K. J. Parker

After reading his last novellas, for me, “Mightier that the sword” is just another prove that K. J. Parker is the best novella writer currently publishing in the genre. Although this story is set in the same fantasy world as most of the rest of his short fiction, it can be enjoyed without having read any of his previous stories. In fact, it can be a perfect introduction to Parker’s work.
The Emperor’s nephew, the extremely likable protagonist and narrator, is sent out to find more about some mysterious pirates who appear out of nowhere and attack the Empire’s monasteries. We follow him from one monastery to the next, where he meets monks and abbesses while trying to solve what’s behind those attacks.
Witty, intelligent, funny, full of ironic remarks sometimes far deeper than what they may seem, this novella is a pleasure to read. Highly recommended.… (más)

“Five Stories High” is an anthology compiling five standalone novellas, linked by the fact that all of them are set in Irongrove Lodge, a quite heavily haunted house. When I first read about this book, I thought it looked really promising, as it was devoted exclusively to novellas (one of my favorite formats), the tittle was really clever, and it included stories by K. J. Parker and Robert Shearman, two writers I love.

The five stories are quite different, but they all fall more into the category of dark fiction/weird than pure horror. “Priest’s Hole”, just another in K.J. Parker’s recent series of brilliant novellas, was my favorite piece in the book. I also liked quite a lot “Maggots”, by Nina Allan, although I felt a bit let down by the ending; and “Skin Deep”, with a multiple point-of-view structure that works perfectly well. Although I felt not so enthusiastic about “Gnaw”, by Tade Thompson, this story was also worth reading. Unfortunately, the weird, comic and even surrealistic Shearman’s story, the strangest by far in the anthology, didn’t work for me at all.

“Five Stories High” was a varied and entertaining reading, and I’m pretty sure any dark fantasy lover will find something to his taste in it.… (más)