Author: Jeff VanderMeer
Publisher: Golden Gryphon
Binding: Paperback
Publication Date: 2004

Having recently read Jeff VanderMeer’s previous collection, City of Saints and Madmen and now the most recent “Secret Life”, I have a much greater respect for the short story format. VanderMeer offers up 23 stories that run the gamut from tales set in his fictional cities of Veniss and Ambergris to accounts that draw on the mythology of our own history.

Sometimes grotesque, beautiful, funny or heartbreaking and always surreal and dreamlike, they all leave a lasting impression on the reader’s mind. VanderMeer’s work roams to distant literary horizons throughout all of the stories, but never fails to intrigue.

To be fair, I can’t say that any one story came away as the clear favorite, so I’ll mention a few out of the many stories that won my particular favor, with no slight intended to the overall excellent work.

The title story Secret Life is a fantastic opener to the collection that concerns an office building and the bizarre intrigues of the inhabitants, as seen through VanderMeer’s malleable imagination.

The Mansions of the Moon depicts a madman’s conception of perfect beauty brought about in an unexpected way.

Corpse Mouth and Spore Nose is a dark tale of Ambergris, the setting of “City of Saints and Madmen”, concerning a detective who encounters a giant mushroom while in the course of investigating a case.

London Burning steps back into our own past with scenes of life and death.

The Machine is a fascinating vision of a machine that might have escaped from the artwork of Giger, which compels the beholder to succumb to its terrible seduction.

Perhaps the most impressive feat is that VanderMeer is able to create so much yet contain so much within the confines of the short story format. We receive brief glimpses yet the impact upon us lingers long after the story’s end. The commentary by VanderMeer at the end of each story regarding inspiration and thoughts is a welcome addition, giving us a view of the imagination that spawned each.

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Topics: Collection, Golden Gryphon, Jeff VanderMeer, Secret Life, Short Fiction