The Best of Elizabeth Hand

by Elizabeth Hand

In novels such as Mortal Love, Glimmering and Curious Toys, Elizabeth Hand has established herself as one of the most gifted, unclassifiable writers working in America today. Her equally brilliant short fiction has received numerous awards, setting a standard that few contemporary writers can match. The best of that fiction can be found in this generous, career-spanning volume that no one with an interest in imaginative fiction at its finest can afford to ignore. The Best of Elizabeth Hand contains sixteen stories and novellas, along with an illuminating set of story notes. The collection opens with the World Fantasy Award-winning “Last Summer at Mars Hill,” a moving account of mortality and miracles set in a “spiritualist community” in Maine. It closes with another World Fantasy Illyria, an achingly beautiful short novel that deals with family, youthful sexuality, the enduring love of theater, and the infinite vulnerability of magic in all its forms. In between these bookended moments lies a virtual treasure trove of Story. “Pavane for a Prince of the Air” recounts, in unflinching detail, the gradual, painful dissolution of a human life. “The Bacchae” combines Greek myth with a dystopian world view that J.G. Ballard would have recognized and admired. The much anthologized “Cleopatra Brimstone” is a darkly brilliant account of trauma, revenge, and astonishing transformations. “The Have-Nots” is a charming departure in which a small-town Southern waitress receives an unexpected gift from the King himself, Elvis Presley. Ten more memorable stories, four of them previously uncollected, round out this masterful collection. The Best of Elizabeth Hand delivers exactly what the title promises. The result is a veritable showcase by a uniquely gifted writer whose talent, commitment and singular vision are evident on every page. If you’re not yet a fan of Elizabeth Hand, this book will make you one. If you’re already a fan, then you know what to strange, beautiful, sometimes terrifying stories that will linger in your mind for a very long time to come.

Genres: Short Stories, Fantasy, Collections

630 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 28, 2021

About the author

A New York Times notable and multiple award– winning author, Elizabeth Hand has written seven novels, including the cult classic Waking the Moon, and short-story collections. She is a longtime contributor to numerous publications, including the Washington Post Book World and the Village Voice Literary Supplement. She and her two children divide their time between the coast of Maine and North London.

Reviews

[Kaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elizabeth Hand is an extraordinarily talented writer, which is very apparent in this collection. Even when I didn't enjoy the story, her writing was stunning. The way she talks about the Maine woods is so vivid and breath-taking. I have to admit, there were several stories I HATED, and several others that I can acknowledge I just didn't understand. Hand is highly creative, sometimes beyond what my brain can handle.

But when her gorgeous prose and creativity mesh just right, the result is some truly incredible stories. In particular, I adored "Last Summer at Mars Hill," "Fire," and the series of stories entitled "The Last Domain - Three Story Variants". The themes of grief and love and loss were heavy in these stories, but woven with such beauty that I couldn't look away. There were also some really incredible descriptions in "Owl Count" and "The Least Trumps", although the stories both rambled a bit too long for my tastes. The theme of climate change running throughout many of the stories was timely and terrifying - more frightening to me than some of the more conventional horror elements.

3.5 because I really truly did hate some of the stories; rounded up because Hand's prose is so consistently lovely.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of the book.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before reading this collection of Elizabeth Hand’s stories and novellas, I had only read one of her novels, “Wylding Hall, and that was a music group mystery set in England with touches of fantasy and the “other”. I hadn’t realized that she is well known in the sci-fi and fantasy worlds and had won awards for her writing in those areas. Now I understand why.

There are 16 works in this collection; the earliest written in 1991, the most recent in 2020. Several are set in Maine where Hand lives. A few in parts of England where she has also lived. In a coda to the stories that I very much appreciated, Hand describes some of the inspiration for the subject, setting and characters. It’s fascinating to see relationships to her life after the fact. I don’t think they would have added to the story if read before. I really liked one comment she wrote in this section about her flash fiction “Eat The Wyrm” which is set in Greenland.

Now of course the entire country is melting, so I tried to
cram as much desolation, rage, and also plain old weirdness
as I could into a few hundred words.

There was only one story I didn’t like, The Bacchae, and that was due to the subject not the writing. I loved many: Illyria is beautiful, coming of age; The Owl Count- a different apocalyptic tale; The Least Trumps, set on a small island in Maine; Last Summer at Mars Hall, an early story, another Maine setting but more mystical; Pavanne for a Prince of the Air, death and dying but here filled with pagan ritual and the natural world. Oh well, I think I should stop here. There’s no need to keep listing how many I really enjoyed.

I do recommend you give Elizabeth Hand’s writing a try if you’re inclined to read fiction with some fantasy or sci-fi elements at all. She is an excellent writer. Rating 4 to 4.5* rounded to 4*.

A copy of this book was provided by Subterranean Press through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

[Andreas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always like to pick up a collection by Subterranean Press, because they often abduct me from my usual reading habits and introduce me to authors I haven't experienced before. Elizabeth Hand is well-known, has won a large number of awards for her works - Tiptree, World Fantasy, Mythopoeic, Nebula, IHG, and Shirley Jackson. And yet, I didn't come across her works.
This collection demonstrates the author's literary variability by giving us works in subgenres of Magical realism, Dark Fantasy, Horror, Apocalyptic fiction, Weird fiction, and also plain literary fiction. She tends towards the creepy side, but often the stories are just plain beautifully narrated with only a hint of magic in it. 
Not all the stories were to my taste, some of them I just didn't get at all, and clearly broke my comfort zone in a bad way. If you favor highbrowed darker fiction, then you'll be fine, and there are really a couple of great gems to discover. My favorite was the last, long novella "Illyria", and the first two stories. 
If you want more, please follow the links to the detailed reviews. 
Contents:

9 • ★★★★☆ • Last Summer at Mars Hill • 1998 • Magical realism novella • review
63 • ★★★★☆ • Pavane for a Prince of the Air • 2002 • Literary fiction novelette • review
95 • ★★☆☆☆ • The Bacchae • 1991 • Horror SF short story • review
113 • ★★★☆☆ • Cleopatra Brimstone • 2001 • Dark Fantasy novella • review
171 • ★★☆☆☆ • Ghost Light • 2018 • Crime flash fiction • A roadie's helper has her revenge on a traveling solo musician. Interesting in the scope of this collection, because flash fiction and crime story. Beside of that nothing to write home about.
175 • ★★★☆☆ • The Have-Nots • 1992 • Magical realism short story • review
193 • ★★★★☆ • The Maiden Flight of McCauley’s Bellerphon • 2010 • Magical realism novella • review
249 • ★★★☆☆ • Eat the Wyrm • 2017 • Literary flash fiction • On Greenland, a pair travels for three days just to taste a special shot of Tequila in a famous bar. Strong visuals with complete open ended plot.
255 • ★☆☆☆☆ • Fire • 2017 • Apocalyptic fiction • a man together with a handful foreigners seeks shelter from a megafire in a bunker. It's his turn to bring up a story. He's constantly interrupted and reacts to that, nether getting forward with his narration. As short as it is, I never was able to connect to the narration, and DNFed it.
265 • ★★★☆☆ • The Lost Domain—Three Story Variations: Echo, The Saffron Gatherers, and Kronia  • 2005-2006 • Apocalyptic fiction short stories • review
299 • ★★★★☆ • Near Zennor • 2011 • Weird fiction novella • review
359 • ★★☆☆☆ • The Owl Count • 2020 • Weird short story • two people in a post-apocalyptic setting discover something unidentified monster while counting the population of owls. Ineffective, unsatisfying turn to horror.
383 • ★★★☆☆ • The Least Trumps • 2002 • Magical realism novella • review
443 • ★★★★★• Illyria • 2007 • Magical realism novella • review
549 story notes

[Amy Gentry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've tried reading Elizabeth Hand before, but this was the first time I felt I really understood where she was coming from as a writer. You have to read the stories and novellas in this volume as if they're novels--sink into them, immerse yourself in the milieu, follow the threads without fussing over the plot, and let the characters unfold over time. It helps not to be too attached to the magical elements of the story, which can be whisper-thin (though I've read and loved some of her more SF-forward work). Whether mourning a lost friend or a ruined environment, she is always in elegiac mode, and the magic sometimes feels like an afterthought.

I think that, more than magic itself, Hand is interested in the ways that real life can feel magical--through art, love, and bohemian lifestyles that elevate those two values above all else. She has an incredible eye for romantic and decadent textures. The stories about aging hippies (almost all of them, but especially "Last Summer at Mars Hill," "Pavane for a Prince of the Air," "The Lost Domain," "The Least Trumps") hit me particularly hard. I've always been fascinated by heritage hippies and bohemians. Until I moved to Austin for college, I'd never met kids whose parents were folk singers, woodworkers, vagabonds living out of vans, mystics who held drum circles in their back yards. It's easy to become disillusioned or dismissive of these lifestyles, but Elizabeth Hand describes them with an anthropological zeal that never slides into cynicism.

That said, my favorites in this collection, "Near Zennor" and "The Least Trumps," do have stronger veins of fantasy running through the realism. "Illyria" was a near-favorite, but derails itself trying to describe a perfect run of Shakespeare performances--it's really hard to do full justice to what it's like being in a play without getting repetitious. But I admire Hand's groundedness (ringing some of the same bells for me as Lisa Tuttle), and I hope to take lessons from this book into my own writing.

[Sirena Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a book to receive five stars from me, it must be something that I would want to read again. And it must elicit an emotional response from me, whether sorrow, happiness, horror, remorse, or even anger. The Best of Elizabeth Hand gives me all these feels and more. I was surprised with how many stories really were 'the best.' The fact that most of the stories had a fantastical element was a delightful added bonus. I enjoyed the fact that some imagery was repeated over different stories, but most stories stood alone, independent and alluring.
Thank you Netgalley and Subterranean Press for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

If, like me, you are new to Elizabeth Hand, you're in for a good surprise.

Hand is an incredibly prolific author. She's written novels, novellas, movie-to-book adaptations, Star Wars books, and (of course) many short stories since she published her first in the late 80s. This anthology collects her best short fiction from 1991 through 2020. After reading it, I'm honestly glad to know there's more of her work out there to enjoy.

"The Best of Elizabeth Hand" skews on the dark, moving side of magical realism fiction with a healthy dose of horror and spinal shivers. "The Bacchae" introduces us to an uneasy protagonist surprised and nervous about the possibility of succumbing to a violent end (and, well, there's a good reason messing with the historical Bacchae was ill-advised). The threat of danger feels strange and yet logical in Hand's evocative prose. In another story, "Pavane for a Prince of the Air," Hand recounts the final days of a man dying of cancer surrounded by his partner and friends (based very closely on the author's real-life experience with a late friend). In her words, the man born to very simple circumstances and unafraid of death becomes an ancient prince reverse-excavated, as if he's discovered in life and then buried for someone else to find later (which in a way, someone does).

Smack in the middle of the anthology, we're treated to Hand's World Fantasy award-winning novella, "The Maiden Flight of McCauley's Bellerophon," wherein two former DC Smithsonian security guards embark .on a mission to falsify evidence of a long-lost plane crash so they can cheer up a dying former colleague who got fired years ago on false charges. We don't start where the conflict begins, though. No, Hand takes us from beginning to end with Robbie the ex-security guard. Everyone will be fleshed out in this story whether they like it or not (much to this reader's delight).

Then we have comedic stories that will bring you to tears with incredibly fun, engrossing narration (like "The Have-Nots"), super short stories that pack a deceptively casual punch ("Ghost Light" was a highlight of the anthology for me), a distressing, horror-tinged account of a young woman's life after & inside trauma ("Cleopatra Brimstone"), and flash fiction that will stick in the back of your head for a while if my own reaction is anything to go by ("Kronia" and "Fire").

I realize that the horror story "The Owl Count" first published in 2020 is a great piece (don't read it at night), but for me, the anthology saves one of the best stories for last: "Illyria." I don't know how Hand manages to pack a whole life into a few pages stuck at the end of an anthology. It's a story about coincidence and growing up alongside your accidental cornerstone friend, someone you'll always have beside you. And it's about what happens eventually, with some Shakespeare peppered in for good measure.

This anthology went way beyond what I expected from an author I never read before, and now that it's over, I can't wait to read more of her work. Don't be afraid to read the stories out of order. Pick any one of them, find a good chair, and dig in.

Thank you to Subterranean Press and Netgalley for sending me a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Carolyn Fitzpatrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up because I loved Elizabeth Hand's Cass Neary novels. This collection of short stories and flash fiction has some similar punk elements, but while those books are grounded in reality, these are more unpredictable. The Story Notes at the end of the book provide additional context for each of the stories.

Last Summer at Mars Hill - A hippie commune in Maine, terminal illness, fairies.

Pavane for a Prince of the Air - Terminal illness, death doula, pagan funeral rites

The Bacchae - The earth is dying and women are getting more aggressive. Male POV.

Cleopatra Brimstone - Rape, butterflies, predatory sex.

Ghost Light - Techies at a theater company have a brief encounter with a traveling singer.

The Have-Nots - 1950s parental rights, Elvis, hope

The Maiden Flight of McCauley's Bellerophon - Lost film footage is painstakingly recreated for a dying friend.

Eat the Wyrm - Cocktails in Greenland

Fire - Doomed survivors of a mega-fire take turns with a respirator.

The Lost Domain - Friends are separated for years due to catastrophic historical events.

Near Zennor - A dead wife's schoolmate lost decades ago, rumors of a pedophile children's author, lost time, will o the wisps, barrows.

The Owl Count - Two friends after the breakdown of society, the return of predators after human die-off, a mysterious beast.

The Least Trumps - A lesbian tattooist lives alone on an island and finds a strange tarot deck. Panic attacks.

Illyria - Two "kissing cousins." Twelfth Night. Talent as a responsibility.

[Dan Trefethen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This “best of” collection includes story notes that Liz wrote to provide the genesis of the stories and include interesting background. She says that for one story, she didn't know until she got to writing the ending whether it would end in horror or transcendence.

That's a Liz Hand story in a nutshell. She sets a mood by providing carefully delineated detail, and you don't know what kind of feeling she's going for until the ending. Apparently in some cases not even she knows. Either way, you know it's going to be masterful.

Liz has had a long career writing novels and stories, but for my money I prefer her shorter work (including novellas). These self-contained gems can be read in a sitting and absorb the reader in strange circumstances that can only come from the mind of a brilliant stylist. It's read-out-loud worthy for the lushness of the language.

She can write horror or erotica with equal effect, and there's both in this balanced collection. Also, there's transcendence.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

The Best of Elizabeth Hand is a new compilation collection containing 16 stories and novellas by speculative fiction powerhouse Elizabeth Hand. Due out 28th Feb 2021 from Subterranean Press, it's 552 pages (!!) and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.

I've been a huge fan of the writer for decades. In my experience, she's always been consistent and writes with a rare versatility which defies genre categorization. There were several previously-unfamiliar-to-me stories in this collection alongside a number of favorites. One of the best features of the collection for me were the author's story notes for each entry - background and reminiscence and inspirations.

The stories' original publication dates span several decades. The earliest was published 1991 (The Bacchae); the most recent 2020 (The Owl Count). All are top shelf fiction from a strong and gifted author. Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[Andrew Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been in something of a reading slump, finding it hard to connect with fiction. This collection pulled me out of that slump.

Elizabeth Hand convinced me in story after story that I was in a real setting with characters I believe in. I wasn't amazed by this, since I'd read her work (including some of the pieces in here) before. But it's good to find a writer to help me out of, or through, the slump.

One of the reasons that this book gets five stars is that the hardcover edition (by Subterranean Press) is such a lovely volume, beautifully bound and printed. I see that I borrowed from the library copy 637 of the 1000 in the signed limited edition. I may buy the Kindle edition, especially if it stays at $5.99 for these 500+ pages.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elizabeth Hand's writing is always gorgeous, even if I don't particularly like the story. I loved most of these. It's also fascinating to see her revisit many of the same themes and locations over and over in her writing. A couple of the stories are even very subtly linked, something that you probably wouldn't catch unless reading them in a collection like this. The last story, Illyria is probably the standout story for me, but they are all worth reading.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brilliant compilation of Elizabeth Hand's short works. Last Summer at Mars Hill is a personal favorite, but I also loved The Have-Nots...I could just hear the woman's voice in my head as I was reading it! The author's stories dealing with the repercussions of climate change are unsettlingly plausible (Fire), and her ability to slide gently over the line into horror is always jarring, as in The Owl Count. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Subterranean Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read the ARC in return for an honest review.