This one, I was not expecting to like. I thought I'd enjoy it, because I like Kelly Link, and a couple of her stories would be in there. But it's an anthology, so it's a crapshoot and what are the odds of most of the stories being phenomenal? I guess when your editors are Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant, your odds are pretty damn high. It's an amazing book. Some of the best writing I've come across in years, certainly the best collection of short stories I've ever encountered.

The writing! Great writing! By many people all in one place in short stories! Wow! ahem, sorry, it still blows my mind. I took about two weeks to read this because I didn't want to rush the sheer pleasure of the activity. This is the book I would recommend as an ambassador to people who like literary fiction but hate sci-fi, people who refuse to read zines, people who read nothing but sci-fi/fantasy and are afraid of literary fiction. Well, ok, I'd recommend it for practically everybody. It's not good, it's brilliant. ( )

I'd never read a slipstream collection before. The experience was akin to walking through a gallery modern art. Several of the pieces I connected with and loved instantly. Some have grown on me since the initial encounter. There were a couple pieces which, although I can tell they were very finely crafted, I did not 'get' on any meaningful level. And then there were one or two to which my response was, "This is not art. What is it even doing here?"

Overall, though, I recommend the trip. ( )

Fanzines emerged out of the 1930s science-fiction fan culture, eventually propagating among such active fandoms as music, role-playing games, and comics. Zines played a pivotal role in the development of new talent often publishing the best and brightest before they were well-known: Ray Bradbury, Greil Marcus, Robert Crumb, and Bruce Sterling, among others. The advent of the Internet ushered in the webzine, seemingly dooming the traditional zine, but experimental, postmodern science-fiction fanzines like Electric Velocipede and Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet keep the print form alive and pertinent. The Best of Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet reprints the finest fiction, essays, poetry, and other oddities from the zine's first decade.

The first two pieces, written separately by co-editors Kelly Link – "Travels With the Snow Queen," a nonlinear tale of forbidden love – and Gavin J. Grant – his insightful nonfiction exploration "Scotch: An Essay Into a Drink" – quickly establish the tenor both in quality and content for this stunning anthology. Excellent and unconventional pieces abound: Margaret Muirhead's profound Swiftian parody "An Open Letter Concerning Sponsorship"; Sarah Monette's tortured romance "Three Letters From the Queen of Elfland"; Jan Lars Jensen's frightening study of the dangers of television nostalgia, "Happier Days"; Gwenda Bond's twisted Dear Abby columns, "Dear Aunt Gwenda"; and David J. Schwartz's comical letter "The Icthyomancer Writes His Friends With an Account of the Yeti's Birthday Party," to name a few. Interspersed within the stories, the editors sprinkle trivial tidbits about literature, movies, music, and other strangeness.

The compositions appear in order of original publication, creating an odd, uneven flow to the book. Later in the collection, as the editing duo became more comfortable with their craft and their writers, the contributions get stronger. Showcasing a selection of the top new and exciting writers working today, The Best of Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet presents a wondrous playground for lovers of experimental and avant-garde literature. If this is the 21st century zine, the form can be taken off the endangered list.

(This review originally appeared in The Austin Chronicle, September 7, 2007)
link:[http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/review?oid=oid:534868] ( )

Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet is one of those rare journals which is always fresh and surprising, and well worth watching. If you like the weird, the original, the speculative, the original, the strange, or even if you simply like good writing, it's worth taking note of. As a result, this is simply a fun anthology of work. Filled with an odd assortment of poetry, fiction, observation, and note, the book is incredibly entertaining. There's little doubt in my mind that any reader will find something worth re-reading and sharing, just as other things won't be in line with their tastes. In the end, though, the book is worth searching out.

To my own taste, the best tales are "Pretending" by Ray Vukcevich, "Bay" by David Erik Nelson, and "You Were Neither Hot Nor Cold, But Lukewarm, and So I Spit You Out" by Cara Spindler and David Erik Nelson. But, that said, I was never bored by this collection, and LCRW is one of those rare journals which is not only spilling over with talent, but incredibly varied.

Recommended, absolutely. ( )

A very cool compilation from a zine published in Northampton (of all places). The Sarah Monette and the David J Schwartz were my very favorites.