2009 books

51) S.P. Somtow, The Pavilion of Frozen Women, 1996
Somtow's first short story collection was published by Gollancz and featured the spooky title novella (a World Fantasy Award nominee) as well as the masterful American Civil War zombie tale 'Darker Angels'. A few themes crop up again and again, deliberately so: zombies, theology, fathers and sons, dangerously fucked-up Christians believing they're angels, and some retellings of a few of the more violent Grimms' Fairy Tales. Best is the Vietnam fantasy 'The Steel American', as well as the chilling Frankenstein-like story 'Chui Chai', the only story set in Bangkok. Some are beginning to date in style but they're still consistently good (even the deeply weird 'Hunting the Lion', written predictably enough for Weird Tales) and his mastery of idiosyncratic Americanisms is entertaining and dead on target. Good if rather violent fun, often with some well-considered depths in the right places.