Dreams of Distant Shores (2016) by Patricia A. McKillip is a short story collection from Tachyon by one of my top favorite fantasy authors since I stumbled upon library copies of The Riddle-Master of Hed trilogy in middle school.
The collection includes four reprints and three new stories, plus an enlightening essay on writing high fantasy and an afterword by her friend Peter S. Beagle. “Something Rich and Strange,” which remixes Tam Lin with tales of mermaids and sirens, is the longest portion of the book, and the most representative of her lush, fantastical prose.
“Weird” opens the collection. It is very short. It is terrifying. The reader and characters are left not knowing what exactly is happening; “Edith and Henry Go Motoring” similarly juxtaposes mundane detail with unsettling, unexpected fantasy. “Mer” features a mermaid who just wants sleep but ends up having adventures along the way. “The Gorgon in the Cupboard,” is set among a circle of artists, and aside from the titular Gorgon’s…ghost? Spirit? has an almost mundane historical feel. “Which Witch” has a contemporary feel despite a witch and a crow familiar struggling to communicate, while “Alien” is science fiction, of the sort where the science fictional element is off-stage and deniable…if you’re the sort of person who wants to do that.
It’s a fabulous collection, and I’m really glad I held onto it to read at a later date. McKillip passed away in 2022, and since I generally kept up to date with her work, I only have one of her novels remaining to read, plus any short stories I previously missed. If you’re looking to try out her novels, here are a few of my favorites: The Riddle-Master of Hed trilogy; The Sorceress and the Cygnet (actually two novels); The Book of Atrix Wolfe; and The Bell at Sealey Head.
