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Once and Future Cities
Allen Ashley's tales of Urban Fantasy are intensely surreal, savagely satirical, subtly subversive and despairingly funny. Possessed of a unique vision and a distinctive prose style, Allen Ashley exposes the absurdities of modern British society like no other writer. Every waking moment is a struggle for continued sanity and survival as we muddle thoughtlessly through this surrealist joke called civilisation. The challenges - factual, fictitious, mythical, eminently plausible - just keep on coming. Ashley demonstrates that, if you have the nose for it, apocalypse can be smelled everywhere - in the latest media circus; in the latest dubious laws or government measures; in celebrity culture or the surveillance state; in the mindsets and prejudices of the population and in the tiniest actions we all perform.
362 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2009
13 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 28, 2015
Originally published at Risingshadow.
Allen Ashley's Once and Future Cities was a pleasant surprise for me. It's one of the most impressive speculative fiction short story collections I've ever read, because it's full of excellent and well written stories.
It's possible that there are readers out there who are not yet familiar with Allen Ashley and his stories. This short story collection offers readers an excellent entry point and introduction to his short fiction, because it demonstrates what kind of stories and prose he writes. If you enjoy reading well written speculative fiction and haven't read any of Allen Ashley's stories yet, I urge you to read this collection, because you'll be impressed by it.
Once and Future Cities is a short story collection that offers sharp, intelligent and observant commentary about modern way of life, British society and people. Allen Ashley writes about all kind of things from art and celebrity life to paranoia and robot dolls with a delightfully sharp and twisted edge. He has plenty of imagination and he dares to write insightful and thought-provoking stories.
Allen Ashley fluently weaves together elements of science fiction, fantasy and horror and blends them with harsh realism to create a compelling, realistic and unsettling portrait of humanity and life. He doesn't settle for anything less than perfect when it comes to writing compelling stories and creating believable and realistic characters. His stories are splendidly spiced with bittersweetness and bleakness, and there are many nuances in them.
This collection contains the following stories:
- Beholders
- Black Forest Manoeuvres
- Canoe Boy
- Play the Pipes of Pan
- The Pamela Faction
- D-Leb
- Waving Not Drowning
- Flat Top
- Stoners
- Turbulent Times
- Petrified
- The Accidentalists
- The Spaces in Our Lives
- The Slot
- Murdoch Celeste
- Nine Views of the Light of the World
- The Short and the Long of It
- Slow Planes
- War Haven
- Shirts
- Future Cities
- Today We Were Astronauts
Each of these stories is fresh and exciting. I can recommend all of them to speculative fiction readers, because there are no weak stories among them.
These stories are set in modern and urban landscapes. There's a bit of wicked playfulness and a fascinatingly apocalyptical atmosphere in them that I haven't been able to sense in many other modern short story collections.
Allen Ashley's vision of British society and modern world is unparalleled in its exposition of humanity, its oddities, its eccentricities and its various joys, problems and dysfunctions. He makes you question certain things and truths about humanity and life by writing about what has happened to the characters and how they deal with the happenings.
The author has a thrilling way of adding absurdism, humour and satirical elements to his stories. No matter what the contents of his stories are, you can find clever and witty elements in them that push the limits of normality into interesting directions. These stories are also infused with fascinating elements of realism, urban decay, grotesqueness, lust and violence.
Here's a bit more information about the stories and my thoughts about them. I'll try not to write too many spoilers about the contents of the stories in these short descriptions and comments.
Beholders:
- An excellent story a man and his wife who observe life in a slightly different way in a society where ugliness and grotesqueness have become increasingly dominant.
- The author writes well about what the man and his wife feel about Baby Hayley who is a disfigured infant fighting for her life.
- This is a disturbingly brilliant glimpse into British society.
Black Forest Manoeuvres:
- An intiguing and memorable story about the combined forces of the civil, the military and the church of The One True Jesus who are searching for a witch in the forest.
- The author writes fluently about the characters and religion.
Canoe Boy:
- A well written story about a cuckolded man and water rationing in a near future city.
- There's an intriguing sense of loss in this story that will enthrall many readers.
Play the Pipes of Pan:
- This is a fairy tale like no other about the Fairy Tale Land and Jack who tries to save his girlfriend from prostitution. I honestly don't remember reading another fairy tale like this one ever before, because the author has added plenty of lustfulness and weirdness to the story.
- This is one of the most impressive and original stories in this collection.
The Pamela Faction:
- An amazing story about Stevie, laser guided miniature female army and a consumer catalogue.
- This is one of the best stories I've read this year, because it's something different.
D-Leb:
- This is an intriguing and darkly amusing story about celebrities who begin to vanish inexplicably.
- I think that this story can be seen as a kind of a dark satire about celebrities and fame.
Waving Not Drowning:
- An interesting story about a man who has an electronic tag around his leg.
- The author writes well about the protagonist's experiences and life.
Flat Top:
- A well written story about neighbours, residential life and paranoia.
- This is one of the best stories I've ever read about residential life, because the author writes perfectly about the happenings.
Stoners:
- An interesting glimpse into music and club life. In my opinion, the author writes surprisingly well about music in this story (it was nice to see Kate Bush briefly mentioned in this story, because her kind of singers are seldom mentioned in speculative fiction stories).
- This story has intriguing tribal elements (and also elements of enlightenment) that will thrill readers.
Turbulent Times:
- A story about a man who's involved in filming Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge".
- A well written and fascinating story.
Petrified:
- An excellent story about relationships in a society where certain things are different.
- The author writes fluently about relationships.
- There was something in this story that reminded me a bit of the stories written by Brendan Connell.
The Accidentalists:
- A story about Jim and people who trick others by accidents and rob them.
- This is a short, but excellent story that reveals quite a lot about our the state of our modern world.
The Spaces in Our Lives:
- A fascinating story about natural disasters, life and relationships.
- It's amazing how well the author has managed to combine different elements in this story, because together all of the elements form a good story.
The Slot:
- An interesting and well written story about a man who is inrigued by a place called The Slot and tries to get back to somewhere where he was in the past.
- This is one of my favourite stories in this collection.
- This story has been inspired by an idea by D. F. Lewis.
Murdoch Celeste:
- This is a darkly humorous story about Trevor and a man called Murdoch who turns out to be a nuisance.
- This is one of my favourite stories in this collection.
Nine Views of the Light of the World:
- This story is a fantastic and memorable examination of art, religion and science.
- I have to mention that it's been a while since I've read anything like this.
The Short and the Long of It:
- This is a slightly different kind of a story about a possible alien invasion.
- If you enjoy reading about alien invasions etc, this story is a "must read" story for you, because it's something different.
Slow Planes:
- In this story, air travel has changed quite a lot and become slower.
- An excellent story that will be of interest to many readers.
War Haven:
- A fascinating and beautifully written story about a soldier and a place that offers sanctuary from the war.
- In this story, the author fluently combines elements of fantasy and realism, and writes well about war.
- This story reminded me a bit of Alexander Zelenyj's war stories.
Shirts:
- A well written story about people who have become Shirts and cause problems to others.
- This is a story that will stick to the reader's mind.
Future Cities:
- A well written story about an invention called futurescope that shows a technological future.
- This is an amazing and beautifully written story that will impress many readers.
Today We Were Astronauts:
- In this story, survivors of a plague - a man and his son - find refuge in a lighthouse.
- An excellent and beautifully written story.
Here's more information about some of the stories:
"Beholders" is one of the most intriguing stories ever written about beauty and ugliness. The author approaches the concept of beauty and ugliness by writing about the Baby Hayley and how doctors don't expect her to last for much longer (people respond to this by wearing masks of the disfigured baby).
"Black Forest Manoeuvres" is definitely one of the best speculative fiction stories I've read during the recent years, because the author describes how different kind of people are searching for a witch with two children who were caught by her, but survived. This story is almost like a weird grown-up version of Hansel and Gretel. It was interesting for me to read about what the protagonist felt about Alice, the social worker, and how the people worked together.
"Stoners" is one of the author's strongest and most memorable stories. It's an excellent story, because it immediately grabs hold of the reader and won't let go until the reader has reached the end. I highly recommend it to all readers who want to read something different.
"The Spaces in Our Lives" is one of my favourite stories in this collection. I consider it to be a beautifully written and memorable piece of speculative fiction, because the author fluently writes about natural disasters, life and relationships and avoids mediocrity that seems to be the plague of this kind of stories.
"War Haven" deserves a special mention, because it's an excellent story about a soldier, war and a place that offers sanctuary from war's carnage and mayhem. This story features excellent characterisation, beautiful prose and a dream-like atmosphere. When I read this story, I was reminded of Alexander Zelenyj's war stories, because there was something in this story that reminded me of them.
"Future Cities" is an excellent and beautifully written story about a man whose grandfather has invented a futurescope that can be used to see the future. This story has a perfect bittersweet ending. In my opinion, this amazing story alone is reason enough to read this collection. (To be honest, I consider "Future Cities" to be the best story in this collection.)
Allen Ashley has a distinct writing style that separates him from other speculative fiction authors. His prose is good and striking in its freshness. He creates realistic, absurd, disturbing and satirical visions about modern way of life in a memorable way by concentrating on the characters and the happenings. In my opinion, he writes about many things in a fresh and exciting way.
Allen Ashley also writes good and realistic dialogue. When the characters discuss things, everything feels real and believable. This is one of the things that makes the author's stories excellent.
There are a few recurring themes in these stories. Allen Ashley writes about male protagonists who have different kind of problems with work and relationships. His protagonists try to cope and survive when faced with different catastrophes and crises that change, shatter and threaten their lives.
Once and Future Cities may not be to everyone's liking, but this kind of well written quality collections seldom are to everyone's liking. I think it's great that there are authors like Allen Ashley who dare to intrigue and shock readers with brilliantly original and intelligent stories that differ from normal stories, because too many speculative fiction authors settle for less when writing stories and are clearly afraid of making readers think about what's going on.
It's nice that Allen Ashley doesn't try to please his readers, but boldly writes about difficult themes and issues without hesitation. He assumes that his readers are intelligent and can think for themselves, because he doesn't explain everything. I think that the more you are aware of the world and people around you, the more you'll get out of this collection and the more you'll enjoy it.
Once and Future Cities is a collection that sticks to the reader's mind. You'll be thinking about its contents long after you've finished reading it. It's a rewarding reading experience that keeps on mesmerising you for a long time after the final page has been read. Sharp observations, beautiful prose and original ideas make this collection an excellent read.
Highly recommended!
Allen Ashley's Once and Future Cities was a pleasant surprise for me. It's one of the most impressive speculative fiction short story collections I've ever read, because it's full of excellent and well written stories.
It's possible that there are readers out there who are not yet familiar with Allen Ashley and his stories. This short story collection offers readers an excellent entry point and introduction to his short fiction, because it demonstrates what kind of stories and prose he writes. If you enjoy reading well written speculative fiction and haven't read any of Allen Ashley's stories yet, I urge you to read this collection, because you'll be impressed by it.
Once and Future Cities is a short story collection that offers sharp, intelligent and observant commentary about modern way of life, British society and people. Allen Ashley writes about all kind of things from art and celebrity life to paranoia and robot dolls with a delightfully sharp and twisted edge. He has plenty of imagination and he dares to write insightful and thought-provoking stories.
Allen Ashley fluently weaves together elements of science fiction, fantasy and horror and blends them with harsh realism to create a compelling, realistic and unsettling portrait of humanity and life. He doesn't settle for anything less than perfect when it comes to writing compelling stories and creating believable and realistic characters. His stories are splendidly spiced with bittersweetness and bleakness, and there are many nuances in them.
This collection contains the following stories:
- Beholders
- Black Forest Manoeuvres
- Canoe Boy
- Play the Pipes of Pan
- The Pamela Faction
- D-Leb
- Waving Not Drowning
- Flat Top
- Stoners
- Turbulent Times
- Petrified
- The Accidentalists
- The Spaces in Our Lives
- The Slot
- Murdoch Celeste
- Nine Views of the Light of the World
- The Short and the Long of It
- Slow Planes
- War Haven
- Shirts
- Future Cities
- Today We Were Astronauts
Each of these stories is fresh and exciting. I can recommend all of them to speculative fiction readers, because there are no weak stories among them.
These stories are set in modern and urban landscapes. There's a bit of wicked playfulness and a fascinatingly apocalyptical atmosphere in them that I haven't been able to sense in many other modern short story collections.
Allen Ashley's vision of British society and modern world is unparalleled in its exposition of humanity, its oddities, its eccentricities and its various joys, problems and dysfunctions. He makes you question certain things and truths about humanity and life by writing about what has happened to the characters and how they deal with the happenings.
The author has a thrilling way of adding absurdism, humour and satirical elements to his stories. No matter what the contents of his stories are, you can find clever and witty elements in them that push the limits of normality into interesting directions. These stories are also infused with fascinating elements of realism, urban decay, grotesqueness, lust and violence.
Here's a bit more information about the stories and my thoughts about them. I'll try not to write too many spoilers about the contents of the stories in these short descriptions and comments.
Beholders:
- An excellent story a man and his wife who observe life in a slightly different way in a society where ugliness and grotesqueness have become increasingly dominant.
- The author writes well about what the man and his wife feel about Baby Hayley who is a disfigured infant fighting for her life.
- This is a disturbingly brilliant glimpse into British society.
Black Forest Manoeuvres:
- An intiguing and memorable story about the combined forces of the civil, the military and the church of The One True Jesus who are searching for a witch in the forest.
- The author writes fluently about the characters and religion.
Canoe Boy:
- A well written story about a cuckolded man and water rationing in a near future city.
- There's an intriguing sense of loss in this story that will enthrall many readers.
Play the Pipes of Pan:
- This is a fairy tale like no other about the Fairy Tale Land and Jack who tries to save his girlfriend from prostitution. I honestly don't remember reading another fairy tale like this one ever before, because the author has added plenty of lustfulness and weirdness to the story.
- This is one of the most impressive and original stories in this collection.
The Pamela Faction:
- An amazing story about Stevie, laser guided miniature female army and a consumer catalogue.
- This is one of the best stories I've read this year, because it's something different.
D-Leb:
- This is an intriguing and darkly amusing story about celebrities who begin to vanish inexplicably.
- I think that this story can be seen as a kind of a dark satire about celebrities and fame.
Waving Not Drowning:
- An interesting story about a man who has an electronic tag around his leg.
- The author writes well about the protagonist's experiences and life.
Flat Top:
- A well written story about neighbours, residential life and paranoia.
- This is one of the best stories I've ever read about residential life, because the author writes perfectly about the happenings.
Stoners:
- An interesting glimpse into music and club life. In my opinion, the author writes surprisingly well about music in this story (it was nice to see Kate Bush briefly mentioned in this story, because her kind of singers are seldom mentioned in speculative fiction stories).
- This story has intriguing tribal elements (and also elements of enlightenment) that will thrill readers.
Turbulent Times:
- A story about a man who's involved in filming Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge".
- A well written and fascinating story.
Petrified:
- An excellent story about relationships in a society where certain things are different.
- The author writes fluently about relationships.
- There was something in this story that reminded me a bit of the stories written by Brendan Connell.
The Accidentalists:
- A story about Jim and people who trick others by accidents and rob them.
- This is a short, but excellent story that reveals quite a lot about our the state of our modern world.
The Spaces in Our Lives:
- A fascinating story about natural disasters, life and relationships.
- It's amazing how well the author has managed to combine different elements in this story, because together all of the elements form a good story.
The Slot:
- An interesting and well written story about a man who is inrigued by a place called The Slot and tries to get back to somewhere where he was in the past.
- This is one of my favourite stories in this collection.
- This story has been inspired by an idea by D. F. Lewis.
Murdoch Celeste:
- This is a darkly humorous story about Trevor and a man called Murdoch who turns out to be a nuisance.
- This is one of my favourite stories in this collection.
Nine Views of the Light of the World:
- This story is a fantastic and memorable examination of art, religion and science.
- I have to mention that it's been a while since I've read anything like this.
The Short and the Long of It:
- This is a slightly different kind of a story about a possible alien invasion.
- If you enjoy reading about alien invasions etc, this story is a "must read" story for you, because it's something different.
Slow Planes:
- In this story, air travel has changed quite a lot and become slower.
- An excellent story that will be of interest to many readers.
War Haven:
- A fascinating and beautifully written story about a soldier and a place that offers sanctuary from the war.
- In this story, the author fluently combines elements of fantasy and realism, and writes well about war.
- This story reminded me a bit of Alexander Zelenyj's war stories.
Shirts:
- A well written story about people who have become Shirts and cause problems to others.
- This is a story that will stick to the reader's mind.
Future Cities:
- A well written story about an invention called futurescope that shows a technological future.
- This is an amazing and beautifully written story that will impress many readers.
Today We Were Astronauts:
- In this story, survivors of a plague - a man and his son - find refuge in a lighthouse.
- An excellent and beautifully written story.
Here's more information about some of the stories:
"Beholders" is one of the most intriguing stories ever written about beauty and ugliness. The author approaches the concept of beauty and ugliness by writing about the Baby Hayley and how doctors don't expect her to last for much longer (people respond to this by wearing masks of the disfigured baby).
"Black Forest Manoeuvres" is definitely one of the best speculative fiction stories I've read during the recent years, because the author describes how different kind of people are searching for a witch with two children who were caught by her, but survived. This story is almost like a weird grown-up version of Hansel and Gretel. It was interesting for me to read about what the protagonist felt about Alice, the social worker, and how the people worked together.
"Stoners" is one of the author's strongest and most memorable stories. It's an excellent story, because it immediately grabs hold of the reader and won't let go until the reader has reached the end. I highly recommend it to all readers who want to read something different.
"The Spaces in Our Lives" is one of my favourite stories in this collection. I consider it to be a beautifully written and memorable piece of speculative fiction, because the author fluently writes about natural disasters, life and relationships and avoids mediocrity that seems to be the plague of this kind of stories.
"War Haven" deserves a special mention, because it's an excellent story about a soldier, war and a place that offers sanctuary from war's carnage and mayhem. This story features excellent characterisation, beautiful prose and a dream-like atmosphere. When I read this story, I was reminded of Alexander Zelenyj's war stories, because there was something in this story that reminded me of them.
"Future Cities" is an excellent and beautifully written story about a man whose grandfather has invented a futurescope that can be used to see the future. This story has a perfect bittersweet ending. In my opinion, this amazing story alone is reason enough to read this collection. (To be honest, I consider "Future Cities" to be the best story in this collection.)
Allen Ashley has a distinct writing style that separates him from other speculative fiction authors. His prose is good and striking in its freshness. He creates realistic, absurd, disturbing and satirical visions about modern way of life in a memorable way by concentrating on the characters and the happenings. In my opinion, he writes about many things in a fresh and exciting way.
Allen Ashley also writes good and realistic dialogue. When the characters discuss things, everything feels real and believable. This is one of the things that makes the author's stories excellent.
There are a few recurring themes in these stories. Allen Ashley writes about male protagonists who have different kind of problems with work and relationships. His protagonists try to cope and survive when faced with different catastrophes and crises that change, shatter and threaten their lives.
Once and Future Cities may not be to everyone's liking, but this kind of well written quality collections seldom are to everyone's liking. I think it's great that there are authors like Allen Ashley who dare to intrigue and shock readers with brilliantly original and intelligent stories that differ from normal stories, because too many speculative fiction authors settle for less when writing stories and are clearly afraid of making readers think about what's going on.
It's nice that Allen Ashley doesn't try to please his readers, but boldly writes about difficult themes and issues without hesitation. He assumes that his readers are intelligent and can think for themselves, because he doesn't explain everything. I think that the more you are aware of the world and people around you, the more you'll get out of this collection and the more you'll enjoy it.
Once and Future Cities is a collection that sticks to the reader's mind. You'll be thinking about its contents long after you've finished reading it. It's a rewarding reading experience that keeps on mesmerising you for a long time after the final page has been read. Sharp observations, beautiful prose and original ideas make this collection an excellent read.
Highly recommended!
November 29, 2009
Allen Ashley is a stalwart of the independent press and this, his third collection of short stories, is a hefty tomb of 475 pages which adds much to his ouevre.
Principle Ashley themes are the thirty-year-old male with relationship/job difficulties coping with global catastrophes on a minor scale and/or slightly off-kilter alternate realities, again, with a life-crisis male usually commenting obliquely even as he is drawn into the fray. There are 22 stories in this collection, and reading them in one go some of the themes tend to blur; however even a weak Ashley story is packed full of conversational ideas, and there are more than enough strong stories to make this collection worth reading.
Some strengths:
"Canoe Boy", set against a waterlogged London a cuckolded narrator comes to terms with his relationship;
"Flat Top", paranoia descends on the owner of a ground floor flat;
"Stoners", a sprawling music-themed story where enlightment is so hard to find;
"Nine Views of the Light of the World", what exactly is art, what is relevant?;
"The Long and Short of It", has there been an alien invasion? What do they really want?;
"Slow Planes", short of fuel, planes keep circling;
"Future Cities" - best story here. Left his Granddad's invention of a futurescope, the main character sees a brilliant technological future - but how long will it last?
Bursting with ideas, easy to read. What more do you want?
Principle Ashley themes are the thirty-year-old male with relationship/job difficulties coping with global catastrophes on a minor scale and/or slightly off-kilter alternate realities, again, with a life-crisis male usually commenting obliquely even as he is drawn into the fray. There are 22 stories in this collection, and reading them in one go some of the themes tend to blur; however even a weak Ashley story is packed full of conversational ideas, and there are more than enough strong stories to make this collection worth reading.
Some strengths:
"Canoe Boy", set against a waterlogged London a cuckolded narrator comes to terms with his relationship;
"Flat Top", paranoia descends on the owner of a ground floor flat;
"Stoners", a sprawling music-themed story where enlightment is so hard to find;
"Nine Views of the Light of the World", what exactly is art, what is relevant?;
"The Long and Short of It", has there been an alien invasion? What do they really want?;
"Slow Planes", short of fuel, planes keep circling;
"Future Cities" - best story here. Left his Granddad's invention of a futurescope, the main character sees a brilliant technological future - but how long will it last?
Bursting with ideas, easy to read. What more do you want?
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews