From its gorgeous cover (by Thomas Canty) to its heartfelt introduction (by Ellen Kushner), through each spellbinding story and onto its final remarks about fantasy, The Essential Patricia A. McKillip is a sumptuous feast. Sixteen previously published short stories by acclaimed fantasy and science fiction author Patricia A. McKillip (The Forgotten Beasts of Eld), who died in May 2022, offer nostalgia, adventure, and comfort.
An ethereal Lady of the Skull meets questing knights in a mysterious story whose details unfold as if from a mist. In "Wonders of the Invisible World," a time-traveling researcher appears as an angel to a Puritan and returns to her high-tech present only to question her research's ability to uncover truth. And the Minister of Water, in a world where water creatures control humanity's access to the element, races to solve baffling catastrophes in "King of the Well."
Ellen Kushner's personal introduction celebrates McKillip's "language of a musician," identifying a recognizable beat to the way McKillip's writing shifts to "fit the needs of any particular narrative." This characteristic is on full display in this collection, which spans fairy tale and fae worlds, worlds with mere hints of magic, high fantasy, science fiction, and stories that defy categorization. Regardless of genre, each story is told to perfection in McKillip's signature style of language that feels magical in and of itself. McKillip's 2004 speech at WisCon28--the world's first and most prestigious feminist science fiction convention--and an essay about writing high fantasy cap off a fantastic celebratory collection. --Dainy Bernstein, freelance reviewer