Book Review: “Exploring Dark Short Fiction #5” Han Song and Eric L. Guignard

Exploring Dark Short Fiction #5: A Primer to Han Song

Author: Han Song, edited by Eric L Guignard, commentary by Michael Arnzen, PhD, Illustrated by Michele Prebich, original translations by Nathaniel Isaacson, PhD

First, let me congratulate Eric Guignard on the Exploring Dark Fiction series. I love the idea: pick authors that deserve larger readerships and publish a series of primers to get readers acquainted. This is better than a regular short story collection because it's curated from a reader's point of view, and can highlight the scope of a writer's work rather than just a singular theme, or era in the author's career. These primers bridge the gap between anthologies (one story per author isn't enough) and collections (sometimes too many stories). I'd like to point out that the author interview, story commentaries, biography, and bibliography all helped to make this experience fully immersive.

Not only is Dark Moon Books introducing Han Song to a horror audience, but they are also introducing three stories to English speaking readers (three of the six stories were translated exclusively for this book). Although I have around 30 years of reading horror and science fiction under my belt, I will admit that I've never read Han Song until now.

All six stories here are different from anything I've ever read. Is there Horror? Yes. Is there Science Fiction? Yes. Is there Magic Realism? Yes. There is also a hint of the abstract, some absurdity, and some eastern mysticism, just to be absolutely certain you're in the deep end of the pool while reading this. Only one of the stories didn't work for me, "Two Small Birds". On the opposite end, "My Country Does Not Dream" is probably one of the best science fiction stories I've ever read. It's one of those stories that manages to be so many things, without being inauthentic. It's science fiction, action, horror, and satire all-in-one. Brilliant. Here are the six stories:

"Earth is Flat" An interesting rumination on alternate history of America.

"Transformation Subway" Like a more philosophical and speculative Snowpiercer.

"The Wheel of Samsara" This one has the best blend of science fiction and eastern culture.

"Two Small Birds" Certainly the most bizarre story of the bunch, but my least favorite.

"Fear of Seeing" Manages to be thought provoking, funny, AND tragic. All in 23 pages.

"My Country Does Not Dream" The best story in the collection. Super creative indictment of capitalism.

There you have it! Out now from Dark Moon Books

Grade: C

Review by Jason Cavallaro

jcavallaro42@gmail.com

Twitter: @pinheadspawn

I was sent a copy of the book from the publisher for review consideration.