The Very Best of Kate Elliott
by Kate Elliott
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Pub Date Feb 10 2015 | Archive Date May 17 2015
Description
—Nerds in Babeland
“This is a great collection, a fun collection, an important collection, a highly recommended collection. The Very Best of Kate Elliott is the very best that genre fiction can offer.”
—Book Smugglers
Kickass heroines and riveting storytelling are the calling cards of groundbreaking fantasy author Kate Elliott (Crown of Stars, Crossroads, Court of Fives). Here her bold adventuresses, complex quests, noble sacrifices, and hard-won victories shine in classic, compact legends. In “The Memory of Peace,” a girl’s powerful emotions rouse the magic of a city devastated by war. Meeting in “The Queen’s Garden,” two princesses unite to protect their kingdom from the blind ambition of their corrupted father. While “Riding the Shore of the River of Death” a chieftain’s daughter finds an unlikely ally on her path to self-determination.
Advance Praise
[STAR] “Elliott’s delightful first collection contains
pieces set in the worlds of her major fantasy series—the Spiritwalker Trilogy,
the Crossroads Trilogy, the Crown of Stars series, and the Jaran novels—as well
as several standalone works and four essays about writing. No familiarity with
any of the novels is required to understand the stories set in those worlds,
but the existing settings lend depth, complexity, and intrigue to what might
otherwise be simple tales. “Riding the Shore of the River of Death,” a
bildungsroman about a young female horse-nomad who wants to be a warrior,
benefit greatly from the depth of setting, as does the slapstick comedy “To Be
a Man,” about a shape-shifting saber-toothed cat with an eye for the ladies.
But the standalones especially shine, and the political intrigue and subtle
humor that Elliott brings to the fascinating culture and government system of
“The Queen’s Garden” make it perhaps the finest work in the book. This
collection serves beautifully both as an introduction to Elliott and as a treat
for fans who want more of her marvels.”
—Publishers Weekly,
starred review
“The Very Best of Kate Elliott does an excellent job of
displaying Elliott's multi-faceted creativity, her huge talent for
inventing a variety of worlds without ever sacrificing the sparkling
little details in each one that make her writing so compelling.”
—Katherine Kerr, author of the Deverry Cycle
“Collecting stories set in worlds both familiar (including
the settings of the Spiritwalker books and her Jaran quartet) and
new, as well as non-fiction essays about writing, it makes an excellent
introduction to the work of one of epic fantasy’s most reliably fantastic
writers.”
—Barnes & Noble
“If you're a fan of Kate Elliott's fantasy novels, then you
know she knows how to tell an epic. But remarkably, Elliott is one of those
rare writers who is also able to distill that sense of an epic fantasy novel
into the short form. For fans of epic storytelling, this is a collection not to
be missed.”
—John Joseph Adams, series editor of Best American
Science Fiction & Fantasy and editor of Lightspeed Magazine
“Elliott (Cold Steel; Labyrinth of Stars) has built a career out of creating memorable worlds and populating them with strong, amazing women (and the men who love them). While the longer form gives her a bigger canvas, Elliott proves here she can make those same fantastic worlds and characters in short form.... Elliott excels at describing her brilliant worlds, employing a meticulous eye for the significant detail that illuminates a whole landscape.”
—Library Journal
"Intricate and enthralling. This really is the best of Kate Elliott."
—Seanan McGuire, author of Rosemary and Rue
“Kate Elliot fits more rich and complex writing into her
short pieces than many authors manage at novel length, tackling the social
fabric of SF&F with clarity and grace.”
—Tanya Huff, author of the Keeper’s Chronicles and The Enchantment Emporium
“Elliott is a writer of remarkable talent and sensitivity. .
. . This is, truly, a demonstration of the very best of Elliott’s abilities.”
—Fantasy Literature
“Overall then, this is an excellent collection of short stories; they serve to showcase Elliot as a real talent, and one whose work is deserving of both attention and praise.—Sci-Fi and Fantasy Reviews
“I highly recommend this book for people who
enjoy fantasy and science fiction, but also people who want to expand their
social consciousness. This is an excellent, enjoyable, thought-provoking book.”
—Snowflakes &
Spider Silk
“A fantastic collection. . . . Whether you are familiar with
Elliott’s writing or not, this collection comes highly recommended, as it is a
great introduction to her writing as well as a great retrospective.”
—Fantastical Librarian
“Elliott’s characters dominate the pages, and live on when
the stories are over. If this were the best of collection by an author who had
published five hundred short stories you wouldn't expect it to be any better.”
—Interzone
“This is a great collection, a fun collection, an important
collection, a highly recommended collection. The Very Best of Kate Elliott is the very best that genre
fiction can offer.”
—Book Smugglers
“Brilliant...a must-read for anyone who likes their women
badass and their fantasy epic.”
—There Are Inkspots On
My Page
“Fans of her novels should not hesitate to pick up The Very Best of Kate Elliott; readers
new to her work can find the themes and style of the author in evidence in this
collection....”
—SF Signal
“There is no better time than now to become acquainted with
Kate Elliott’s wonderful worlds and I look forward to enjoying the perspective,
voice, and talent she brings to epic fantasy for years to come.”
—A Dribble of Ink
“extraordinary richness...this collection swiftly outpaces
detailed discussion.”
—Locus
“[A] delicious collection.... A feminist titan in the
fantasy/science fiction industry, Elliott's writing is just like magic!”
—Sufficiently
Distracted
Marketing Plan
Promotion at major trade shows and conventions including BEA, ALA,
the World Science Fiction Convention and the World Fantasy Convention
Consumer and trade advertising including Locus and SciFi Magazine
Planned blog coverage to run on SF Signal, Tor.com, A Dribble of Ink, and Book Smugglers
Cross promotion with tour for Elliott's 2015 releases Court of Fives (Little, Brown Young Reader) and Black Wolves (Orbit)Planned book giveaways on Goodreads and Tor.com
Promotion
on authors's extensive social media (kateelliott.livejournal.com/,
kateelliott.com/, @KateElliottSFF, facebook.com/kate.elliott.904)
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781616961794 |
| PRICE | $15.95 (USD) |
Featured Reviews
Educator 55283
Strong characters and powerful issues are tackled in Elliott's intelligent short fiction.
Reviewer 124126
Bookended by essays, this collection of short stories shows Kate Elliott's incredible flexibility. The opening essay sets the expectations for the rest of the book: strong female characters, who are brave, intelligent, and not satisfied with the usual feminine role for their specific culture, but the framework for each character is unique. Unlike many female characters, they're not tied to a husband or father or brother, even though the relationship may exist; they're independent people in their own right, and don't need to wait to be liberated.
There are investigations into various forms of matriarchal power; women in war; women as warriors or healers; women as sisters; women with power, and women without.
I'd be hard-pressed to say which I enjoyed most, because of the incredible variety. Some were standalone, others set in more familiar universes (Crown of Stars, the Jaran, Spiritwalker), though I'll admit that I do love Rory's escapades and the light humor they inspire. A warning for those - like me - who loved the Jaran books: the Jaran stories are set in the Jaran universe, but don't return to our beloved Jaran characters.
I had read one of the essays before, when it was posted on Kate Elliott's blog, but The Omniscient Breast is always worth a reread. As she explains, "The problem lies in not being aware that the male gaze is a gaze."
Recommended to anyone who loves Kate Elliott's work, whether her fiction or the very thoughtful essays on world-building, characterization or the craft of writing.
Marsha O, Reviewer
What can I say that the title does not? This is the very best of Kate Elliott! Her work is fantastic, she it up there with the best in fantasy, sci-fi. And this book is a wonderful look at some of her best work.
I plan on buying a finished copy when this one is published. Wonderful collection.
Librarian 74224
I really loved this collection of short stories and essays. The only thing depressing about it is that I want more of some of these stories. I also liked that she included a few stories set in the worlds of her popular series, although, my favorite stories were stand alones. A fantastic collection, with a great cover. I don't order fantasy for my library, but I'll let that librarian know that thisbook was great.
Matthew S, Reviewer
A stunning and beautiful collection filled with mystery, magic, and incredible heroines. Kate Elliot has, in this collection, highlighted just how much wonderful work she has contributed to the fantasy world over the years. A must read for any fantasy fan with a beating heart!
Sherry M, Librarian
Kate Elliott is known for her novels—most of which are fairly lengthy—so I was curious when I saw she was publishing a collection of short stories. I’m not usually a fan of short fiction, but I am a fan of Kate Elliott. I had only read a few of her stories in the past, so I thought I would give her collection a try.
Elliott’s introduction establishes that she views her writing to some extent as a reaction to the fantasy she encountered as a young reader in the 1960s and 1970s, where men played the important roles in the plot and women were an afterthought. I don’t quite have the same perception of the genre, because although male authors still dominated by the time I started reading fantasy and science fiction in the 1980s, women like Mercedes Lackey, Robin McKinley and others were writing books that routinely featured strong female characters who played a leading role in the action. (McKinley’s The Hero and the Crown in particular really strikes me as an excellent response to the type of fantasy Elliott is referencing in her introduction.) And that trend continued with the growth of the number of women writing in the genre in the 1990s, including Elliott herself. So my view of fantasy has always been as a space where women can be heroes just as much as men.
The stories in Elliott’s collection generally do highlight strong female characters, although that’s not true of all of them. Most of the stories have appeared elsewhere, with only one of them original to the collection. Given that many of the stories are set in the same worlds as her novels, I think readers would have a richer understanding of them if they had read the novels first, although it’s not a requirement. As with any short story collection, though, some of the stories are more successful than others. Particularly good in my opinion are “The Queen’s Garden,” featuring a fantasy world with an Asian feel and a pair of princesses who cleverly assert their power for the good of their kingdom; “The Gates of Joriun,” which highlights how much strength it takes to be the woman who waits; “My Voice is My Sword,” a humorous story where a bad actor gets his Shakespearean comeuppance; and “To Be a Man,” which features a charming shapeshifting saber-toothed cat who first appeared as a character in Elliott’s Spiritwalker novels.
Overall, it’s a strong collection. I’d recommend it particularly for fans of Kate Elliott or for fantasy fans who are looking for some good short fiction to read.
An ARC was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Paula D, Reviewer
I enjoyed reading this anthology of Ms. Elliott's fiction and essays. Really excellent fantasy writing with entertaining characters, good plotting and nice world development.
Ms. Elliott takes a feminist perspective on the typical fantasy tropes which is quite refreshing and does make the reader think about gender roles in fantasy literature.
The introduction is so very well written and compelling that it would do well as a stand alone essay. Very impressive anthology of an important feminist fantasist.
Sheila R, Reviewer
I loved this collection of Kate Elliot's. some of the stories where a bit above my understanding. Others though where really good. especially the one short from the Spirit gate series. It showed me Maya and Angi..I still hope there is a cotinuation of this story. that whole situation made me cry! as for the others I liked would not mind seeing more like this.
Vicki L, Bookseller
I really enjoyed this book. It contains a wide variety of stories, I won’t lie not all of them were my cup of tea but enjoyed reading them all anyway.
A great book if you want a book that you can pick up and put down anytime. The short stories give you a feel of accomplishment.
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