Book 99: Shimmer

Shimmer: The Clockwork Jungle Book, by various authors

This isn’t really a book, but instead a fiction magazine. I won an issue, “The Clockwork Jungle Book,” and it’s a collection of steampunk fairy tales. There are plenty of monkeys, birds, dogs, elephants, and even a crazy train or two.

Normally I don’t care for short stories, but I was blown away by this collection. There were no weak stories, and I thoroughly enjoyed every single story – something that’s never happened for me with an anthology. I kept wishing that I could share each story with friends, and raved about it to a few people.

One favorite story was by Lou Anders, and featured the above mentioned crazy train. In the story, inventors have figured out a way to put a person’s life essence to work controlling trains, and it’s a punishment for criminals. Another favorite was James Maxey’s tale about space adventurers, rocketed to the moon with no way to return.

But it’s hard for me to pick a real favorite, since as I said, I loved every story in “The Clockwork Jungle Book.” The artwork was also excellent, with each image neatly fitting the accompanying story. Just an all around hit; I’m so happy I won a copy, or I never would have been exposed to the works of some wonderful authors.

5/5.