The Arbitrary Placement Of Walls
Once upon a time in an online space called The Well Neil Gaiman stopped by to talk about his new book called American Gods.
That chat kept on going and kept on going and a community formed around it. The people were ferociously bright, genuinely engaged, and enthusiastic readers. It was one of my favourite internet experiences of all time.
If I remember correctly Martha Soukup was a moderator (or whatever The Well called such people) and a participant in that space. As members of this community found her collection of stories they came back and reviewed it in glowing terms.
Of course it was released on a small press in the US only and was nearly impossible to find in the UK. For years I searched for a copy and then eventually I found it in the amazing Borderland Books in San Francisco (a must visit for fans SF&F books!).
After such a build up it could only disappoint right?
Except it turns out that this collection is amazing. Beautifully written and teeming with ideas it is one of the best short story collections I’ve ever read.
Wholeheartedly recommended – if you can find a copy.