A pair of reviews for Patricia A. McKillip’s wonderful DREAMS OF DISTANT SHORES and one for her engaging previous collection WONDERS OF THE INVISIBLE WORLD.

Seregil of Rhiminee at RISINGSHADOW delves into the highly recommended book.

As many fantasy readers are aware of, Patricia A. McKillip is one of the best and most talented authors of lyrical fantasy fiction ever to grace the field of speculative fiction. Her beautifully written stories have the power to transport readers temporarily to another place where magic is real.

DREAMS OF DISTANT SHORES is a remarkable collection for fans of Patricia A. McKillip, because it’s everything that her fans have come to expect from her. It’s also a fantastic introduction to newcomers who have never read anything by her.

I’ve personally loved Patricia A. McKillip’s novels and stories ever since I first read The Riddle-Master of Hed. It convinced me of her writing skills, because she wrote fluent prose and the story was good. I consider her to be an excellent storyteller whose novels deserve to be read and praised, because they have depth, style and wit. I’m glad that I had an opportunity to read this wonderful collection, because it contains excellent stories.

<snip>

In my opinion, Patricia A. McKillip’s approach to modern high fantasy feels refreshing and invigorating, because she writes high fantasy in a modern way. It’s great that she doesn’t lose sight of the fact the roots of modern fantasy fiction lie in classic fantasy fiction. She seems to be aware of the fact that in order to write successful modern fantasy it’s important to combine modern and classic elements in a fresh way (she’s one of the few authors who fully succeed in this).

I love the way the author blurs the line between realism and fantasy, because she plunges her readers into the middle of fantastical happenings with ease and confidence. Her beautiful prose emphasises the captivatingly strange atmosphere of the stories and makes them a joy to read. In this collection, good prose meets sparkling imagination in a powerful way.

I found it charming that there was a bit Rhys Hughes-like atmosphere in some of the stories. Because I’ve always been fascinated by beautifully written and well-told quirky stories, the quirkiness of the stories appealed to me.

Patricia A. McKillip’s DREAMS OF DISTANT SHORES is a stunningly beautiful and magnificent short story collection filled with excellent high fantasy. It’s a perfect example of what lyrical fantasy authors are capable of achieving in modern fantasy fiction, because each of the stories is captivating and offers something new to readers. If you’re a fan of lyrical fantasy fiction and love well written modern high fantasy, you’re in for a delicious treat when you delve into the magical contents of this collection.

Highly recommended!

Patricia A. McKillip at Westercon 64 in the Fairmont San Jose Hotel on Saturday 2 July 2011 (Stephen Gold/Wikimedia Commons)

For FANTASY LITERATURE, Tadiana Jones praises the collection.

DREAMS OF DISTANT SHORES is a collection of seven shorter fantasy works ― five short stories and two novellas ― and a non-fictional essay by one of my favorite fantasy authors, Patricia McKillip. Several of these works are reprints of stories originally published elsewhere; “Mer,” “Edith and Henry Go Motoring” and “Alien” are the only ones original to this collection, but since I had never seen any of these stories elsewhere, they were all doorways to new and enchanting worlds for me. This collection, where faeries and other fantastical creatures and beings intersect with commonplace people, sometimes rudely intruding in our world and sometimes luring us into theirs, tends more toward urban fantasy than McKillip’s typical high fantasy work, but it’s not your typical werewolves and vampires type of urban fantasy.

<snip>

I originally thought DREAMS OF DISTANT SHORES would be a 4 star book for me, but I’ve found that most of these stories beg to be revisited, and my appreciation has grown with rereading. McKillip’s prose is both lovely and thought-provoking. Highly recommended to readers who enjoy fantastical short works.

BOOK SWOON reviews McKillip’s enchanting collection WONDERS OF THE INVISIBLE WORLD.

WONDERS OF THE INVISIBLE WORLD is an anthology of sixteen short stories by world fantasy award-winning author Patricia A. McKillip. This collection features a wonderful mix of her work with an introduction by Charles de Lint and a personal essay on what inspires McKillip. Readers will find her signature style as magic, the fey, and fairy tales meander across the pages. 

<snip>

WONDERS OF THE INVISIBLE WORLD touches on surprisingly deeper issues lying hidden among the jewel-like writing, filling readers with a thoughtful and engaging story, while enchanting us at the same time.

For more info on DREAMS OF DISTANT SHORES, visit the Tachyon page.

For more info on WONDERS OF THE INVISIBLE WORLD, visit the Tachyon page.

Covers by Thomas Canty