Maps in a Mirror By Orson Scott Card

Since I've noticed people taking an interest in one of my favorite authors, I thought I'd throw out the first thing I ever read by him. This is the stuff that got me hooked .

Maps in the Mirror is OSC's collection of short stories, and all are wonderful works. It is availiable in trade paperback for purchase or you might have a shot at the hardcover used or at the library. Unless you want to visit my house, where if you are very good I might let you touch mine, and if I like you a whole lot I might even open it up.

But enough of that!

The collection contains five short story books that show OSC's range in writing very nicely.

The Hanged Man is a collection of what he likes to call "Tales of Dread." I would call it horror, or simply "Dark Fiction." All are creepy as all get out, though Freeway Games scared me quite badly .

Flux is one of my favorite collections and includes his sci fi works, or "Tales of Human Futures." This is an apt way to phrase the stories; they are much more about how people and culture change over time than about the coolest possible technology and development. The Dogwalker is my favorite piece in this collection, written with infectious language and telling a dark and moody tale.

Maps in a Mirror, or Monkey Sonatas as it is sometimes called when sold separately, is the Fantasy collection. This contains the story Unaccompanied Sonata, which is the best short story I have ever read. I don't really say that lightly. I should warn you, grown men known for eating nails for breakfast have cried reading this; it really isn't just me this time. The rest of the collection ranges from fairy tale to futuristic fable with plenty of dark and light thrown in.

Cruel Miracles contain "Tales of Death, Hope, and Holiness" and include the...*thinks* Hugo Award winning, I think, Eye for an Eye. The stories deal with the dangers of fanatisim and touch on the unexplained in some very new and interesting ways.

And finally, Lost Songs, or "The Hidden Stories" contains many of OSC's earliest works. The short stories that began Ender's Game, Songmaster, and the Alvin Maker books can be found here.