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Exploring Dark Short Fiction #2: A Primer to Kaaron Warren

By Pamelascott

Australian author Kaaron Warren is widely recognized as one of the leading writers today of speculative and dark short fiction. She's published four novels, multiple novellas, and well over one hundred heart-rending tales of horror, science fiction, and beautiful fantasy, and is the first author ever to simultaneously win all three of Australia's top speculative fiction writing awards (Ditmar, Shadows, and Aurealis awards for The Grief Hole).

Dark Moon Books and editor Eric J. Guignard bring you this introduction to her work, the second in a series of primers exploring modern masters of literary dark short fiction. Herein is a chance to discover-or learn more of-the distinct voice of Kaaron Warren, as beautifully illustrated by artist Michelle Prebich.

Included within these pages are:

  • Six short stories, one written exclusively for this book
  • Author interview
  • Complete bibliography
  • Academic commentary by Michael Arnzen, PhD (former humanities chair and professor of the year, Seton Hill University)
  • ... and more!

Enter this doorway to the vast and fantastic: Get to know Kaaron Warren.

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[THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA IS AN exercise in disparites, a country both bleak and beautiful, rugged while idealised, urbane yet still untamed, and has produced some of the greatest literary authors of the 20th and 21st centuries, with names coming to mind such as Mary Gilmore, Patrick White, Thomas Keneally, Tim Winton and Peter Carey, among others and not withstanding the subject of this book Kaaron Warren]

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(Dark Moon Books, 25 May 2018, 204 pages, ebook, copy from @ericjguignard and voluntarily reviewed)

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I'm only vaguely aware of Kaaron Warren's fiction through her contribution to numerous short story anthologies and magazines that I've read over the years. I'm the kind of reader who loves to know an author inside out so this Primer really appealed to me. The six stories in this book are completely new to me and I enjoyed every one of them. I also enjoyed the fact that each story comes with a little commentary about the appeal of the story. I loved the interview with Warren. The only thing that let this down is the complete bibliography which takes up quite a lot of pages. The space could have been better spent with some more interviews or insight.

Exploring Dark Short Fiction Primer Kaaron Warren

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