{"product_id":"the-rede-of-the-rook-jason-mills-9781547047895","title":"The Rede of the Rook: Fantasy Stories","description":"Here are stories that range far from our world, or cut disturbingly close to it: \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e* A boy and an old man try to outface destiny at the foot of a towering waterfall. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e* A princess betrothed must decide if she dare provoke the curse laid on her. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e* A hired sword confronts the secret king of a city swathed in darkness. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e* A youth in a world of marionettes explores the dangerous science of divinity. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e* A servant must carry the message that will bring his own death upon him. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThese tales and more will bear you on strange journeys to an unfamiliar home. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReader review of an early print (titled 'Grasping at Prose'): \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e[A] seriously great collection (...) And I was hoping it would at least be interesting but BLOODY HELL! \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e[This is tagged] under fantasy and\/or science fiction, and excepting one tale they mostly steer towards the former, or at least have the feel of the former, through a fairly timeless narrative style that could belong to either past, present or future - reminds me a little of Ursula Le Guin or even Daniel O'Mahoney's \u003cem\u003eNewtons Sleep\u003c\/em\u003e. There are infrequent touches of the magical (the arms race of curses in \u003cem\u003eThe Merchant and the Dancer\u003c\/em\u003e), the surreal (string puppets argue theology in \u003cem\u003eA Light, Inelastic String\u003c\/em\u003e), and the dreamlike (\u003cem\u003eThe House of Many Norths\u003c\/em\u003e which reminded me of the Mexican Nahua perception of the underworld as a physical place visited in sleep). The prose is incredibly and effortlessly rich (...) as befitting the parable-like quality of many of these stories - no cliche is committed, and just enough is held back to keep the reader busily fitting pieces together. My favourite authors tend to be those who expect their readers to do at least a little work, and Jason Mills gets the balance exactly right between fiction wherein everything is spelled out or alternately far too esoteric for its own good. Possibly the only exception to this is the lengthy \u003cem\u003eThe King Dwells in Darkness\u003c\/em\u003e - an intriguing drama of device men (androids I presume), bondguards, closeguards, and the Dark (an environment occurring beneath pitch coated canvas - I couldn't work out if it was some sort of virtual reality deal couched in pseudo-mediaeval terms). This one story (tellingly one of the oldest) I found a little too short on explanation for its own good, although it is the one story which almost screams for expansion into novella form. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA terrific collection which leaves one mystified as to why this guy doesn't have a much wider audience. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e(http: \/\/factionparadox.yuku.com\/sreply\/7370\/Crappy-70s-paperbacks-airbrushed-spaceships-cover-review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Jason Mills\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1547047895\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781547047895\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Createspace Independent Publishing Platform\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/31\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 138\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.43lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.30d","brand":"Jason Mills","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48459520016639,"sku":"9781547047895","price":8.24,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_21ee4d89-fd0e-4bab-b10f-3a30ba21875c.jpg?v=1777410192","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-rede-of-the-rook-jason-mills-9781547047895","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}