Beneath an Oil-Dark Sea: The Best of Caitlin R. Kiernan, Vol. 2

The 28 stories and one poem collected in Kiernan’s second “best-of” compilation (after Two Worlds and In Between), selected by the author as her best work written between 2004 and 2013, rise above other works of dark fantasy, distinguished by their creative range and the diversity of their treatments of fantastic themes. “Bradbury Weather,” set on Mars, examines the troubled relationship between a diplomat and her lover, who has been seduced by an ancient mystical cult. “The Ape’s Wife” explores a variety of alternate fates for Ann Darrow, the character played by Fay Wray in the movie King Kong. The short novel “Black Helicopters” evokes T.S. Eliot, and especially H.P. Lovecraft, in its depiction of a postapocalyptic wasteland teeming with cosmic horrors. Although these tales abound with nods to Lovecraft, Lewis Carroll, and other touchstones in literature and popular culture, Kiernan’s innovative approach to fantastic ideas shows a refreshingly original synthesis of her influences. Her best stories are also some of the best fantastic fiction of the past decade. Agent: Merrilee Heifetz, Writers House. (Dec.)