Keith Minnion is known mostly for his outstanding work as an illustrator, but if you've never read his fiction, you are doing yourself a disservice. His novel, The Boneyard and his first collection of short stories, It's For You, are among my favorites over the last decade. Now he is back with his second collection.
From the Amazon description of Down There & Others...
"Sixteen stories, over half published here for the first time, spanning the same range of genres (horror, SF, dark suspense) as Keith's previous collection It's For You, with fourteen full-page interior illustrations drawn by the author, and an introduction by author Tony Tremblay. Also included is the first act of Keith's upcoming new supernatural mystery novel Dog Star."
The Blue Cat - Anne Foyle loves porcelain figurines, but the new cat she just brought home seems to have a mean streak. Fun and clever. A nice way to open the collection.
On The Hooks - Mal, an aging hunter, who in his world is also the hunted. One of those stories which leave the reader wanting more. "Cat meat was no-one's first choice, but flesh was flesh, food was food."
So Many Hats - The first of a few flash fiction pieces. A deadly tale in just a few words.
Under The Wing - Dek's parents are off to explore the vast reaches of space and Dek is sad about being left behind.
Old Bones - Wow! A dinosaur gig, new technology, a dog, and a jackrabbit, all combine to make a wonderfully imaginative story that was over way too soon, even though it was the longest story, so far. Definitely one of my favorites.
A Trail of Footprints - Young Andrew is late coming home and the truth of the matter is a bit of a mystery. "The boy's footprints had stopped. Right there before him, in mid-stride, in the middle of the field. Just stopped. "
Runners, Running - Sue is about done with her inattentive boyfriend.
Close The Door - Author's note: This is a coda of sorts. The chapter after the final chapter of my novel The Boneyard, which was published in 2011. Close the Door takes place a few decades after the end of that book.
I'm a big fan of Minnion's dialog. It's never forced, always the way people really talk. "'All the old places around here are named after their former owners.' Becky chuckled. 'Then I guess you should call our house the "Nobody Important Ever Lived Here House"'''
What Does It Feel Like When I Do This? B - A story about first times.
The Holes - Thirty years is a long time, but some things you never forget.
Little Sister - This tale was first published in a college literary journal in the early seventies and was an homage of sorts to Ray Bradbury's "Mexico" stories.
Ghosts - One of my favorite tales in this collection just happens to be Keith's very first professional sale. I found this to be a rather cool notion. "They have succeeded in documenting certain kinds of life—specific types of intelligently controlled energies—that persist after physical, material life ends."
Moons For My Pillow, Stars For My Bed - A wonderfully charming story that just happens to be the complete manuscript for a children's picture book and just needs the picture part.
The Wampyr - More flash fiction.
Down There - The title story, and a quick foray into Lovecraftian horror. Cyclopean mountains and stygian darkness. Oh yeah.
Dog Star - Keith Minnion completes his second collection with part of a work in progress. A story that brought back the best kind of memories from those college years. So long ago for some of us.
Although I enjoyed Keith's initial collection, It's For You, more. I'd say Down There & Others is certainly time well spent. When you read this one, take your time and enjoy the prose.
Recommended.
Down There & Others is available in both paperback from Amazon.com and digitally in a wide variety of formats from Crossroads Press.
From the author's bio - Keith Minnion sold his first short story to Asimov’s SF Adventure Magazine in 1979. (Its included in this collection). He has sold over two-dozen stories, two novelettes, an art book of his best-published illustrations, and one novel since. Keith has illustrated professionally since the early 1990s for such writers as William Peter Blatty, Stephen King, Gene Wolfe, and Neil Gaiman, and has also done extensive graphic design work for the Department of Defense. He is a former schoolteacher, DOD project and program manager, and an officer in the U.S. Navy. He currently lives in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, pursuing oil and watercolor painting, and fiction writing.
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