The Original Ziesing Edition
WHAT THE REVIEWERS SAID
Wayne Edwards, Lip Dink:
It is good to see a new collection of short stories from John Shirley. Seems like it
has been an awfully long time since the last one came out. Black Butterflies brings
together seventeen stories from the 1990ıs, mostly previously published work.
Many of these pieces are hard to find now, like the stories from Shock Rock and
Forbidden Acts. Others were always hard to find, like the ones from 21*C and
Sensitive Skin. And there are a couple of new stories seeing print for the first time
in Black Butterflies. Even without the resurrection of obscure material or original
appearances, I think most of us like to have stories of our favorite authors collected
in books. The periodic gathering together of the authorıs work from the far flung
reaches of the publishing world is a much celebrated ritual. Time to party.
Black Butterflies is separated into two sections. The first, "This World," contains stories without
supernatural elements. "That World" has the stories that are more fantasy oriented. In either case you
know you are in for hard-edged work by one of the most talented and renowned writers in the
business. I personally prefer the first section. The way Shirley conveys a threat in a situation that is
both outrageous and plausible is how nightmares are born. Now, donıt get me wrongthere arenıt any
slackers in the second half of the book. It is just that, for my taste, I think John Shirley is in top form
when he stays on this side of the curtain.
There arenıt really any surprises in Black Butterflies. We expect John Shirley to provide us with
graphic, suspense-filled, edge-of-your-seat reading and that is exactly what he does. Recommended.
(fly back)