Horse of a Different Color: Stories

Waldrop (The Ugly Chickens) has long enjoyed a devoted readership, and this collection will help cement his place in the literary fantasy canon. His stories evoke many American nostalgia touchstones: vaudeville, early film stars, Alcatraz, the rural American South in summer. In %E2%80%9CFrogskin Cap,%E2%80%9D which takes place on Jack Vance%E2%80%99s Dying Earth, one man who loves truth and science takes charge of what may be humanity%E2%80%99s last great achievement. A fictitious Marx Brother relates the tale of master vaudevillians on an arcane quest in %E2%80%9CThe Horse of a Different Color (That You Rode in On).%E2%80%9D The HMS Pinafore and the Pirate King square off on the high seas in %E2%80%9CAvast, Abaft!%E2%80%9D. The title character of %E2%80%9CThe King of Where-I-Go%E2%80%9D wrestles with guilt for his sister%E2%80%99s childhood polio before becoming her time-travel test subject. The punchy stories are reminiscent of Ray Bradbury, with the same feeling of occasional humor and something unsettling beneath the familiar. (Nov.)