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This
book from Fairwood Press
contains ten stories of science fiction and fantasy, two of them never
before published. The copy on the back of the cover describes
the collection:
"Louise
Marley’s short stories reflect her varied life experience, from a girlhood
on a Montana ranch to a career as a classical singer and teacher, to
her successes as a writer of science fiction and fantasy. Known primarily
as a novelist, Marley creates distinct worlds even in her short work.
In this volume, readers will travel from post-World War II Montana to
an nineteenth-century villa in Tuscany, to a space colony where women
rebel against the draft, and to a concert hall in a near-future Seattle.
Each story offers unforgettable characters, vivid settings, and something
to think about." |
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From
Chronicle/Critical Mass
Although
I've read several novels by Louise Marley and remember them fondly,
I don't think I had ever consciously noted any of her short fiction,
if I've read it at all prior to this book. There are ten stories
here, spanning a wide variety of settings and themes. The book
opens with the title story, a moody piece about the conflict between
the rights of the individual and the dictates of society. The
next is a lighter, and better story about the integration of female
players into professional baseball. The next two are relatively
minor, although I liked the western motif in one of them, sharing the
author's fond recollections of the work of Zane Grey. "Jamie
Says" is a thoughtful look at questions of gender that doesn't
descend into pedantry and is my favorite in the collection. The
balance of the book includes a light fantasy, a musical prodigy, a religious
novice with an unusual affliction, and a fictional meeting between two
musical legends. All of Marley's stories are centered on the characters
rather than physical events, but not at the expense of storytelling.
If she was more prolific at this length, she would almost certainly
be numbered among the most promising short story writers working in
the field.
—
Don D'Ammassa
From
Booklist
Marley's first collection covers a wide range of the fantastic with
a keen eye for human character and motivation. The title story, inspired
by the biblical fate of Absalom, concerns a group of women on a distant
planet who sacrifice themselves to save their children from being taken
away to war at younger and younger ages. "Starchild Wondersmith"
gives entirely new life to the situation of the kid trying to fit in
at a new school, for Starchild is a True Being; since he isn't getting
the expected TB powers, he chooses transfer to a normal school and discovers
hidden depths. The volume closer, "Deep River," tells of the
marvelous meeting between the greatest operatic voices of the nineteenth
and twentieth centuries, one of them a naturalized American originally
from Germany, the other a young black woman from Harlem. Marley's narrative
voice is strong, and her focus on characters and emotional depth pays
off in a set of satisfying, thought-provoking stories.
—
Regina Schroeder
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
From
PurplePens.com
Marley digs into the heart of her characters, managing to create living,
breathing people upon the page.
TOP
Review
of the title story in SF Signal
"p dolce" by Louise Marley [2007 short story]
- This
seemingly simple premise turns out be dramatic and engrossing with
Marley's tight storytelling. The meaning of Johannes
Brahms' "p dolce" is the center of the mystery and both
characters, the handsome Kristian and the plain Frederica, are desperate
to learn the secret. Frederica's months-long disappearance works in
her rival's favor and gives him the chance to learn the same secret
by witnessing firsthand the lives of Brahms and his paramour, Clara
Schumann. But what's more important: finding and retrieving the
consciousness of Frederica, whose body lay comatose in their future,
or learning the secret to the grand music mystery? Good stuff.
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