Looking for Jake
China Mieville
Del Rey, Sep 2005, $14.95
ISBN: 0345476077

The award winning horror and fantasy novelist provides a powerful anthology that runs the gamut of speculative fiction. The collection consists of ten works previously published in the last few years in varying publications and five new tales. One story is a graphic short ("On the Way to the Front"), but that was not available for review. Another The Tain is more a short novella while the author breaks the wall as China Mieville is a key character in "Reports of Certain Events in London"; the title now feels eerie even unrelated to the latest horrifying terrorist ahole BS. Though most are set in London, fans who know Iron Council and Perdido Street Station will appreciate that "Jack" is set in that same realm of New Crobuzon. Each tale is well written, filled with suspense and grips the audience with a sense that nothing is quite the way it first seems, which turns out to be true. Though China Mieville imbues messages including an anti war theme in his submissions; that never slows or take away from the entertainment of a fine compilation.

Harriet Klausner