MARION HILL

Wisdom From Kammbia Story Review 9: The Storyteller by Rafik Schami

by | Apr 7, 2022 | , , , , ,

"Good storytellers are like good wine---the older the better!" The aforementioned sentence came from the last paragraph of The Storyteller by Rafik Schami.  This short story was taken from his novel, Damascus Nights and reprinted in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror:...

Wisdom From Kammbia Story Review 8: Recitatif by Toni Morrison

by | Apr 3, 2022 | , , , , , , ,

Toni Morrison is one of those authors I have admired and respected but not loved her fiction. I have read Song of Solomon, Jazz, & Paradise of her work. Song of Solomon is my favorite but my feelings as a reader on a storytelling level have been lukewarm at best....

Wisdom From Kammbia Story Review 7: What People Leave Behind by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

by | Mar 31, 2022 | , , , , ,

My reading excursion into short stories continues with an excellent whodunit story set in a suburban Oregon town where a single mother who owns a housecleaning business of foreclosure homes ends up on the wrong end of a home explosion. What People Leave Behind by...

Wisdom From Kammbia Story Review 5: Galapago by Kali Fajardo-Anstine

by | Mar 9, 2022 | , , , , , ,

  I have stated recently that I'm reading more short stories as a part of my reading life. As much as I love reading novels, I'm appreciating the short story on its own terms. Last year, I read an excellent short story collection, Sabrina & Corina by Kali...

Wisdom From Kammbia Story Review 4: L’Alchimista by N.K. Jemisin

by | Mar 5, 2022 | , , , , , ,

I have read a lot more short stories in the past year.  I have always considered short stories the stepchildren of contemporary fiction.  Novels are the alpha and omega for most contemporary fiction (literary & genre) readers.  Novellas (short novels between...

Wisdom From Kammbia Story Review 3: Speech Sounds by Octavia E. Butler

by | May 23, 2021 | , , , , , ,

What if you lived in a society where speaking is a threat to the social order? Octavia Butler speculated on the aforementioned question in her Hugo Award-winning short story, Speech Sounds. I came across this story when it was discussed on the Novel Pairing Podcast....

Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 69: Silver Surfer #1 (1968) by Stan Lee & John Buscema

by | Dec 25, 2020 | , , , ,

As a teenager, I had a huge comic book collection.  It was mostly Marvel and DC Comics with a few independent comic book publishers like Image, Dark Horse, and Valiant Comics. I read Avengers, Green Lantern Mosaic, Green Arrow, The Spectre, Sandman, and Icon (from...

Wisdom From Kammbia Story Review 2: Timeskip by Charles de Lint

by | Sep 1, 2019 | , , , , , ,

  Charles de Lint is one of the few authors I have read for over twenty-five years. His novels and stories set in the fictional city of Newford have been delightful to read for a long time. Timeskip is one of de Lint's best and well-known stories about a ghost...

Marion Hill