Recommended by Kirkus, BookLife, and others and labeled a 'must-read story collection', reviewers have called Allen's writing 'beautifully crafted', 'gorgeous', 'memorable', 'thoughtful' and 'haunting'.
Hailed as a successor to James Tiptree, B. Morris Allen selects his 16 most moving and heartfelt stories. Drawing on sources as distinct as poet Walt Whitman, the Soviet space program, and red-dirt musician Jimmy Le Fave, these lyrical, poignant stories take the reader on a tour of space, dragons, and deep emotion.
With stories from F&SF, Aurealis, Capricious, Cast of Wonders, and other magazines, this provocative and subtle collection will challenge your view of humanity with intelligent dialogue, quirky settings, and difficult decisions. Some stories will warm your heart, some will break it.
Stories
Chambers of the Heart - when someone else's heart is your homeBuilding on Sand - how to choose between childrenBlush - when everyone else wears a mask, what's it like to bare your face?Minstrel Boy Howling at the Moon - magic, music, and ... buffalo?Fetch - she may be a simulation, but out on the edge, she's one man's best friendThe Humblebract Expedition - an uplifting story of a play date for a dying childWhen Dooryards First in the Lilac Bloomed - a doorway to opportunity and change, if only they can understand itSome Sun and Delilah - a sunny island, an abandoned temple, and thouCrying in the Salt House - the house is built from tears, or so they sayFull of Stars - jar half empty, jar half fullMemory and Faded Ink - the aliens are perfectly human ... and just as flawedFountainhead - arranged pairings never work, especially with different speciesAdaptations to Coastal Erosion - what to do when your love literally falls awayOutburst - Earth is dead, and the rest is up to a handful of teens in a broken orbitalThe Irrigation Ditch - they came to hide, but didn't realize it was from each otherDragons I Have Slain - take hope where you find it
Cover art by Bonnie Leeman.
