Tartarus Press

publishers

Please note, Sourdough is now out of print and unavailable from Tartarus Press.

Sourdough

and other stories

by

Angela Slatter

 

With an Introduction by Robert Shearman

and an Afterword by Jeff VanderMeer

 

Sourdough was nominated for the World Fantasy Award and Aurealis Awards

 

Welcome to the beautiful magic, restless passion and exquisite horror of Angela Slatter's impeccably imagined tales.

 

In the cathedral-city of Lodellan and its uneasy hinterland, babies are fashioned from bread, dolls are given souls and wishes granted may be soon regretted. There are ghosts who dream, men whose wings have been clipped and trolls who long for something other. Love, loss and life are elegantly dissected in Slatter's earthy yet poetic prose.

 

As Rob Shearman says in his Introduction: 'Sourdough and Other Stories manages to be grand and ambitious and worldbuilding-but also as intimate and focused as all good short fiction should be . . . The joy of Angela Slatter's book is that she's given us a set of fairy tales that are at once both new and fresh, and yet feel as old as storytelling itself.'

 

Contains: 'Introduction' by Robert Shearman, 'The Shadow Tree', 'Gallowberries', 'Little Radish', 'Dibblespin', 'The Navigator', 'The Angel Wood', 'Ash', 'The Story of Ink', 'Lost Things', 'A Good Husband', 'A Porcelain Soul', 'The Bones Remember Everything', 'Sourdough', 'Sister, Sister', 'Lavender and Lychgates', 'Under the Mountain, 'Afterword' by Jeff VanderMeer.

 

Cover artwork by Stephen J Clark of The Singing Garden

 

Reviews

'Like Aickman, her sense of the fantastic serves to show us the weird world we hold within our own psyches.' Rick Kleffel, American Public Radio Books

'These stories are stupendously good' Paul Kane, The Compulsive Reader

'There is magic in this world.' Rick Kleffel's Agony Column

'...an absolute treasure.' Paul Charles Smith, Empty Your Heart Of Its Mortal Dream

'With their larger than life characters and the beautiful, evocative writing, the intricate plotting that continually reinvents itself and twists back on what has gone before, these are wonderful stories from a writer who appeals to both the emotions and the intellect. Sourdough and Other Stories was one of the best books I read in 2010, and it’s work from a writer whose career is just beginning. . . . Tartarus have done Slatter proud with a truly sumptuous volume. Sourdough is a beautiful book, one that gets its collector’s edition status and price tag on merit and not simply by virtue of being signed by whomever or number whatever of a limited edition' Peter Tennant, Black Static

'The sixteen stories contained within this collection attests to both Slatter’s storytelling and her consistency in creating entertaining tales with deep, almost primeval, resonances.' Simon Marshall-Jones, Beyond Fiction

'Slatter displays a rare gift for evocative and poetic prose.' Publishers Weekly

'Slatter’s fairy tales have a ravishing quality which leaves the reader totally spellbound by their elegance and imaginative power.' Mario Guslandi, Bookgeeks

'This book is a fantastic achievement on every level.' Alan Baxter, The Word

'Slatter’s writing is exquisite and very vivid, she really is a master storyteller.' - Scott Wilson, The Fringe

'I would recommend this book to anyone who likes dark fiction, fairytales, strange tales, elegant horror, or anyone who likes stories with strong women protagonists and good characterization.'  She Never Slept

'These stories are stupendously good and offer many distinct pleasures: a strange yet superbly realised world, compelling characters and, above all, beautiful prose that has the power to move.' Jildysauce

'Sourdough is probably the most exquisitely produced and packaged collection of the year. The artifact produced is a credit to Tartarus Press and the quality of the inter-linked fairy-tale-esque stories is a credit to Slatter’s prowess as a short story writer.' The Judge's report for the Aurealis Awards

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