http://speculiction.blogspot.com/2014/03/review-of-jaguar-hunter-by-lucius.html ( )

Plunging into The Jaguar Hunter is like a first dive into the richness and mystery of the sea. The eleven stories carry one to another world as alien to most of us as is Neptune's realm, yet recognizable as ours in the same way that Atlantis be were we to happen across it chance. The stories carry one into the depths, to worlds of strangeness, sometimes fear, sometimes beauty, and turbulence, and upon exiting the book, having read to the end of the last tale, one will doubtless find oneself carried by the current to a different place, a different understanding of the world, than where one entered.

These stories, all by Lucius Shepard, are fantasy; a sort of fantasy at times akin to fantastic realism, in which the fantasy of the story leaves one wondering whether something apart from this world occurred, or merely something unusual in a poor soul's tormented mind. Yet in other stories, this spare fantasy is a launching point that carries you, without noticing, to another place which, though having a feeling of utter fidelity to our world, is clearly not the world we wake to.

Lucius Shepard is a master of this sort of fantasy, and uses it well. The stories are not light. The book is only 404 pages (hardcover edition), but it took me many weeks to make my way through it. Each tale is not merely a story, but a hearty meal that takes some time to digest. Though some might be able to read it quickly, I cannot possibly read this book one story after another. I was compelled to experience it one story at a time, thinking about each and trying to come to grips with the wealth of human experience and meaning captured in the pages.

The Jaguar Hunter is rumored to be Lucius Shepard's most popular book. It won the 1988 World Fantasy Award for Best Collection and tied for #15 in the Locus All-Time Best Collection survey. It is studded with award-winning and nominated stories:

R&R
1987 Nebula Award for Best Novella, winner
1987 Hugo Award for Best Novella, short list
#18 on Locus All-Time Best Novelettes

The Jaguar Hunter (story)
1986 Nebula Award for Best Novelette, short list
1986 World Fantasy Award for Best Short Story, short list
#51 on Locus All-Time Best Novelette

The Man Who Painted the Dragon Graiule:
1985 Nebula Award for Best Novella, short list
1985 Hugo Award for Best Novelette, short list
1985 World Fantasy Award for Best Novella, short list

A Traveler's Tale
1985 Nebula Award for Best Novella, short list

Salvador
1985 Nebula Award for Best Short Story, short list
1985 Hugo Award for Best Short Story, short list

Almost every story in the book is about Americans in other countries, whether tourists or expatriates. The author has lived in places like those he writes about, and his sensitive protrayal of the foreign cultures brings to each story its alien nature, a world that is ours, yet is not because we are not part of that culture. Each story is not about the other culture, it is about the Americans and their experiences in foreign lands, yet it is not the Americans who impact those cultures as much as those cultures impacting our compatriots, who might be us. In this, the author shows his heart and soul. The stories were written in the early 1980s, and a few of them bring close to home the popular adage of the time, 'Join the army, see the world, meet fascinating people, and kill them.' Viet Nam was past when the book came out, but the wars in Central America were in full swing, and the author takes us to the world that spawned them. In the war stories, the victims are at least as much the Americans as those they fight. If one were to read the stories in 1987, one would have a sense that one has experienced something of those wars, and has understood what they mean. This is 2008. Those wars are long past, but one asks one's self, is there a different experience than this in Iraq or Afghanistan? Doubtful, highly doubtful. The scenery is changed, but the story remains the same.

The book does seem to have a flavor of war about it, but the book is not about war.

*************
The Jaguar Hunter - an experienced traditional jaguar hunter is persuaded to hunt one last time to please his materialistic wife, and finds in his intended jungle victim far more than a fierce cat. A one-of-a-kind story.

The Night of White Bhairab - the gods of Nepal practice their ways of taking something they wish, but always leaving something in return. Eliot loses something he is better off without, but in return receives something he wishes he had not. A story vaguely reminescent of 'Pet Sematery' (S. King).

Salvador - on patrol in the jungle, you are with your comrades-in-arms. But there are places in the jungle where the person you have become loses track of who is friend, and who is foe.

How the Wind Spoke at Madaket - a cross between 'The Wind From Nowhere' (J.G. Ballard) and 'The Birds' (Alfred Hitchcock film) - when a wind is no random movement of air, but has force and a will of its own.

Black Coral - a community of uneducated Caribbean island folk steeped in superstition, and one American whose sophistication gives him a big leg up in society. Or does it?

R&R - on leave from jungle recon, taking in some R&R; all you need is to get away from the "hive" for a few days, and you can get back to normal. At least, if you can shake off the feeling that the guy you killed has left something of himself in you. My favorite story of the book, a monumentally creative and feeling tale and winner of a Nebula Award.

The End of Life As We Know It - When you travel in a foreign country, some part of it may change your life forever, whether it be their politics or their magic. And that may be exactly what your life needed.

A Traveler's Tale - Aliens from outer space. They landed - where?!? Surely those old stories of the Indians were fanciful myths. But if you believe they are the secret to bringing a return of the omniscient and all-powerful, maybe they lead to the truth. Are you honestly ready for that?

Mengele - The famous Dr. Mengele of the WWII concentration camps, performer of medical experiments on the inmates. What was the nature of his evil? Certainly there was an evil person! Perhaps he would have some interesting things to say if you were to meet him. Perhaps he could tell you about some of his latest experiments. The results of his most recent experiments - finally, success! Surely one may escape such evil; it doesn't even want you...

The Man Who Painted the Dragon Graiule - Your life's ambition. The pursuit of happiness. Slaying your dragon. What is your destination? Why?

A Spanish Lesson - Ah, youth, ignorant youth. Sometimes we learn as we age. What do we learn? What might we learn from acquaintance with clones born of Hitler and raised in his cruel, ageless citadel as playthings of his monstrous fantastic minions? One might be surprised at the relevance of that lesson to the life each of us lives every day.

*************

I note that a more recent edition of 2001 was updated to include additional stories.

After only the first few stories, I felt the book was perhaps too "serious" for my enjoyment. At the beginning of each story, I began to try to pick out who was going to come to a bad end. Perhaps that is a detraction from the book. But then I got to R&R, was blown away by its power, and I was reminded that stories of this sort have their own reward and then some. By the end of the book, I felt this was one of the most worthwhile reading experiences I have ever had or hope to have. The book's place on the Locus list of All-Time Best Collections bears witness to its quality. There may be a few people who would not like it, but if you appreciate meaningful reading, this book should be at the top of your list! ( )

Great stories. A key collection. ( )