Just a quick stop by my book pile. If anyone is looking for a really exceptional fantasy read I recommend The Hallowed Hunt by Lois McMaster Bujold. If you like the idea of a love story between a wolf and a leopard it might just be for you. I discovered LMB earlier this year and can only say that if you haven’t read her you really should. She’s almost completely unknown here in the UK, which is our loss.
Leopards and Wolves
Published by Damien Walter
Writer and storyteller. Contributor to The Guardian, Independent, BBC, Wired, Buzzfeed and Aeon magazine. Special forces librarian (retired). Teaches the Rhetoric of Story to over 35,000 students worldwide. View more posts
Damien Walter 
Well, it just so happens that I am looking for a really exceptional fantasy read, Damien, to provide some contrast (in tone and style rather than quality) with my current reading (William Gibson’s Burning Chrome, since you asked, of which you presumably approve, though I have to say that, after four stories I remain undecided on the question of its quality, despite this being my second reading, the initial one being longer ago than I either can or care to remember).
With regard to the implausibly-monikered Ms Bujold, however, wouldn’t The Curse of Chalion, which you recently recommended to me (albeit under the influence of a heavy consumption of jelly beans which did not go unnoticed) be a better place to start, given that it is the first in the series of which The Hallowed Hunt is in fact the third instalment?
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That is probably true, however whilst the first two volumes are linked (Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls) the third is entirely stand alone, and would be perfectly readable first. I would still read Curse first if you have the opportunity.
I re-read ‘Hinterlands’ recently and have to admit it hadn’t aged well, or I hadn’t aged well in relation to it. Still a good story, but not the all powerful metaphor for existence I remembered.
For witty short story smith try Mike Resnick. A number of his stories are available in audio over at Escape Pod. http://www.escapepod.org
oh…and Kelly Link. I’ll lend you her collection if you remind me.
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By a bizarre quirk of fate, I read Hinterlands last night. It took me a long time, as have the other stories, though my poor reading discipline is in large measure responsible for this. I’m glad you’ve told me it’s a metaphor for existence (though if it’s saying that the nature of existence is perplexing and impenetrable, with lots of nasty icky stuff that may be encountered without warning, I needed little convincing). Unfortunately, however, I don’t really seem to ‘get’ Gibson, which is probably why I never got around to reading the follow-ups to Neuromancer. I can see he’s clever, and the writing’s skillful, but, um…what’s it about, dude?
I’ll try listening to one of the Resnick stories later, while I’m in the library (though my heart was sort of set on hearing more of Mari Boine; there’s nothing like a really haunting yoik to strengthen your resolve when faced with the iimpending extraction of a wisdom tooth).
I’ve heard of Kelly Link; she was one of the writers soundbited in the recent Lovecraft documentary on Radio 3, and I read a review of Magic For Beginners (is that what it’s called?)
The loan of the volume would be appreciated – does this count as a reminder?
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