The Resurrection Man's Legacy: And Other Stories

by Dale Bailey, Barry N. Malzberg (Foreword)

"Dale Bailey’s literary fantasies have delighted readers for the past decade, and this collection brings together the best of his work. The title story, “The Resurrection Man’s Legacy,” has been optioned for a movie. In it, a young orphan must live with an elderly aunt who proves unable to supply all that the boy requires and purchases a robotic, surrogate father for him. In “The Anencephalic Fields,” another coming-of-age story, a boy is isolated with his mother on a farm where humanlike plants are grown. “Sheep’s Clothing” is a near-future science fiction tale of an assassin planning to kill a politician by assuming control of his daughter’s body and using it to commit the murder. The ending novella, “In Green’s Dominion,” is the story of a spinster professor reflecting on her life as it nears its conclusion, settling her affairs and remembering the magic moments in her life. Other stories blend fantasy with reality, with the dead arising to vote, the painful burial of a firstborn child, a lost southern town where slavery still rears its ugly head, and other horrific, thought-provoking, terrible, and wonderful tales of life."

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fantasy

290 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2003

About the author

Dale was born in West Virginia in 1968, and grew up in a town called Princeton, just north of the Virginia line. His stories have appeared in lots of places—The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Asimov’s Science Fiction, Amazing Stories, Sci-Fiction, Lightspeed Magazine, and various anthologies. Several of them have been nominated for awards, and “Death and Suffrage,” later filmed as part of Showtime’s television anthology series Masters of Horror, won the International Horror Guild Award.

In 2003, Golden Gryphon Press collected his stories as The Resurrection Man’s Legacy and Other Stories. Two novels, The Fallen and House of Bones, came out from Signet books around the same time. A third novel—Sleeping Policemen, written with with his friend Jack Slay, Jr.—came out in 2006. He has also written a study of haunted-house fiction called American Nightmares.

He lives in North Carolina with his wife and daughter.

Reviews

[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Resurrection Man’s Legacy is a stunner. Dale Bailey has the style and descriptive power of Ray Bradbury married to a sense of storytelling truth that’s breathtaking. Bailey’s stories are Bradbury for grown-ups -- lyrical and graceful with an inexorable punch of reality.

[Davis Ashura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure: I know Dale personally as a good friend.

I first started reading Dale's work when I moved to the same town in NC. His books are unique and horrifying, but it's really in the short fiction field where he shines.
He has an eloquence and a way of structuring his sentences that beg for an instant re-read. I often try and decipher how he managed to put his paragraphs together simply because it's so elegant. I don't mean to imply that his writing is spare. Far from it. I actually think his writing is actually lush at times and descriptive always. It is simply because of his skill that Dale's words never seem like padding; everything is where it is because of necessity. Nothing is waster, and I think that's the greatest testament to his writing.
And I haven't even touched on his characters who have a depth and resonance to them, achieved in a paragraph whereas other authors might need a chapter.
Now, as for Resurrection Man's Legacy, you'd have to read it to understand what I mean. For me, every story within shined. I have no favorites. Or take a look at Dale's free short story on Tor at http://www.tor.com/stories/2013/09/a-.... I dare you to read the first paragraph and not want to read the rest.

[Janelle Vogele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Regret

I chose this book because I was looking for something light to read between novels and I like short story collections. I was very surprised to find something much better than I had anticipated. Much, much better. I was pulled in by the voice of the writer and the lyricism of many of the stories,even when the subject and language were not lyrical at all. I felt like I was discovering small treasures when I could see other writers and poets coming through in some of these stories.

I liked the variety of the stories, but also the theme of the father that wound through most of them. I didn't really have a favorite, but In Green's Dominion made me feel a strange regret and longing. It was also a perfect piece to end the book.

I would recommend this collection to those who love English literature, fantasy that does not involve elves and wizards, and readers who like stories with a moral imperative that does not rant stridently in your ear. This is a book for romantic scientists and dreamers with a streak of pragmatism.

I like you, Dale Bailey.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book but at best it was mediocre. The first story The Resurrection Man's Legacy was a great read. During and after reading it I thought it had the feel of both Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov. Later on I read that it was actually inspired somewhat by both authors. Expecting to have some more great stories in the same vein I was extremely disappointed. Instead the next story was a poorly thought out anti-gun story and then some collections of mediocre to just bad fiction. There were one or two more stories I enjoyed but overall not a very good collection.

I gave it three stars just because the first story was so good.

[Carolyn Fitzpatrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully creepy stories, mostly dealing with the undead.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why isn't this guy at least somewhat famous?

[D. Rae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engrossing. I couldn't put each story down until I had finished it.

[Gary Broyhill · Rating 5 out of 5]

www.dalebailey.com

[Strega · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderfully thought-provoking short stories