This Week in Google Alerts: Wolfe introduction to Jay Lake anthology

This volume contains over thirty stories, published from 2007 to 2013, so there is assuredly little overlap with Lake’s earlier collections. In other words, we are getting his mature work, written almost precisely in the interstices of his illness, which began in 2008. I can’t do an exegesis of each and every tale in this space, so I’ll hit the highlights. But you can rest assured that every piece is accomplished and rewarding, a miracle considering the stresses Lake endured. Launching the book is a vibrant and touching and sympathetically hard-nosed introduction by Gene Wolfe. To appreciate its resonance, read the concluding “Afterword.” And you might jump ahead to “The Cancer Catechism” too while you’re at it.