The Ape's Wife and Other Stories

Caitlín R. Kiernan has been described as one of “the most original and audacious weird writers of her generation” (Jeff and Ann VanderMeer, The Weird), “one of our essential writers of dark fiction” (New York Times), and S. T. Joshi has proclaimed, “hers is now the voice of weird fiction.” In The Ape's Wife and Other Stories—Kiernan’s twelfth collection of short fiction since 2001—she displays the impressive range that characterizes her work. With her usual disregard for genre boundaries, she masterfully navigates the territories that have traditionally been labeled dark fantasy, sword and sorcery, science fiction, steampunk, and neo-noir. From the subtle horror of “One Tree Hill (The World as Cataclysm)” and “Tall Bodies” to a demon-haunted, alternate reality Manhattan, from Mars to a near-future Philadelphia, and from ghoulish urban legends of New England to a feminist-queer retelling of Beowulf, these thirteen stories keep reader always on their toes, ever uncertain of the next twist or turn.

From Publishers Weekly

In these 13 previously published stories, Kiernan (The Drowning Girl) deftly deconstructs boundaries: between genres, between worlds, between mundane and entirely alien existences. Well-known tales are reshaped in Kiernan&'s distinct style—Beowulf in The Sea Troll&'s Daughter, King Kong in The Ape&'s Wife—while characters as familiar as an artist struggling with a painting, in Random Thoughts Before a Fatal Crash, or a science writer researching an article, in One Tree Hill (The World as Cataclysm), are plucked from the ordinary and set down in the uncanny. Standout expeditions include Galápagos, featuring a woman trying to record and come to terms with what she saw on an interplanetary journey; As Red as Red, an unsettling Rhode Island interlude; and the title story, in which Ann Darrow is lost in All-At-Once time and the possible lives she might have led. These pieces are diverse, but isolation is a thread woven through almost all of them: What might we sense or experience when we are entirely, completely alone? What truths might we admit? Those interested in exploring those questions, or in transcending genre and other boundaries, will enjoy this collection. (Nov.)

From the Inside Flap

Caitlín R. Kiernan has been described as one of the most original and audacious weird writers of her generation (Jeff and Ann VanderMeer, The Weird), one of our essential writers of dark fiction (New York Times), and S. T. Joshi has proclaimed, hers is now the voice of weird fiction. In The Ape's Wife and Other Stories Kiernan's twelfth collection of short fiction since 2001 she displays the impressive range that characterizes her work. With her usual disregard for genre boundaries, she masterfully navigates the territories that have traditionally been labeled dark fantasy, sword and sorcery, science fiction, steampunk, and neo-noir. From the subtle horror of One Tree Hill (The World as Cataclysm) and Tall Bodies to a demon-haunted, alternate reality Manhattan, from Mars to a near-future Philadelphia, and from ghoulish urban legends of New England to a feminist-queer retelling of Beowulf, these thirteen stories keep reader always on their toes, ever uncertain of the next twist or turn.

About the Author

Robert Fass is a veteran actor and twice winner of the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. He has earned mulltiple Earphones Awards, including one for his narration of Francisco Goldman's Say Her Name, which was named one of AudioFile magazine's Best Audiobooks of 2011. He has given voice to modern and classic fiction writers alike, including Ray Bradbury, Joyce Carol Oates, Isaac Asimov, Jeffrey Deaver, and John Steinbeck, as well as to nonfiction works in history, memoir, health, journalism, and business.Suzanne Toren has performed on Broadway, in regional theaters, and on television. She has also recorded over nine hundred audiobooks, earning more than two dozen Earphones Awards from AudioFile magazine.Caitlín R. Kiernan was born near Dublin, Ireland, but has spent most of her life in the southeastern United States. In 1992, she began writing her first novel, The Five of Cups (it remained unpublished until 2003). Her first published novel, Silk (1998), earned her two awards and praise from critics and such luminaries as Neil Gaiman, Clive Barker, Peter Straub, and Poppy Z. Brite. Her next novel, Threshold (2001), was also an award-winner. She is a prolific short fiction author, and her award-winning short stories have been collected in numerous volumes. Her short science fiction novel The Dry Salvages was published in 2004.Lisa Flanagan is an award-winning audiobook narrator, voice actor, director, improviser, and classical soprano based in New York City. Her voice-over work includes animation, video games, and commercials. Lisa has received multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards and Voice Arts Awards, including Best Audiobook Narration, Children's for Disney-Pixar's WALL-E.Bronson Pinchot is an Earphones and Audie Award-winning narrator and Audible's Narrator of the Year for 2010.

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