The best of the 1996-7 Ian St. James Award entries. Halfway through reading the first story I thought the ending would have to be pretty amazing to make up for the start. Alas the punchline was so heavily telegraphed that it almost came as a surprise. Some of the other pieces have well written paragraphs which don't add up to much. Then suddenly Tobias Hill and Julia Widdows get the show on the road. Bugler Hewitt's story is well written too - ridden with buts but that's in keeping with the character. And yet with "Small, Dangerous, Familiar" we're back to the over-long, standard fare. Michel Faber's piece is fine, as is Mick Wood's. And Stephanie Hale's is interesting. In all, a worthwhile selection - better than others in the series, with more tonal and structural variety. More than one piece switches between timelines, and there's a variety of viewpoints.
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