| Author: Anthology & W. H. Horner | |
| Rating: 8.5 | Reviewer: dragonwomant |
| Genre: Fantasy | |
| Pages: 239 | Orig Pub Date: 2004 |
| Binding: Paperback | Cover Illus.: Star E. Sutezzo |
I was worried when I got this one and realized that the front cover was a rendering of a very famous picture of Type O Negative's frontman Peter Steele. I didn't want to have to review *that* type of book, especially in a venue where my MOM might read it!
Cloaked in Shadow edited by W.H. Horner
At first, I was skeptical of this book. When I saw the cover, I immediately thought it was a well-done homage to a very famous picture of Type O Negative’s Peter Steele. The composition, aside from well-placed fantasy elements (such as pointed ears), between the cover illustration and said picture is practically identical. However, the inclusion of an introduction by Drew Hayes at the very least persuaded me to give the book a fair chance. Hayes is the creator of the comic book “Poison Elves” which ranks among my favorites, and I was sure he wouldn’t be part of a project that I would find completely unreadable. Thankfully, and much to my delight, I was right.
The book has at least one illustration for each story, which I liked. The artist Star E. Sutezzo does very nice uncluttered line drawings in pen and ink and has obviously read each story, because each picture fits very well with the plot. I always get annoyed when a publisher goes to all the trouble of putting illustrations in a book without actually bothering to get an artist who reads the material first. There are more than 25 illustrations in all and each is well done and reproduced nicely in the book. As an added bonus, prints are available, and there is an order form included in the back should one want to own any of them.
The theme of the anthology is Dark Elves. All of the writers represented chose to create characters doing something in the course of the plot that is evil, or at the very least in that dubious area of gray morality. There are 22 stories in all and there weren’t any real “clunkers” in the selection. There were stories I cared for less than others but that was more a matter of personal taste than any real technical errors or problems with the writing. It was not an anthology I would enjoy with a slice of pizza, nor any other form of food, as there were stories and illustrations that made for less than appropriate dinnertime entertainment.
The editor did a fine job with selection and the actual editing process. I am a very picky reader when it comes to grammar and spelling because I actually hear the words in my head in my own voice when I read, so when I get to misspelled words or grammatical errors they immediately disrupt my suspension of disbelief because they disrupt the flow of my reading. And, quite frankly, I don’t think a single one of the proper, albeit evil, elves would stand for being maligned so by their chosen storytellers. They are, to the story, elegant and proud creatures who give great thought to their dignity and appearance. It just wouldn’t do to have them in a poorly edited pulp book of inferior fiction.
The scope of the elves was fairly narrow. As indicated previously, the vast majority represented in this volume are the High Sidhe sort. They’re proud and elegant and nearly all driven by vanity and arrogance. There are some exceptions though.
Perhaps my favorite story in the anthology was “Juniper” by Elaine Cunningham. There were no wimpy, tree-hugging over-confident elves in her story. Instead, it was a fast paced work rooted in Italian folk-lore, peppered discreetly with the proper Italian words for the creatures and people she chose to depict. The author wisely chose to give her audience the benefit of the doubt and let readers discover the meanings of the Italian terms within the context of the story, rather than handing out definitions like cheap candy. She kept many of the traditional conditions of the original folklore, but wove her explanations into the plot very skillfully. She also had a different, far more sinister kind of elf, the sort that steals children to torment them with nightmares.
“A Thrice Told Tale” by A. Dorrance was an interesting take on the ballad of “Tam Lin” with a twist at the end worthy of any well-done thriller. The author crafted a story that gave every indication of being haunting, but wrapped in on itself to reveal an unexpected and very satisfying twist.
The story “Diminishing” by Erin MacKay was the first story in the anthology. It was a bit more predictable than the others, but it was still a well-crafted story. I did enjoy reading it but it wasn’t a thought provoking or surprising story.
All in all, if you don’t mind stories that lean fairly heavily towards deceit, despair, and depression, it is a good anthology. However, to paraphrase Drew Hayes, if you’re looking for Mr. Happy Elf sitting on a mushroom, you’d do much better to find yourself another book.
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