Poison Eaters, Holly Black

Who is Holly Black? She is one half of the popular Spiderwick Chronicles team. Tony DiTerlizzi, the other part, is more whimsical and kid-friendly. Holly Black brought her expertise to the team, for she is simply brilliant when it comes to faery lore and fantasy. She is wilder and uninhibited in her imagination, scope, and vision. She edited a work with Justine Larbalestier entitled Zombies Vs. Unicorns - A compilation of stories, written by young adult authors in a mock debate. As an aside, these stories weren't nearly as interesting as I hoped they might be...

The Poison Eaters is a collection of short stories by Holly Black, in which gems and trinkets may be found. My favorite story so far is The Dog King. It is a werewolf story, set in a country where the city dwellers venerate the deadly packs, while the villages cower in fear of the coordinated rampaging stampedes. The capital city is ruled by a king who keeps a wolf named Elinad as a pet. This animal is his eyes and ears in the castle, shape-shifting to report to his king in human form. In the village below, people begin dying in horrific fashion, the King promises the crown to he who halts the rampage. But is he willing to have the truth surface with the consequences?

A bibliophile's delight is the tale, Paper cuts Scissors. Justin, a young library student, takes on a job by the mysterious Mr. Sandlin. Justin's girlfriend, Linda, had a gift for inserting objects into books, weaving the folded item into the narrative. Linda heard of a man named Sandlin, who could pull things out of books as well. Justin refused, and Linda folded herself into a Russian tale, forcing Justin's hand. Justin meets a girl at school, Sarah, who claims to know about Sandlin. By the end of the story, Justin learns about the intersection between Rock-Paper-Scissors, relationships, and reading.

The Boy who cried Wolf is a snapshot that could have been a bigger storyline. It is satisfying in itself, but it is ripe for development.

For the most part, short stories are fragments of greater concepts in the writer's mind. They are quick sketches that could be fleshed out and drawn forth to produce beautifully dark and bewitching tales. Not all thoughts and ideas are comfortable to learn, know, or say aloud. The strength and weakness of a short story is that it never overstays its welcome, no matter whether the guest is charming or detestable.

I nearly forgot.
This haiku is a thing I do.
Good night to all you