In which Timeslip gets its first review…

Ok, first thing first. I asked for a show of hands a while back among my extended Twitter network, looking for reviewers. It was important for me to get review copies for Cobalt City Timeslip out well in advance of release, and I wanted them in the hands of people who would actually post a review – good OR bad.

Copies were sent out to a few sources, two of them being people who were passingly familiar with the Cobalt City stories (as in they read at least the last anthology, Cobalt City Christmas). The third reviewer was Ms. Carrie Cuinn who posts thoughtful, detailed reviews on a weekly basis. She is also a talented writer and editor. (Full disclosure time: my most recent short fiction sale was to an anthology which she is putting together which I can’t wait to read.)

The first of the reviews came back, so you can give it a gander here.

I found it to be a fascinating mixed bag. While I enjoyed all the stories in the anthology, I also know more about the universe in which they’re set than pretty much anybody. The viewpoint of someone coming to it fresh from the outside, as many readers will be, I hope, was never really considered that heavily. Thankfully there is time to address that before we go to print. So not all the stories went over as well as I had thought they would. All in all, I thought it was a fascinating and generally positive review for the book as a whole.

Of my story, “The War at Home,” she wrote (among other things) —

We know why, feel why, understand why in a visceral way. Of all the heroes from Cobalt City Timeslip, Crowder’s is the one which best lives in his world.

That’s a quote I’m going to save for a rainy day.

Check out the review, and for that matter, her other reviews. I always enjoy reading them.

And check out both Cobalt City Timeslip and Cthulhurotica when they come out. You will not be disappointed.