Koja is her second collection of shorts stories including ones that have never been published before. My introduction to the author came through her novel Skin. I thoroughly enjoyed that novel because of the writing. Her style is to shock and awe and I think she achieves this greatly in this volume.
There are thirteen stories ranging from heartbreaking, shocking, dark, bizarre and insane. She chooses the most simplest to the most darkest topics to explore in these stories and trust me they will stick with you long after you have read them. Some highlights for me were:
“Baby” - a girl finds a strange doll in her grandparents attic and soon realises the events which unfold from its discovery.
“Velocity” - an interview between an artist and journalist where he talks about his art. This reveals a dark and strange obsession behind his motivation.
“Marble Lily” - a janitor that works in a morgue and his attachment to a disturbing reality.
I could easily list many more here which were touching as well as unnerving. The author writes in a way that strikes more than one chord. I was left conflicted after some of these stories about how I felt.
I highly recommend checking out this collection of stories when they are published in April 2020. A huge thanks to @meerkatpress for sending me an advanced copy to read.
Velocities by Kathe Koja is her second collection of shorts stories including ones that have never been published before. My introduction to the author came through her novel Skin. I thoroughly enjoyed that novel because of the writing. Her style is to shock and awe and I think she achieves this greatly in this volume.
There are thirteen stories ranging from heartbreaking, shocking, dark, bizarre and insane. She chooses the most simplest to the most darkest topics to explore in these stories and trust me they will stick with you long after you have read them. Some highlights for me were:
“Baby” - a girl finds a strange doll in her grandparents attic and soon realises the events which unfold from its discovery.
“Velocity” - an interview between an artist and journalist where he talks about his art. This reveals a dark and strange obsession behind his motivation.
“Marble Lily” - a janitor that works in a morgue and his attachment to a disturbing reality.
I could easily list many more here which were touching as well as unnerving. The author writes in a way that strikes more than one chord. I was left conflicted after some of these stories about how I felt.
I highly recommend checking out this collection of stories when they are published in April 2020. A huge thanks to @meerkatpress for sending me an advanced copy to read.
February 8, 2020
In Velocities, Kathe Koja, delivers thirteen short stories that will have you turning the pages at high-speed.
Being familiar with some of Koja's other novels, such as The Cipher and Skin, I was extremely excited to get my hands on this short story collection. The stories range from haunting to heart-rending, and sometimes a bit baffling.
I'm not going to lay out all of the shorts in my review, as there is too many and I also don't want to spoil anything. Instead I will mention a few that really stood out to me.
"Baby" is the story of a young woman, who had found a strange doll in her grandparent's attic. This story went bizarre quickly, and I just loved everything about it. It never truly revealed what "Baby" actually was, which added a certain mystery to it.
"Velocity" is the title of both the book and also a story within. It is written like a Q&A between a journalist and an artist, who has an odd way to go about his craftsmanship. As the story unfolds, the resentment the artist feels towards his late father quickly morphs into something way more sinister.
I was taken away with "The Marble Lily". It is the tale of a janitor that works in a morgue and about the body of a young girl that was recovered by fishermen. I wish this story could have been an entire book. This is easily my favorite one in the entire collection.
I can't wait for this book to release, so I can discuss it with some of you!
4 out of 5 stars!
Thank you Meerkat Press for this Arc.
Being familiar with some of Koja's other novels, such as The Cipher and Skin, I was extremely excited to get my hands on this short story collection. The stories range from haunting to heart-rending, and sometimes a bit baffling.
I'm not going to lay out all of the shorts in my review, as there is too many and I also don't want to spoil anything. Instead I will mention a few that really stood out to me.
"Baby" is the story of a young woman, who had found a strange doll in her grandparent's attic. This story went bizarre quickly, and I just loved everything about it. It never truly revealed what "Baby" actually was, which added a certain mystery to it.
"Velocity" is the title of both the book and also a story within. It is written like a Q&A between a journalist and an artist, who has an odd way to go about his craftsmanship. As the story unfolds, the resentment the artist feels towards his late father quickly morphs into something way more sinister.
I was taken away with "The Marble Lily". It is the tale of a janitor that works in a morgue and about the body of a young girl that was recovered by fishermen. I wish this story could have been an entire book. This is easily my favorite one in the entire collection.
I can't wait for this book to release, so I can discuss it with some of you!
4 out of 5 stars!
Thank you Meerkat Press for this Arc.
April 20, 2020
A dark and weird collection of all kinds of tales, Koja proves with Velocities to be an inventive Virgil, probing the deep bowels of strange and hellish realms and shepherding readers through her dark mind.
These stories are steeped in strangeness—sometimes you just have to keep reading, immerse yourself even when you aren’t exactly sure what is going on. Koja doesn’t hold your hand on this tour of hell, instead she flits in and out, offering snippets of visions as if through a gimpy window.
My favorite stories were “Baby,” about a strange doll that isn’t quite what it seems and “Velocity,” which offers insight into a strange visual artist though a Q&A structure. It is hard to describe what the stories are about; more than content, I’m left with how they made me feel.
I am a newcomer to the stylings of Kathe Koja, though I have looked in vain for her novel The Cipher. But luckily, Meerkat Press is not only bringing us this fabulous short story collection, but that novel as well. I’m looking forward to it!
My thanks to Meerkat Press for my copy of this one to read and review.
These stories are steeped in strangeness—sometimes you just have to keep reading, immerse yourself even when you aren’t exactly sure what is going on. Koja doesn’t hold your hand on this tour of hell, instead she flits in and out, offering snippets of visions as if through a gimpy window.
My favorite stories were “Baby,” about a strange doll that isn’t quite what it seems and “Velocity,” which offers insight into a strange visual artist though a Q&A structure. It is hard to describe what the stories are about; more than content, I’m left with how they made me feel.
I am a newcomer to the stylings of Kathe Koja, though I have looked in vain for her novel The Cipher. But luckily, Meerkat Press is not only bringing us this fabulous short story collection, but that novel as well. I’m looking forward to it!
My thanks to Meerkat Press for my copy of this one to read and review.
November 13, 2020
I enjoyed the first three stories: "At Eventide", "Baby", "Velocity". Couldn't get into the rest. More notes:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
January 6, 2020
Great collection!
July 22, 2020
Plague Review 20: Velocities by Kathe Koja
Kathe Koja's new SS collection is a demanding read. These stories need to be read as many times as possible to be able to get through the complex themes hidden within. A hindrance to achieving this goal is the fragmented writing style of Koja, often filled with very long compound-complex sentences with no breaks for dialogue. But is the effort to break apart these stories worth it? Yes, if the subject matter was compelling enough. And for the most part, they are. But when Koja's writing style collides with an uninteresting subject matter, reading becomes suffering. Thankfully, I enjoyed most of these tales, and I hope you do, too.
Let's dive into her stories.
THE FIRST THREE TALES
1. At Eventide
A woman famed for making memory/totem boxes for people suffering from loss and pain is having a visitor: a vicious serial killer who nearly ended her life years ago. Now, the tables have turned, and the woman is of great importance to him. Who will get what they need in the end?
A compelling opener from Koja. The neat role-reversal should please most readers. Koja's brilliance comes in when you realize how cruel the payback is.
Featured in: Graven Images, edited by Nancy Kilpatrick and Thomas S. Roche
2. Baby
Jani navigates her semi-miserable life with her mother together with a doll she found in her Grandmother's storage space. But it's not just any other doll; it may be a host of a familiar spirit. Soon, they are inseparable and even romantically (!) involved. Can this friendship between a disturbed woman and her doll last? What is the effect when an insatiable human meets a supernatural force?
Three words: Creepy, unpredictable, and unsettling.
Featured in: Teeth: Vampire Tales by Ellen Datlow
3. Velocity
"I'm saying that when I aim a bike at a tree and crash it, that that's part of what the piece is about. The Velocity where it hits, how it fragments—every time it's different, none end up the same— "
An unnamed eccentric artist known for his penchant for running bicycles into trees (!!!) is undergoing an interview concerning his work. But what the media is after is his volatile relationship with his artist father (who committed suicide). He obliges and tells them something more strange and disturbing: the real reason behind his methods and how it helps him cope with a perceived haunting, one that may be orchestrated by his dead father.
A unique tale of haunting. Does a soul live through art? Can hate go on existing through the things left behind by a person? And can art be used as an exorcism? Koja deals with these questions and does not answer them. But at least you get a solid and unique ghost story.
Featured in: The Dark: New Ghost Stories by Ellen Datlow
THE DISPAPPOINTING ONES
Then there's the two disappointments that destroys the collection's winning streak, 4. Clubs and 5. Urb Civ . The former is about an aimless couple whose main pastime is to go clubbing. The guy in the relationship feels bored and used up while the girl is sucking up to a new potential boyfriend (What a horrible human being). The catch is the main entertainment of these clubs is the gladiator-like battle between women using only baseball bats. (clubbing indeed). Yeah, I know this is supposed to be a statement about manipulation, failure of relationships, and the monstrous way people can be to each other without physical violence but the collision of Koja's style and the uninteresting characters fails to elicit any emotion, just boredom. The latter is a post-apocalyptic tale about a government (totalitarian) spy trying to infiltrate a group of dissidents making a living fixing junk robots. Again, the style does not help the already tedious subject matter.
GRIEF, DESPAIR, AND JEALOUSY IN KOJA'S WORLD
Koja bounces back with the somber but uplifting 6. Fireflies dealing with the metaphysics of death and the worth of human life. It is followed by the haunting story of grief (and dogs) 7. Coyote Pass , which, for me, belongs in the esteemed list of confounding and emotionally hard-hitting horror short stories like Thomas Tessier's Nocturne and Jack Ketchum's The Box . In "Coyote," grief never leaves, not even when the person is long dead.
In 8. Road Trip , we have the main character looking for healing in a supposed New Age establishment. He is joined by other sick persons who fervently believe in the capabilities of the supposed faith healer. But can his pain be healed? Koja has no answer and makes us decide; at least she makes it known the reason behind his suffering. This tale is very relatable and a fine example of an entry into the increasingly-popular subgenre of "grief horror."
VAMPIRES AND SHAPESHIFTERS
In 9. Tojours , we have a very unusual and uncomfortable story of jealousy and obsession. Gianfranco has been looking after the eccentric and hedonistic artist Carlos since the latter was insignificant to the world. Carlo then finds love in a woman Gianfranco actively hates. This unexpected event makes Gianfranco feel dejected and rejected as if his value lessened to a significant degree.
This tale is in the anthology Blood and Other Cravings: Original Stories of Vampires and Vampirism by Today's Greatest Writers of Dark Fiction. This anthology is about the other forms of vampires besides the ubiquitous bloodsucking variety. Who is the vampire in this tale? And what happened after that surprisingly happy ending? Both are great questions brought up by this bizarre tale set in god-knows-where.
Other monstrous creatures get the Koja treatment, too. In 10. Far and Wee , a hooved creature stirs up the (again) jealousy of the protagonist after the former end up in the custody of same theater troupe who rescued the latter from the wilderness.
In both stories, Koja blurs the intrinsic distinction readers have for supernatural creatures as evil. Sometimes it comes from unexpected and sources.
TALES OF DEATH AND EMPOWERMENT IN THE 19th Century
We have two tales set in the 19th century, one in Paris and the other in Victorian London.
In 11. The Marble Lily , a Paris morgue attendant's fascination with a body of a dead woman transforms from curiosity to almost religious devotion after her body seems impervious to decay. As noted by previous reviewers, Koja abandons her default writing style, as the prose is akin to the old horror writers, particularly Poe and Blackwood. The idea of an alternate presentation of death enticing the living has existed before, but Koja gives it another shot and succeeds.
12. La Reine D'Enfer chronicles the brutal and sordid life of Pearlie, a street hooligan / prostitute. When he's not swindling from the rich unwary types of Victorian London, he's offering his body to the perverts of society. This pattern comprises his life until he meets Edmund, a theater director needing somebody to play the part of the Hell Queen (hence the title). Pearlie takes the role. Soon he will change his life, even if it means ending some undesirable ones!
A tale of empowerment, and it is a very effective one. The main character's plight is surrounded by harshness and brutality that it is not a wonder he is fascinated by the allure of theater and the arts. There is always talk about the transforming power of art, of how it can make people's lives better. In the story, Koja makes that transformation literal.
A PERFECT CLOSING STORY
13. Pas De Deux seems to be a story about sexual deviance and discontent. But what fuels such emotions and feelings? What small cause made the main character spiral into an endless descent into perversion, thievery, cheating, etc.? The cause given by Koja was very relatable to me, and it could be for all those who don't have a say on their lives. This tale is a depressing one, sure to please the fans of films like Requiem for A Dream . At least there's some redemption in the end. Well, a little.
Kathe Koja's new SS collection is a demanding read. These stories need to be read as many times as possible to be able to get through the complex themes hidden within. A hindrance to achieving this goal is the fragmented writing style of Koja, often filled with very long compound-complex sentences with no breaks for dialogue. But is the effort to break apart these stories worth it? Yes, if the subject matter was compelling enough. And for the most part, they are. But when Koja's writing style collides with an uninteresting subject matter, reading becomes suffering. Thankfully, I enjoyed most of these tales, and I hope you do, too.
Let's dive into her stories.
THE FIRST THREE TALES
1. At Eventide
A woman famed for making memory/totem boxes for people suffering from loss and pain is having a visitor: a vicious serial killer who nearly ended her life years ago. Now, the tables have turned, and the woman is of great importance to him. Who will get what they need in the end?
A compelling opener from Koja. The neat role-reversal should please most readers. Koja's brilliance comes in when you realize how cruel the payback is.
Featured in: Graven Images, edited by Nancy Kilpatrick and Thomas S. Roche
2. Baby
Jani navigates her semi-miserable life with her mother together with a doll she found in her Grandmother's storage space. But it's not just any other doll; it may be a host of a familiar spirit. Soon, they are inseparable and even romantically (!) involved. Can this friendship between a disturbed woman and her doll last? What is the effect when an insatiable human meets a supernatural force?
Three words: Creepy, unpredictable, and unsettling.
Featured in: Teeth: Vampire Tales by Ellen Datlow
3. Velocity
"I'm saying that when I aim a bike at a tree and crash it, that that's part of what the piece is about. The Velocity where it hits, how it fragments—every time it's different, none end up the same— "
An unnamed eccentric artist known for his penchant for running bicycles into trees (!!!) is undergoing an interview concerning his work. But what the media is after is his volatile relationship with his artist father (who committed suicide). He obliges and tells them something more strange and disturbing: the real reason behind his methods and how it helps him cope with a perceived haunting, one that may be orchestrated by his dead father.
A unique tale of haunting. Does a soul live through art? Can hate go on existing through the things left behind by a person? And can art be used as an exorcism? Koja deals with these questions and does not answer them. But at least you get a solid and unique ghost story.
Featured in: The Dark: New Ghost Stories by Ellen Datlow
THE DISPAPPOINTING ONES
Then there's the two disappointments that destroys the collection's winning streak, 4. Clubs and 5. Urb Civ . The former is about an aimless couple whose main pastime is to go clubbing. The guy in the relationship feels bored and used up while the girl is sucking up to a new potential boyfriend (What a horrible human being). The catch is the main entertainment of these clubs is the gladiator-like battle between women using only baseball bats. (clubbing indeed). Yeah, I know this is supposed to be a statement about manipulation, failure of relationships, and the monstrous way people can be to each other without physical violence but the collision of Koja's style and the uninteresting characters fails to elicit any emotion, just boredom. The latter is a post-apocalyptic tale about a government (totalitarian) spy trying to infiltrate a group of dissidents making a living fixing junk robots. Again, the style does not help the already tedious subject matter.
GRIEF, DESPAIR, AND JEALOUSY IN KOJA'S WORLD
Koja bounces back with the somber but uplifting 6. Fireflies dealing with the metaphysics of death and the worth of human life. It is followed by the haunting story of grief (and dogs) 7. Coyote Pass , which, for me, belongs in the esteemed list of confounding and emotionally hard-hitting horror short stories like Thomas Tessier's Nocturne and Jack Ketchum's The Box . In "Coyote," grief never leaves, not even when the person is long dead.
In 8. Road Trip , we have the main character looking for healing in a supposed New Age establishment. He is joined by other sick persons who fervently believe in the capabilities of the supposed faith healer. But can his pain be healed? Koja has no answer and makes us decide; at least she makes it known the reason behind his suffering. This tale is very relatable and a fine example of an entry into the increasingly-popular subgenre of "grief horror."
VAMPIRES AND SHAPESHIFTERS
In 9. Tojours , we have a very unusual and uncomfortable story of jealousy and obsession. Gianfranco has been looking after the eccentric and hedonistic artist Carlos since the latter was insignificant to the world. Carlo then finds love in a woman Gianfranco actively hates. This unexpected event makes Gianfranco feel dejected and rejected as if his value lessened to a significant degree.
This tale is in the anthology Blood and Other Cravings: Original Stories of Vampires and Vampirism by Today's Greatest Writers of Dark Fiction. This anthology is about the other forms of vampires besides the ubiquitous bloodsucking variety. Who is the vampire in this tale? And what happened after that surprisingly happy ending? Both are great questions brought up by this bizarre tale set in god-knows-where.
Other monstrous creatures get the Koja treatment, too. In 10. Far and Wee , a hooved creature stirs up the (again) jealousy of the protagonist after the former end up in the custody of same theater troupe who rescued the latter from the wilderness.
In both stories, Koja blurs the intrinsic distinction readers have for supernatural creatures as evil. Sometimes it comes from unexpected and sources.
TALES OF DEATH AND EMPOWERMENT IN THE 19th Century
We have two tales set in the 19th century, one in Paris and the other in Victorian London.
In 11. The Marble Lily , a Paris morgue attendant's fascination with a body of a dead woman transforms from curiosity to almost religious devotion after her body seems impervious to decay. As noted by previous reviewers, Koja abandons her default writing style, as the prose is akin to the old horror writers, particularly Poe and Blackwood. The idea of an alternate presentation of death enticing the living has existed before, but Koja gives it another shot and succeeds.
12. La Reine D'Enfer chronicles the brutal and sordid life of Pearlie, a street hooligan / prostitute. When he's not swindling from the rich unwary types of Victorian London, he's offering his body to the perverts of society. This pattern comprises his life until he meets Edmund, a theater director needing somebody to play the part of the Hell Queen (hence the title). Pearlie takes the role. Soon he will change his life, even if it means ending some undesirable ones!
A tale of empowerment, and it is a very effective one. The main character's plight is surrounded by harshness and brutality that it is not a wonder he is fascinated by the allure of theater and the arts. There is always talk about the transforming power of art, of how it can make people's lives better. In the story, Koja makes that transformation literal.
A PERFECT CLOSING STORY
13. Pas De Deux seems to be a story about sexual deviance and discontent. But what fuels such emotions and feelings? What small cause made the main character spiral into an endless descent into perversion, thievery, cheating, etc.? The cause given by Koja was very relatable to me, and it could be for all those who don't have a say on their lives. This tale is a depressing one, sure to please the fans of films like Requiem for A Dream . At least there's some redemption in the end. Well, a little.
Read
June 15, 20243,5*
November 17, 2020
Velocities is a mightily self-assured collection of fiction, not entirely generic horror but all to a degree dark and/or weird. Koja weaves stories worth going over multiple times to unpick their intricate threads. I look forward to reading more.
December 17, 2020
(This was originally posted at Signal Horizon, check us out! https://signalhorizon.com/book-review...)
If there’s one symbol of horror’s growth in the modern era, it’s that it no longer needs to be horror to gain readers in the genre. Authors are no longer tied to the ground, they’ve spread their wings and have chosen to be called, more broadly, speculative fiction writers or fantasists. We’re at a place in time now, where an author can fill a short story collection with magical realism, horror, weird fiction, and straight literary pieces—and the sinew holding them together is no longer tropes, but voice.
Kathe Koja’s Velocities, a comeback album of sorts, is a collection very much in this vein, and Meerkat Press knows it. On the release blurb, the collection is described as: “Thirteen stories, two never before published, all flying at the speed of strange.” Strange is, of course, another signifier that this is not your average horror collection, instead, it’s a showcase not of the genre but of Koja’s gobsmacking talent as a stylist. For fans of The Cipher (and if I were pressed, I might call it my favorite novel, ever), this is a welcome return for Koja who hasn’t had a new book out since 2010’s Under the Poppy.
Velocities stories run the gamut from overt horror to gentle weirdness to straight literary—but they’re pulled together by the familiar Koja-isms we’ve come to recognize as distinctively hers. Many of the stories are first-person. Several are directly addressing the reader. Semicolons and punctuation run amok——sculpting her prose into the stop and start patterns of natural speech. Koja’s characters are down-to-earth and conversational, often times working-class artists, authentic even in their strangest moments. And under all this confessional, hyper-punctuated grime is an under-current of the sensual, the erotic. Koja’s prose is a feast, and at its best, it’s a pleasure to gorge upon it.
One of the more typically genre stories, “Baby,” is the closest we come to outright horror. It involves a young woman telling us the story of Baby, a doll with which she has a supernatural and co-dependent relationship. It’s one of the hardest-hitting stories in the collection, because of how well the character’s voice resonates. There’s a strong sense of recognition between her and the audience, as I’m sure most of us have been young and working a shitty job, exploring our adulthood while being barely at its threshold. “Baby” is scary because of the amount of empathy Koja injects into it and as the final pages turn, I couldn’t escape a deep and affecting dread.
There’s also a sense of playful intertextuality at work in Velocities. A trio of stories in the latter half of the collection (“Toujours,” “Far and Wee,” and “The Marble Lily”) read like pastiches of Poe, a welcome and impressive voice-throwing display in a genre that seems overly-dependent on Lovecraft as its grandfather influence. These stories not only do well to show off the traits that made Poe’s writing so immortal, but also to craft a connection to Koja, today. In doing so, it’s hard to ignore the foundations of the genre (whichever that may be, in this case), and harder still to ignore that those same foundations work just as well today.
Kathe Koja is, for me, one of the great literary voices, period. And while it’d be too bold for me to say that Velocities is a new classic in its own right, when you get to Koja’s level of talent, even the stuff that’s just okay has a level of sophistication in its own right. Yes, there’s some misses (“La Reine D’Enfer” teetered very close to incomprehensibility for me) but the hits are a great reminder that the best of genre writers no longer need be pigeon-holed— that the best of us have a chance to be the best of everything.
If there’s one symbol of horror’s growth in the modern era, it’s that it no longer needs to be horror to gain readers in the genre. Authors are no longer tied to the ground, they’ve spread their wings and have chosen to be called, more broadly, speculative fiction writers or fantasists. We’re at a place in time now, where an author can fill a short story collection with magical realism, horror, weird fiction, and straight literary pieces—and the sinew holding them together is no longer tropes, but voice.
Kathe Koja’s Velocities, a comeback album of sorts, is a collection very much in this vein, and Meerkat Press knows it. On the release blurb, the collection is described as: “Thirteen stories, two never before published, all flying at the speed of strange.” Strange is, of course, another signifier that this is not your average horror collection, instead, it’s a showcase not of the genre but of Koja’s gobsmacking talent as a stylist. For fans of The Cipher (and if I were pressed, I might call it my favorite novel, ever), this is a welcome return for Koja who hasn’t had a new book out since 2010’s Under the Poppy.
Velocities stories run the gamut from overt horror to gentle weirdness to straight literary—but they’re pulled together by the familiar Koja-isms we’ve come to recognize as distinctively hers. Many of the stories are first-person. Several are directly addressing the reader. Semicolons and punctuation run amok——sculpting her prose into the stop and start patterns of natural speech. Koja’s characters are down-to-earth and conversational, often times working-class artists, authentic even in their strangest moments. And under all this confessional, hyper-punctuated grime is an under-current of the sensual, the erotic. Koja’s prose is a feast, and at its best, it’s a pleasure to gorge upon it.
One of the more typically genre stories, “Baby,” is the closest we come to outright horror. It involves a young woman telling us the story of Baby, a doll with which she has a supernatural and co-dependent relationship. It’s one of the hardest-hitting stories in the collection, because of how well the character’s voice resonates. There’s a strong sense of recognition between her and the audience, as I’m sure most of us have been young and working a shitty job, exploring our adulthood while being barely at its threshold. “Baby” is scary because of the amount of empathy Koja injects into it and as the final pages turn, I couldn’t escape a deep and affecting dread.
There’s also a sense of playful intertextuality at work in Velocities. A trio of stories in the latter half of the collection (“Toujours,” “Far and Wee,” and “The Marble Lily”) read like pastiches of Poe, a welcome and impressive voice-throwing display in a genre that seems overly-dependent on Lovecraft as its grandfather influence. These stories not only do well to show off the traits that made Poe’s writing so immortal, but also to craft a connection to Koja, today. In doing so, it’s hard to ignore the foundations of the genre (whichever that may be, in this case), and harder still to ignore that those same foundations work just as well today.
Kathe Koja is, for me, one of the great literary voices, period. And while it’d be too bold for me to say that Velocities is a new classic in its own right, when you get to Koja’s level of talent, even the stuff that’s just okay has a level of sophistication in its own right. Yes, there’s some misses (“La Reine D’Enfer” teetered very close to incomprehensibility for me) but the hits are a great reminder that the best of genre writers no longer need be pigeon-holed— that the best of us have a chance to be the best of everything.
Read
July 20, 2023Picked this up on a recommendation from a friend who thought this would be just my cup of tea - and wasn't it just! This will not be the last thing I pick up from Koja.
Each story has a beautifully unique voice to it and the storytelling is something I can only dream to achieve in my own writing. Needless to say, this is an author I'm going to look up to and hold as a standard. There is something utterly electric about this prose, urgent, pulling on thoughts and memories you didn't know you had. The stories often leave you suspended but not unsatisfied.
To highlight some favourites:
Baby
Where the juxtaposition between the love of a doll and the alarming nature of the doll itself creates an atmosphere of curiosity and anxiety in equal measures.
Coyote Pass
For the intense need to fill a void where others only see a closed door.
Road Trip
Seeking redemption that might not ever be found, being put in the driver's seat of something terrible, being made to feel you are watching others heal while you can only want.
Far and Wee
Such a strange feeling, almost dream-like, creeping up to a conclusion you can only helplessly witness unravelling.
La Reine D’enfer
Pulling down elegant implications and squashing it under a wonderfully unique voice.
There is something very special about this collection.
Each story has a beautifully unique voice to it and the storytelling is something I can only dream to achieve in my own writing. Needless to say, this is an author I'm going to look up to and hold as a standard. There is something utterly electric about this prose, urgent, pulling on thoughts and memories you didn't know you had. The stories often leave you suspended but not unsatisfied.
To highlight some favourites:
Baby
Where the juxtaposition between the love of a doll and the alarming nature of the doll itself creates an atmosphere of curiosity and anxiety in equal measures.
Coyote Pass
For the intense need to fill a void where others only see a closed door.
Road Trip
Seeking redemption that might not ever be found, being put in the driver's seat of something terrible, being made to feel you are watching others heal while you can only want.
Far and Wee
Such a strange feeling, almost dream-like, creeping up to a conclusion you can only helplessly witness unravelling.
La Reine D’enfer
Pulling down elegant implications and squashing it under a wonderfully unique voice.
There is something very special about this collection.
January 11, 2020
I enjoyed this collection! Very well thought out and diverse! Definitely recommend
May 16, 2021
Like most collections, some that resonate and some that don't. But the quality of writing throughout is always high.
April 21, 2020
Kept my interest from the first page to the last
March 22, 2020
Velo Cities moves like a finger over a map, following the fresh prose of a dark fantasy story-teller on point, stopping at a fork in a road; shows maybe a monster or an end wrapped in cautionary tape of strangeness.
My two favorites in this collection:
Velo Cities: the title story moves like a discussion over art that turns into a darkness far more sinister than expected.
Far and Wee: follows a farm boy through his path through the city where the beasts walk... many beasts.
Recommended reading and a huge thanks to Meerkat Press for the advanced reader copy!
My two favorites in this collection:
Velo Cities: the title story moves like a discussion over art that turns into a darkness far more sinister than expected.
Far and Wee: follows a farm boy through his path through the city where the beasts walk... many beasts.
Recommended reading and a huge thanks to Meerkat Press for the advanced reader copy!
May 31, 2020
Velocities is an anthology of thirteen short stories written by Kathe Koja. The anthology contains thirteen dark fantasy stories feature tortured characters whose lives are drastically changing or will soon end.
For the most part, I rather liked most if not all of these short stories. Velocities contains thirteen short stories written by Kathe Koja. These thirteen short stories moves from one genre to the next, which seems to be group together into five different sections: "At Home", "Downtown", "On the Way", "Over There", and "Inside". Yet there is a running theme or motif throughout the book – the notion of art as a means of emotional and spiritual transcendence.
Like most anthologies, there are weaker contributions, and Velocities is not an exception. There were a couple of stories that seemed rather undone and could have or should have been longer to further explore the themes Koja was exploring. However, these tales are gritty, constantly surprising on both the sentence and narrative level, and glimmer with intense, enigmatic characters.
All in all, Velocities is an impressive collection of stories unafraid to explore bleak topics like death and despondency.
For the most part, I rather liked most if not all of these short stories. Velocities contains thirteen short stories written by Kathe Koja. These thirteen short stories moves from one genre to the next, which seems to be group together into five different sections: "At Home", "Downtown", "On the Way", "Over There", and "Inside". Yet there is a running theme or motif throughout the book – the notion of art as a means of emotional and spiritual transcendence.
Like most anthologies, there are weaker contributions, and Velocities is not an exception. There were a couple of stories that seemed rather undone and could have or should have been longer to further explore the themes Koja was exploring. However, these tales are gritty, constantly surprising on both the sentence and narrative level, and glimmer with intense, enigmatic characters.
All in all, Velocities is an impressive collection of stories unafraid to explore bleak topics like death and despondency.
April 22, 2020
“Look, he said. Look at all the stars. Steep back steps, less porch than stoop, rusting wrought iron railing and barely room enough for two, but they had once been lovers, and so it was easy to sit touching, hip to thigh. His head back against the screen door mesh, looking up; on her right arm a fresh bandage, white and still, like a large moth waiting with folded wings.”
Kathe Koja is in a class by herself when it comes to writing dark fiction. Her creativity, her finding meaning in the most mundane of things, and her command of the English language is apparent in every story in this diverse collection. All of the stories were very good but the stand outs for me were: BABY, FIREFLIES and ROADTRIP.
Thank you Meerkat Press for sending me this arc. This book is available now and I highly recommend it.
Kathe Koja is in a class by herself when it comes to writing dark fiction. Her creativity, her finding meaning in the most mundane of things, and her command of the English language is apparent in every story in this diverse collection. All of the stories were very good but the stand outs for me were: BABY, FIREFLIES and ROADTRIP.
Thank you Meerkat Press for sending me this arc. This book is available now and I highly recommend it.
February 1, 2020
Before Velocities I'd not read anything by Kathe Koja. Her writing had me captivated, totally enraptured. Gorge feeding my minds eye and triggering all the emotions.
Buy it, Read it, Love it.
Buy it, Read it, Love it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews