Hammer and Bone

Crow (Prisoner of the Raven) includes eight dark fantasy stories, ranging from unsatisfyingly short to longer and stronger, in this passable debut collection. The shorter pieces, such as the steampunk “Crank,” suffer severely from being told instead of shown. The titular postapocalyptic zombie tale crams information about its world into the space where the plot should be, and the priest-gone-bad story “No Gods and No Tomorrows” is almost entirely atmosphere. The best piece, “Knights of the Risen God,” pleasantly evokes pulp magazines in its cynically revealing depiction of two men whose government sends them to investigate a mysterious deity or monster in a city made of pearl. “Crowheart” and “Sundog” are also fairly effective tales about smalltown xenophobia, homophobia, magic, and vengeance. Unfortunately, bland prose and a lack of originality prevent even the best pieces from being more than a moment’s diversion. (Mar.)