I’m a Booklife Editor’s Pick!
While Villyard has titled her collection of speculative fictions Love Stories, the theme that binds together these stories—which include elements of fantasy, fairy tale, myth, as well as science fiction—is deeply connected relationships, with the title challenging readers to think of them in the light of love. Villyard’s range, like that of the magazines she publishes in, ranges widely, from the fabulist to explorations of near- and far- future existence. One sharply told standout riffs on the darker side of an old fairy tale of two sisters: from the lips of one falls flowers and gemstones, from the other comes snakes and scorpions. The ending is a satisfying jolt.
