A guy I was talking to was describing an author that he liked, who sounded interesting based on the description, but I forgot the name he said.
It was, I believe, a female author. She had at least two works. One was a retelling of traditional fairy tales, expanded out to more closely examine the characters and motives, etc. I believe he said that the original stories were largely maintained, complete with gruesome ends.
The other work was about people establishing a colony on a new planet, or something.
The guy is a self-proclaimed “genius” and said, particularly of the second book, that it was a bit questionable what was really going on in the second book, which he was still reading. The author was described as having a very complex and maybe even poetic style, but certainly a more literary/heady author than a fun/exciting one.
The former sounds like Tanith Lee’s Tales of Blood, or Tales from the Sisters Grimmer. She’s got another collection of short stories in similar vein: The Gorgon and Other Beastly Tales. Some of her retold fairy tale short stories also show up in Dreams of Light and Dark.
She doesn’t really do ‘establishing a colony on a new planet’, which sounds more like C.J. Cherryh or Anne McCaffery. However, Lee is a crackin’ author, worth reading.
I don’t believe that the goal author writes popular fiction. While I haven’t heard of Tanith Lee and Jane Yolen, by your inclusion with Anne McCaffrey and Marion Zimmer Bradley, I’m assuming that they are pop-fiction writers.
I don’t believe that the goal author has a large body of work, but I’m not sure.
Followup: I worked in bookstores for many years, and this kind of question really takes me back!
Especially - if I’m right, and it IS Atwood - the fact that one clue (“small body of work”) is wrong, and one (“colony on a new planet, or something”) is hedged, wrong guess.
(I don’t blame the OP for the lack of info, although their “genius” friend should earn some shame points.)
Very curious if I’m correct. Bonus book-ninja brag points: I have never read the books in question, nor anything else by Atwood. But I shelved 'em!
I’ll ask next time I see him. I was trying to avoid it since he’s sort of a dick.
I’m thinking, from some Googling, that it might be Emma Newman. The guy had the colony book with him, from the library, so it was a hardback with no cover, and I don’t have a book cover to match up to.
Maybe not quite as literary as he was selling the novel as, but the reviews seem decent.
As someone who confidently predicted HRC’s Electoral College victory, I’m gonna double down on Atwood (and still be prepared to be wrong, though that would SUUUCK).
