On the Banks of the River of Heaven

by Richard Parks

On the Banks of the River of Heaven presents fourteen stories by Richard Parks, an -unrepentant storyteller, - according to Locus Magazine. In his third collection, you'll find stories about a ghoul with an identity crisis; a girl who can be anyone she wants except herself; a woman from heaven and a man very much from earth; gardening tips from hell; ten aspects of a goddess all searching for one wayward husband, and many other thrilling wonders. With his light touch and imaginative storytelling, Parks takes readers into the past as well as the future, to lands foreign as well as nearby, and from matters sublime to ones familiar (but never trivial or predictable). One of the most versatile fantasists of his generation, for Parks it is never style over the substance (or the other way around) -- it is always a seamless melding of both.

Genres: Short Stories, Fantasy

256 pages, Hardcover

First published November 16, 2010

About the author

I write mostly fantasy, both short stories and novels. My third short story collection, On the Banks of the River of Heaven was published in November, 2010. My second novella with PS Publishing, The Heavenly Fox, was released in early 2011. I've been a finalist for both the World Fantasy Award and the Mythopoeic Award for Adult Literature.





Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Peter Dyer]

I picked up this book from the Ontario Library Service home page and it turned out to be a good book

some of the stories are a little bizarre, but the author is a very good story teller with an interesting sense of humour.

I would recommend this book for something totally different to read.

[eric r. wilkerson]

Great book

Richard Parks is an author on par with Tom Robbins. Great writing with a wit not understood by all. Highly recommend.

[Elizabeth Rose]

A collection of short stories features a decent balance of different kinds of celestial beings, Parks' collection neither bores nor exhilarates. A small handful of gems, but an otherwise pass-up-able book.

[Kathleen]

Though the quote on the cover about Parks never being disappointing and the description on the jacket gave me high hopes, this book comes in as just okay. There were a lot of interesting concepts that Parks played with, but I found the plots just never broke out into something great. I was regularly frustrated with the endings and didn't really relate to any of the characters. Overall, I was relieved to finally finish the book and leave it behind.

[Rob Crouse]

Meaningful short stories, with many flashes of brilliance. Some of the stories left me feeling like I had just witnessed something profoundly important.