There are some books that the reader wants to
savor, enjoying every word as it floats into view. Sometimes this is
because the author uses language in a lyrical manner. Other times, it is
because the world-building is so exquisite that the reader wants to
remain in the author’s creations. The
Best of Kage Baker offers a volume which meets both of those
criteria, along with the less joyful knowledge that with Baker’s
untimely death in 2010 means that there will not further new stories.
The first half of the book contains stories which
have already been reprinted in various of Baker’s collections, with
the second half stories which have previously not been collected by
Baker, although they have appeared in their original publications and,
on occasion, in reprint anthologies. Many of these stories are linked by
their setting in the world of Baker's "Company" novels, and
offer a look at that world with such examples as “Noble Mold” or
“The Catch,” the latte of which provides background to the founding
of the Company.
Due to the length of the volume, two of Baker’s
novellas, “Son Observe the Time” and “welcome to Olympus, Mr.
Hearst,” are included in the collection.
These serve as detailed introductions to Baker’s Company series
as well as demonstrate Baker’s ability with the novella length, with
many additional, worthwhile novellas not included.
The book also includes several high quality
examples of Baker’s shorter fiction, like the humorous “Are You
Afflicted with Dragons,” about an innkeeper who finds himself beset by
a plague of small dragons analogous to roosting pigeons, or “Calimari
Curls,” a Lovecraftian tale which offers a different look at a resort.
Baker's "Caverns of Mystery" is also an excellent example of
her work with historical tales, in this case, stories which have a
strong affect on the world in which we all live.
The same themes show up in a variety of Baker’s
stories and this collection allows a reader to track the these ideas.
One of Baker’s strengths as an author is that she found
different ways to approach the same basic ideas and so despite some
similarities, her stories don’t get stale and, even when reading them
together, there is a lack of redundancy which other authors’
collections occasionally have.
The sad part of The Best of Kage Baker is
knowing that there are no more original stories, although the twenty
stories included in this volume are only the tip of the iceberg, and,
despite the title's claim, many of the stories which are not collected
within the covers are just as good as the ones included. Baker
published several collections during her lifetime, including Black
Projects, White Knights, Gods and Pawns, or Children of
the Company. Not only does this volume point out those (and other)
collections, but many of the stories tie in to Baker's other works,
making The Best of Kage Baker and excellent introduction to her
stories for those who have not yet had the pleasure of discovering them,
and a reminder for those who have.
