Prior to this book, I was familiar with the Author's work only from the Escape Pod / Podcastle / Pseudopod podcasts. Overall, I was very pleased with this collection. There were a couple of duds, but for the most part, the rest were solid and entertaining.

The Man in Grey - 5 Stars
The Dala Horse - 3
The Scarecrow’s Boy - 5
Passage of Earth - 5
3 A.M. in the Mesozoic Bar - 3
Of Finest Scarlet Was Her Gown - 2
The Woman Who Shook the World-Tree - 4
Goblin Lake - 4
From Babel’s Fall’n Glory We Fled . . . - 3
For I Have Lain Me Down on the Stone of Loneliness and I’ll Not Be Back Again - 4
Libertarian Russia - 4
Tawny Petticoats - 4
Steadfast Castle - 5
Pushkin the American - 3
An Empty House with Many Doors - 5
The She-Wolf’s Hidden Grin - 3
The House of Dreams - 4

Average: 3.88 Weighted: 3.70 Rounded up to 4 stars ( )

This man is a superlative author.

I'm deathly worried about spoiling anything about this short story collection because all I want to do is gush and gush about the transposition of ideas here, the character building there, the truly awesome amount of storytelling SKILLS that he seems to effortlessly embody. He lays out words with such clarity and beauty and beastly knowledge about the SF (and fantasy!) fields, that I'm frankly floored. He's consistently original, widely exploratory, and best of all, he is consummately entertaining.

I could gush on and on, but what I really, really want to do is discuss his stories. There's really a ton that I want to say, but spoiling anything at this point would do everyone a disservice, and that's precisely the opposite of what I want. I want to tell EVERYONE that Michael Swanwick has got to be one of the very best SF authors alive.

Granted, I only read a single one of his novels and I gushed over it, but I do remember reading a few years worth of Issac Asimov Magazines back in the eighties and early nineties and I remember his name as always writing the stories I most wanted to read in every issue.

It's the ideas. It's always the ideas first. Then it's the brilliance of the writing. Mind you, it's not flowery language or anything crass like that. It's all about telling wonderful stories that make you think and feel and go, "Ah!" and make you go, "Oh, that's awesome!"

So why did I ever lose track of this guy? Probably because I got into a novel kick shortly after and left all those gorgeous short stories behind. Hell if I know why. He's a better short story writer than practically any other author I've ever read, and they stick with you like neon signs or the smell of pancakes with syrup or the furry lining of your favorite winter coat as you step out into the harsh night.

Well I can tell you right now, I'm never turning my back on short stories again if this guy is still writing them. I didn't meet a single story I didn't absolutely love.

They were all a perfect marriage of classic stories and bleeding edge tech, from godlike continental AIs to the abolishment of time, clever discourse on libertarianism and zero-sum economics in a mirroring tale of humanity and alien bugs, fairy tales and one of the best futuristic con-games I've ever had the pleasure of consuming. :) There was even a literary love-story of an American Pushkin that surprised and delighted the hell out of me even as it baffled me, too. :)

Some of my absolute favorites, even though I loved them all, were:

The Dala Horse - Great worldbuilding, great fairy tale.
Passage of Earth - NICE and twisty invasion story.
The Woman Who Shook the World-Tree - I'm NOT spoiling this one, but trust me. It's COOL. :)
Tawny Pettycoats - I'm a sucker for con games.

I'm LOVING these, but don't get the idea that I didn't love the rest. Some were like having OZ step from behind the curtain, while others were a deeply emotional look at their last moments of life, as in "3 A.M. in the Mesozoic Bar", which was also funny at the same time as it was horrifying, or "Libertarian Russia" which captured the contradictory flavors of a true Russia despite a future depopulation, or the last story, "The House of Dreams", which was some of the most clever modern UF/Alternate Histories I've ever read that included magic and a literary gotcha. :)

I'm almost dancing in my seat as I write this. I want to get my hands on everything else he's ever written, now, and devour it all. :)

I can tell that he's a huge fan of the genre. He's doing all of this out of pure love. It's not like any author can survive on short stories in this day and age. He's writing awesome fiction because he's obviously driven to get this great stuff out. :) A calling, perhaps? An obsession? Great Love? Who cares! We are all the grand winners, here! :) :)

Great thanks goes to Netgalley for the opportunity of reading this great stuff! :) ( )

Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com

Not So Much, Said The Cat collects shorts stories by Michael Swanwick. And as collections go, there usually are better and worse stories also in this collection. I'm somewhat a troubled short stories reader, since I find it hard to feel invested in the characters that are only there for a short period of time. However, when done right, I do appreciate it a lot, which is why I keep giving short fiction a try.

I really enjoyed reading the collection, even as I don't think any particular stories will stay with me for a long time. It was my introduction to Michael Swanwick, and I might try some more.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ( )

I read this on a flight between Phoenix and Oklahoma City, but it was a struggle. I know the author is quite accomplished and well-respected in the sci-fi and fantasy publishing circles, but I didn't connect with him on this one. The first couple of stories held my attention, but the further I got, the more difficult it became to concentrate on the stories and what he was trying to get across. I haven't read anything else by this author, and I'm not sure I'll try anything else by him for quite a while. ( )

I don't read short stories because they are too short. My reading speed is high and my contemplation index (is there such a measure?) is low and short fiction that can be inhaled in a minute or two is too ephemeral to give much pleasure. But I knew when I asked for "Not So Much Said the Cat" by Michael Swanwick that it was likely to be something special. To slow the pace, I carried the book on an intercontinental journey that involved several breaks and several short sleeps. I tried to keep my reading to one story per break and it worked pretty well.

Mr. Stanwick, in the introduction to this collection, tells a bit of his writing history. He sounds obsessive, sometimes saying that he read all of this or all of that. He has honed his skills by mimicking the style of other writers. He has taught writing.

All of this practice has paid off handsomely. His stories and books have won or been nominated for the highest SF awards. This book is full of excellent, creative stories that a normal reader will probably enjoy without an intercontinental journey.

I received a review copy of "Not So Much, Said the Cat" by Michael Swanwick (Tachyon) through NetGalley.com. ( )