Stories From Desert Bob's Reptile Ranch Review

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Stories From Desert Bob's Reptile Ranch ReviewFirst, I'd like to say that I judge anthologies a bit differently from novels, since they contain many works instead of just one. When I judge a music CD, even if some songs feel inferior, I still ask myself how I would judge the CD if I ignored those weaker songs. Similarly, with an anthology, if the good stories amount to an entire (shorter) book's worth of material, it's a good anthology even if it contains some clunkers. On the other hand, an anthology like this seems to also have the function of providing the author's fans (of which I must qualify, on the basis of how much of Vardeman's stuff I've read, and re-read, and enjoyed) with personal and historical information and obscure works that had never seen print before. So even if I don't find particular fulfillment in fragments and trifles, they can still be interesting to read, in terms of telling us about the author's history and development and craft (as well as his dealings with the competitive marketplace).
That being said, this is a really neat anthology for fans, because
1. There is at least brief introductory matter given before each of the 21 selections included here, and all of these commentaries are quite interesting. (Some of the dates and names don't quite match up with the chronology posted on Vardeman's website in my edition of the book, but it's possible that I may have an early draft since it is differently formatted than the one displayed here on Amazon - my copy is left justified rather than fully justified, and 255 pages long rather than 235. (If this means I have a special collectible edition, then thanks very much, Bob!)
2. About 30% of the material in the book has never been published in hardcopy before (although some had been web-published, and one such story is an alternate version that differs from its previous publication).
3. Many of the other stories, although they have technically been published, are from sources that are too difficult to find. For example, some sort of convention anthology that had been called either "Copper Star" or "Copper Sun."
4. It's so much easier and nicer (and cheaper!) to go to a durably-bound volume than to find and use all the original sources... magazines, anthologies, web sites, etc.
Therefore, even though I felt that the stories themselves were a mixed bag, I am pleased with having this anthology, and would definitely buy a second such anthology (since there is certainly enough additional material now to fill one or two more volumes of this size).
Now for the stories themselves:
I'll start with the ones I felt were the best. First, I give my anthology award to "Enduring Art," which I believe to be the best Vardeman short that I've ever read. Many of the stories have the problem of using unsympathetic characters, and sudden incidents of shock-violence, which I don't find particularly appealing. However, this story is a real exception because I find a very clear satirical use for the main character, who epitomizes the sternly uncompromising type of artist who will only accept the loftiest and grandest of artistic works, and whose obsession escalates to outrageous proportions before things start to unravel. The story was really neat and capped things off with a highly amusing ending!
I'd like to add a comment here that although I am not a fan of most horror (I love the moody, prose-heavy stuff like H.P. Lovecraft, but not the slasher-oriented stuff that has dominated the field in recent decades), I was pleasantly surprised to find that Vardeman's short horror fiction here was just as interesting as the fantasy and s.f. If "Enduring Art" and "Used Books" are roughly categorized as part of the horror genre, then this anthology breaks down in the following ways:
Fantasy: 10 stories, about 55% of the text, in terms of the number of pages.
Horror: 6 stories, about 28% of the text,
Science Fiction: 4 stories (including two with western elements), about 16% of the text,
Plus one trifle of 2 pages that outlines a proposed short comic book story, about 1% of the text.
Getting back to the stories, I felt that the solidly good ones - the highlights of the book - were "Enduring Art," "Jug of Evil," and "Me and Mr. Jones." The latter two were quite entertaining throughout, and in particular, "Jug of Evil" was in the vein of Vardeman's 1980s fantasy writing, starting with the humorous misadventures of a roguish character who stumbles into an adventure. It was not published elsewhere and thus will be a real draw for fans of series like Cenotaph Road and War of Powers.
Then there were stories that felt a bit less thrilling but nevertheless had some very interesting ideas or qualities that made them stand out a bit. "A Time For Steel" has an opening sentence that will immediately cause Vardeman fans to laugh with appreciation and recognition! (Unfortunately, elements of the story become more than a bit confusing by the end, although still an intriguing idea and a great setting!) "The Opal Egg" and "Torero" were decently successful fantasy entries. "Used Books" and "Blood Lilies" were quite effective in the (relatively mild) horror genre. In particular, I was very impressed by the much of the quality of writing in "Blood Lilies" - especially how the romantic angle was so effectively accomplished in such a small number of pages! "Dance Into the Fire" (previously published in the Redshift anthology under the title "Feedback") had a very intriguing premise and a rather stimulating ending that was even a bit thought-provoking. (As for my preference with regard to the title, one feels more clearly evocative to me, but there's also something to be said for a title that doesn't give away the ending or key turning point of the story, a point I shall return to later. Thus, I could reluctantly agree with Vardeman's title preference in this case.) These 9 stories together would have earned a nice 4-star review here, but since they barely clear 40% of the book (just over 100 pages), I felt that my overall review had to drop down to 3-stars in view of the many additional stories that I didn't find quite as effective. I would definitely recommend this anthology to fans. For others, I would suggest first getting familiar with Vardeman's major novels and series in the fantasy, science fiction, and western genres. Several of these short works (e.g. "The Opal Egg") will be enhanced by a familiarity with those books anyway.
The anthology contains two short selections that I think of as "trifles" or "curiosities" but not really as full short stories, so I'll gloss over them here with merely a mention of names: "Tony and Archie" and "All the Colors of Life" (both previously unpublished, but together only totaling a handful of pages).
The remainder (just over half) of the anthology, then, contained works that, while interesting enough to read, and certainly intriguing and enjoyable in part, nevertheless seemed to have drawbacks or mismatches with my own tastes that interfered with my enjoyment. Again, for fans, these still tend to make for pretty interesting reading. One case in point is "The Black Mists of Hell," which was written sometime during the 1970s and thus may be one of Vardeman's first efforts at fantasy. Although it had some interesting aspects, the clarity and pacing of the description didn't yet feel as refined as it would quickly become by Vardeman's breakthrough in the 1980s. Several stories felt jarring and even disturbing by the use of incidents of shocking violence. "Godfire" had some very interesting elements but the scenario felt rather forced (the presence of more alternatives, or a clearer justifying context seemed necessary). "Kill Me Two Times" started with some really outstanding writing, but then turned suddenly into the realm of vicious brutality (I suppose the title should have been a warning, but then, it's not necessarily a good thing to have key plot elements given away by the title). "Thief of Dreams" was also a bit too dark, and shared with other stories that characters frequently become too fixated and unable to see alternatives that are so plain to the reader. "At the Bentnail Inn," "Yesterday's Ghosts," "Passion Isle," "Under Triple Moons," and "Platinum Spike" ultimately felt like they weren't eventful or fresh or surprising enough in how they resolved, although in the case of "Platinum Spike," part of the problem was knowing of the alternate title (from its later anthology version) which essentially gave away the ending well in advance. More than one story also shared what I felt was an undermining flaw of "Dragon Debt" - the use of an unsympathetic main character, who should have known better and yet couldn't see beyond his obsessions and misinterpretations (and again involving the use of shocking violence to jolt readers), with a result that was more disturbing to me than evoking of empathy or the classic spirit of tragedy (for the faults of the protagonist seemed too evident from the outset to be learned from).
Anyway, I offer these criticisms in what I hope to be a constructive vein. As mentioned, I really like the anthology format and, although I felt that the stuff I clearly liked was just shy of a full normal book length (say, 150 pages?), it is nice to have the wide array of diverse stories to choose from, and I would definitely purchase another anthology of Vardeman's short fiction. I think my main suggestion would be to focus more on particular themes when developing each story, rather than upon particular situations. The cleverness and wit and quality prose and creative ideas are all here, but to connect them with a theme that conveys meaning and binds those characters and ideas and shoots them along a particular trajectory (carrying the readers along with full engagement, eager for *meaning* to be revealed at the end) is what for me elevates stories to true excellence.Stories From Desert Bob's Reptile Ranch Overview

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