Little Doors

This is a good example of an average collection. There is nothing brilliant, or nothing terrible, most of the stories are above average, with some average or slightly less, so a no-brainer 3.5 all around. They are pretty much all in the supernatural/fantasy vein. Little Doors : Little Doors - Paul Di Filippo Little Doors : Billy - Paul Di Filippo Little Doors : Moloch - Paul Di Filippo Little Doors : The Grange - Paul Di Filippo Little Doors : Sleep Is Where You Find It - Paul Di Filippo and Marc Laidlaw Little Doors : The Horror Writer - Paul Di Filippo Little Doors : My Two Best Friends - Paul Di Filippo Little Doors : The Death Of Salvador Dali - Paul Di Filippo Little Doors : Our House - Paul Di Filippo Little Doors : Jack Neck And The Worry Bird - Paul Di Filippo Little Doors : Stealing Happy Hours - Paul Di Filippo Little Doors : Singing Each to Each - Paul Di Filippo Little Doors : Rare Firsts - Paul Di Filippo Little Doors : Return To Cockaigne - Paul Di Filippo Little Doors : The Short Ashy Afterlife Hiram P. Dootle - Paul Di Filippo Little Doors : Slumberland - Paul Di Filippo Shagged student's escape portal. 3.5 out of 5 Brainless boy's lower order locutors are trendsetters. 3.5 out of 5 Devil maybe talk. 2.5 out of 5 Secret society of fertilisers. 3.5 out of 5 Human Head Cakebox Murderer proves camera shy. 3 out of 5 Stephenkingalogue not quite all there in his twisted world. 3 out of 5 Werepeople AC/DC match is no matter. 3.5 out of 5 Painter's posthumous path. 3 out of 5 House squatters provide higher and lower function. 3.5 out of 5 Taking the avian load off. 2.5 out of 5 Pleasuresucker strangulation showdown. 3.5 out of 5 Mermaid hooker scheme. 3.5 out of 5 Librarian lady's booksense worth a punt. 4 out of 5 Fantasy trippyworld quartet's return to adventure. 3.5 out of 5 Axe murdering golddigger victim's wooden existence luckily coincides with superhero's crime investigation. A permanent trophy life. 4 out of 5 Sojourn with the Sandman. 3 out of 5

Reportedly Di Filippo brews his heady potions whilst seated with headphones on, blasting music so loud it can be heard across the room. Probably the man listens to everything from Glenn Gould to the Stones; his stories reflect that kind of eclectic, roving intelligence. He's not afraid to poke gentle fun at the SF genre, and his skill at writing is impressive: he's a shape-shifter in writer's form. That is, one story will have you thinking "Harlan Ellison," another "Gene Wolfe," another "Samuel Delany," etc. So, yes, it's weirdly discomforting not to be able to pigeonhole these tales. But it sure seems to me that if you're looking for a hugely enjoyable, multi-faceted and unpredictable collection...this is it.