"Blurbs So Much," Said the Cat

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It's hard to look modest when you're blogging about the blurbs an upcoming book has received so far. But, really, the generosity of all those who contributed blurbs does overwhelm me, in large part because I know exactly how much work these things can be.

As a matter of policy, I never thank reviewers for saying nice things about my work, because I honestly believe it's condescending to do so. Either they gave their best reactions or they didn't. But good reviews do make me happy, too.

So here are the blurbs that Tachyon Publications has gathered to date for my forthcoming collection "Not So Much," Said the Cat.

“OK—it’s official. Michael Swanwick is a god. He makes worlds that work, every tick and tock of them. He makes people who cry, sweat, puke, fall in love, die in conceivable ways. He’s smart and crafty, passionate and wily. Both trickster and life-giver. He creates and uncreates. And yes, he brings Light. If I don't exactly worship him, I read every story of his I can get my hands on. So thanks, Tachyon for bringing me more stories—some old favorites, some I hadn't read before. Because gods need their readers, and God knows, I need more Swanwick.”
—Jane Yolen, author of Briar Rose

“Michael Swanwick is one of our most reliably entertaining and provocative writers.”

—Greg Bear, author of Darwin’s Radio

“I would effuse about the excellence of the stories within this collection—Michael Swanwick's eleventh such—for they are by turns shocking, delightful, puckish, innovative, and electric. . . . However, I am too busy plotting how to steal the devil’s stone (given to him by a Siberian shaman) that Michael keeps by his typewriter in order to unlock his writing power, all without disturbing his cat.”

—Fran Wilde, Nebula-nominated author of Updraft and Cloudbound

“This is standard Swanwick, where the reader’s feet never quite touch the ground. Brilliant.”

—Jack McDevitt, author of The Engines of God

“A perfect marriage of classic stories and bleeding edge tech, from godlike continental AIs to the abolishment of time, clever discourse on libertarianism and zero-sum economics in a mirroring tale of humanity and alien bugs, fairy tales and one of the best futuristic con-games I've ever had the pleasure of consuming.”

—Brad K. Horner

“A whirlwind of stories that take you across the world, through different pockets of time, and into a sample of the lives being lived, Not So Much, Said the Cat is an excellent compilation. Swanwick’s latest book is a delight to read, both entertaining and insightful.”

—Pooled Ink

“I fell head-over-heels in love with this collection of stories.”

—Lipstick and Libraries

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