And thats the whole point.
As it turns out, theyre absolutely right.
It should have been a disjointed mess fine stand-alone stories that didnt quite fit together as a coherent whole.
The standard of writing is exceptionally high, but dont fear the prospect of style over substance.
You wont find pages of prose so lofty and inaccessible that theres no room left for any real action.
And there are many different kinds of magic at work inStories.
It isnt perfect, of course.
No anthology is, or ever could be.
It is heartening to see that none of the contributors toStorieshas chosen to play it safe.
Some stories may work better than others, but none shows a lack of imagination or originality.
Storiesisnt a book to be read once and then forgotten.
It may be a single tale, or several.
We are not horror writers, it tells us.
We are not sci-fi writers or commercial fantasy writers or womens contemporary fiction writers.
We are the spinners of tales, and only the stories matter.
Storiesdeserves to be praised, preferably loudly and in public.
It is remarkable and inspiring and important and necessary and many other things besides.
But perhaps the best thing that can be said for it is that its a great read.
Thats the whole point, after all.
Rating:
5 out of 5
