Published in 2023
233 pages
Lisa Tuttle taught a science fiction course at the City Lit College, part of London University, and has tutored on the Arvon courses. She was residential tutor at the Clarion West SF writing workshop in Seattle, USA. She has published six novels and two short story collections. Many of her books have been translated into French and German editions.
What is this book about?
In a career spanning almost 50 years, Lisa Tuttle has proven herself a master of the weird tale, and now this new collection of twelve unsettling stories – some never previously collected – offers readers a chance to discover some of her finest work.
In ‘Replacements’, a woman adopts a monstrous pet, with unforeseen consequences. In ‘Born Dead’, a stillborn child mysteriously continues to grow just like a living one. ‘My Pathology’ (whose ending Thomas Tessier has cited as one of the best in the history of horror) explores the sinister results of a couple’s alchemical experiments. And a book lover in ‘The Book That Finds You’ has her life changed in strange ways by the discovery of a rare horror book at a second-hand bookshop. In these weird and chilling tales, Tuttle is at her diabolical best.
This edition features an introduction by Lisa Kröger, and each story is specially introduced by the author.
“The tales are intense and character-driven, exploring women’s lives and realities, and the inherent terror therein. Filled with complicated, fully realized women — not just ‘final girls’ — Tuttle’s captivating protagonists narrate dark, unsettling stories with a direct tone, immediately drawing readers into their weird worlds, immersing them in the dread until the inevitable, emphatic last line that leaves readers gasping, yet eager to dive back in to the next story and experience it all over again. These dark emotions gloriously build throughout the collection, never disappointing.” – Booklist (starred review)
