The Ammonite Violin and Others
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\ Publishers WeeklyThe 20 short, dark tales in Kiernan's third fantastical erotica collection (after Tales from the Woeful Platypus) are marked by obsessive, often self-destructive behavior; haunting, generally prophetic dreams; and beautiful prose. In the title story, an aging serial killer invites a young violinist to his isolated home on the anniversary of his murder of her cellist sister. In "The Hole with a Girl in Its Heart," an unhappy man makes a deal with a young woman who possesses a freakish understanding of quantum mechanics. In "Bridle," an equally unhappy woman begins to have unnerving dreams about a kelpie trapped in a small pond near her home. In "Ode to Edvard Munch," a man relates his long-term love affair with an urban vampire. These very adult stories will prove deeply pleasing to aficionados of literate, sexually tinged fantasy fiction. (Aug.)\ \ \ \ \ Library JournalFrom a hauntingly gruesome tale of a secret cave near a New England Lighthouse ("Madonna Littoralis") to the bittersweet account of a woman born to minister to ghosts ("The Madam of the Narrow Houses"), these 20 stories, written between 2005 and 2007 and previously published in the subscription-only Sirinia Digest, reveal the author's remarkable storytelling talent and her ability to conjure nightmarishly beautiful visions. Strong language and explicitly sexual references give Kiernan's stories power and ground them in the visceral world but may limit the audience to mature adults. VERDICT The author's growing following will enjoy her latest story collection.\ \
