Hart & Boot: & Other Stories

By Tim Pratt

Tim Pratt's (Little Gods, The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl) Hart & Boot is a stunning collection of thirteen stories of the fantastic.

Hart & Boot & Other Stories collects thirteen stories of love, death and monsters, including new story "Komodo," a tale of lizards, sex magic and dangerous men. The title story, "Hart & Boot," was chosen by Michael Chabon for inclusion in The Best American Short Stories: 2005.

Critics have called Pratt's short fiction "Quite Gaimanesque..." and this comparison is not unfounded. His straightforward storytelling techniques, combined with an uncanny ability to convey a sense of wonder and the fantastic, are part of the reason why the title story to this collection was selected by Michael Chabon for inclusion in The Best American Short Stories 2005 anthology.

Tim Pratt has been nominated for the Nebula, the John W. Campbell, and the Mythopoeic Fantasy awards, and his work (including "Bottom Feeding," herein) routinely finds its way to the Locus Recommended Reading lists. In 2005, he won the Norton Award. His fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines, including Polyphony, The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, Lenox Avenue, The Third Alternative, and Realms of Fantasy.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1597800538
• ISBN13: 9781597800532
• Release Date: January 2007
• Publisher: Night Shade Books
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.4" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Not Free SF Reader

Collections from writers who haven't been around that long and without lots of stories to pick from can be rather dubious propositions. They want a book published, but most of it will be ordinary for any given reader. Not really the case here, though. In fact, this lot averages just a shade under 3.50, so the average stuff here is only a minority. The other thing is he has managed to come up with the outstanding Cup and Table, along with Impossible Dreams. A 5 star tale easily relieves the tedium of an average story or 4. A wide range of fantasy here from speculative ex-girlfriend bits to shapeshifting brawls in dimension spanning cities. Hart and Boot : Hart and Boot - Tim Pratt Hart and Boot : Life in Stone - Tim Pratt Hart and Boot : Cup and Table - Tim Pratt Hart and Boot : In a Glass Casket - Tim Pratt Hart and Boot : Terrible Ones - Tim Pratt Hart and Boot : Romanticore - Tim Pratt Hart and Boot : Living with the Harpy - Tim Pratt Hart and Boot : Komodo - Tim Pratt Hart and Boot : Bottom Feeding - Tim Pratt Hart and Boot : The Tyrant in Love - Tim Pratt Hart and Boot : Impossible Dreams - Tim Pratt Hart and Boot : Lachrymose and the Golden Egg - Tim Pratt Hart and Boot : Dream Engine - Tim Pratt Ghost outlaw separation end. 3.5 out of 5 Sweet soul survival strategy sundering. 3.5 out of 5 Should I stay or should I go now? If I go then fire and rubble And if I stay it will be trouble 5 out of 5 Family blood deal. 3 out of 5 Fury stand-in act. 3.5 out of 5 Monster longtime boyfriend competition. 3.5 out of 5 Roommate protection benefits. 3 out of 5 Lizard boy disease catching keeping. 4 out of 5 Spear gun, catfish ex. 3 out of 5 Will try anything when in charge. 3 out of 5 Unmade otherworldly movie magic. 4 out of 5 Drug game snack. 2.5 out of 5 Questing beast fat man shift conflict. 3.5 out of 5 3.5 out of 5

Fresh and fun, recommended

Clever and highly imaginative. My favorites were probably "Cup and Table" and "Dream Engine". Bonus points for a story titled "Romanticore". I'll certainly be reading more from Tim Pratt. One reason I almost gave the book four stars (but went with five in the end) is because I expect even better from Pratt in the future.