''¡Limekiller!'' is a
collection
Collection or Collections may refer to:
Computing
* Collection (abstract data type), the abstract concept of collections in computer science
* Collection (linking), the act of linkage editing in computing
* Garbage collection (computing), autom ...
of
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures.
The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
short stories
A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...
by
Avram Davidson
Avram Davidson (April 23, 1923 – May 8, 1993) was an American writer of fantasy fiction, science fiction, and crime fiction, as well as the author of many stories that do not fit into a genre niche. He won a Hugo Award and three World Fantasy ...
, edited by
Grania Davis
Grania Eve Kaiman Davis (July 17, 1943 – April 28, 2017) was an American author and editor of science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories. She was the primary editor of the posthumously published work of her former husband, Avram David ...
and Henry Wessells. It was first published in hardcover by
Old Earth Books
Old Earth Books is a speciality publisher which specializes in out-of-print and niche books, primarily in the science fiction genre. The name comes from the Cordwainer Smith ''Lords of the Instrumentality'' series. It is located in Baltimore, MD. ...
in November 2003. An ebook edition was issued by
Gateway/Orion in July 2015.
Summary
The book collects six novellas and novelettes featuring Davidson's adventurer character Jack Limekiller and set in the imaginary
Central America
Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...
n colony of British Hidalgo (a fictionalized
British Honduras
British Honduras was a Crown colony on the east coast of Central America — specifically located on the southern edge of the Yucatan Peninsula from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony — renamed Belize from June 1973 ), originally published in various magazines. It includes a preface by Grania Davis, introductions by
Lucius Shepard
Lucius Shepard (August 21, 1943 – March 18, 2014) was an American writer. Classified as a science fiction and fantasy writer, he often leaned into other genres, such as magical realism.
Career
Shepard was a native of Lynchburg, Virginia, wher ...
and
Peter S. Beagle, and concluding material by Henry Wessells, the author, Grania Davis and Ethan Davidson.
Contents
*"Preface: The Adventures of Jack Limekiller in a Far Countrie" (Grania Davis)
*"Introduction" (Lucius Shepard)
*"Introduction: Jack Limekiller" (Peter S. Beagle)
*"Bloody Man"
*"There Beneath the Silky-Tree and Whelmed in Deeper Gulphs Than Me"
*"Manatee Gal, Won't You Come Out Tonight"
*"Sleep Well of Nights"
*"Limekiller at Large"
*"A Far Countrie"
*"Afterwords" (Henry Wessells)
*"Along the Lower Moho (The Iguana Church)" (Avram Davidson)
*"Dragons in San Francisco - A Sequel" (Grania Davis)
*"Afterword" (Ethan Davidson)
Reception
The collection was reviewed by Jonathan Strahan in ''Locus'' #514, November 2003, Lucius Shepard in ''The New York Review of Science Fiction'', December 2003, Peter Heck in ''Asimov's Science Fiction'', September 2004, and James L. Cambias in ''The New York Review of Science Fiction'', September 2004.
Awards
The collection placed tenth in the 2004 Locus Poll Award for Best Collection.
Notes
{{Avram Davidson
2003 short story collections
Short story collections by Avram Davidson
Fantasy short story collections