About Love Stories
Short Fiction Collection
Love Stories
Reviews
Love Stories
Editorial Reviews:
“With LOVE STORIES, author Katherine Villyard marries her vast intellect and riveting imagination in a short-story collection of speculative fiction that shines with straightforward yet elegant prose.”
— IndieReader
“Others explore, with wit and style, connections between technology and humans, and medical advances that allow people to wipe their minds or experience full body transplants. One science-fiction story in the classic mode turns on vastly different perspectives of an interaction between a human and an alien. While the mode, subjects, and lengths of Villyard’s stories vary, possibly too much for readers who prefer their genres fully differentiated, the collection offers a welcome reminder of the diversity of contemporary speculative fiction, while showcasing Villyard’s talent for character, memorable ideas, and surprises that reveal theme and complicate expectations.”
— Booklife
“An imaginative collection that puts a modern spin on beloved fairy tales and myths.”
Reader reviews:
I thoroughly enjoyed how diverse and unpredictable all the stories were, most especially the endings – not a cliffhanger but leaves the reader with a yearning for just a little bit more.
One key thing to also appreciate is the lessons ( if one thinks deeply and critically ) from the stories on how our society operates, the future of AI, and also the reality of people with disabilities.
From aliens, witches, wizards, time travelers, AI – all the stories had a unique perspective and edge that was way out of the ordinary, I read this book in less than 3 hours after a hectic day at work. It was a such needed break from reality that I throughly enjoyed.
–Dennis Ogbeide on Goodreads
“Love Stories” is such a work that makes me understand why so many of today’s “classic novels” originated in newspapers, one chapter or short section at a time, which then evolved into ‘finished novels’ as popular titles were collected and published upon reader demand. While not every reader may engage emotionally with every story offered, many are sure to find something which demands a ‘fuller’ or longer telling of the story, more details, etc.
–D M on Goodreads
Katherine Villyard has an easy-to-read writing style and a unique imagination that kept me eager to discover the always unexpected endings of her stories. I found myself feeling emotionally affected by most of them. From androids to mermaids to wizards, these dozen stories cover a broad range of situations that show the many ways love can exist.
–Clifford Seely on Amazon
This anthology is a quick and entertaining read. Villyard shows her love of classical mythology by blending into several genres, including urban fantasy and far-future science fiction. Villyard also demonstrates a deep understanding of the world of technology companies, which comes in handy in several stories. I would definitely recommend checking this out.
–Matthew W. Quinn on Amazon
This is a great collection of devotional tales if you have time for a quick ‘snack’ on a lunch break, the bus ride home, or if you don’t have the concentration power to read a full one-thread novel.
–D M on Goodreads
Table of Contents:
- “Book of Shadows”
- “Grandfather Paradox”
- “In Sickness and in Health”
- “In the Water”
- “La Divina Commedia”
- “The Last Wasicu”
- “Minotaur”
- “Ondine’s Curse”
- “Saving Alan Idle”
- “Toads and Roses”
- “Transplant”
- “Underworld”
Praise for the individual stories:
I instantly fell in love with this story, right about where I heard “He remembered sneaking out via lynx and curl to read Eileen’s blog,” because that’s when I punched the air and said “Haha! Linux-based AI!”
— Max e^{i pi} on the Escape Pod forums (on “Saving Alan Idle”)
What a wonderful short story… from the first to the last word it had me captivated!!!!
–Stephen on Goodreads (on “Saving Alan Idle”)
Like others, I really enjoyed the character of Alan. Great voice, interesting situation, interesting views on life outside. I especially liked his distrust/disdain for physical bodies because so often in AI stories all the AI wants is to have a physical body of his own. So this opposite desire was refreshing for me.
–Cutter McKay on the Escape Pod forums (on “Saving Alan Idle”)
Not sure that I liked the story, but I think it’s one that will remain with me..
–Statisticus on the Escape Pod forums (on “Grandfather Paradox”)
Becoming
Ludwig, a young 18th century Prussian nobleman, was destined for the church. A trusted authority figure betrayed him and turned him into a vampire. Now he must face an ancient evil—including an evil that has taken root inside him—and learn who he really is…
And who he really loves.
Broad Spectrum; The 2012 Broad Universe Fiction Sampler
Twenty-nine excerpts and complete short stories from members of Broad Universe, an organization promoting women in genre fiction: fantasy, horror and science fiction.
Alien Abduction; Collected Short Fiction
Herein you’ll find thought-provoking, wondrous, hopeful, frightening, and deeply human tales on the themes of alien and abduction. Such stories have been with us far longer than most realize, perhaps for thousands of years, challenging humankind’s very position in the cosmos.
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.