Babbling Into The Void

 Here's an interesting - and somewhat daunting - thing: in her preface to this volume, Magen Cubed describes these stories as training for her later work. I can assuredly say that if this was the caliber of my writing in 'training', I would be more than satisfied. I'm being slightly specious here - most of these stories have been previously published in anthologies or magazines, it's not like we're seeing unedited, raw drafts here - but these pieces are not simply a prelude to what came later, they are evidence of a true talent. What's true, though, is that these pieces are in the main explorations of specific ideas, for better or worse. Some of them do seem fragmentary, evocative scenes that just about have a narrative. This can be unsatisfying, but for every story with a sudden, perfunctory ending, there is a beautifully crafted gem of imagination like 'A Fresh, Clean Soul', a work of emotional weight like 'Ain't No Grave', a fun little