Bethany Bee's Reviews > Children of the Fang and Other Genealogies

As far as an introduction to Langan's work, this collection is pretty solid. Some of the stories, shorn of the context their original publications gave them, feel very slight and "that's it?", but the ending notes give much of that context back.

The richness of Langan's work can't be denied; he's read everything, it seems, and half the delight is guessing at his inspirations. I grinned at the Elric clone that pops up briefly in "The Horn of the World's Ending", dueling with Lovecraftian monsters in particular!

My favorite stories would have to be "Children of the Fang", "Ymir", "With Max Barry in the Nearer Precincts", "The Communion of Saints" (love me a good giallo!), and "The Underground Economy". My guess is that a lot of these stories would feel unfinished or vague to other people, but for me, the ambiguity only adds to the dread. No outright scares here, but the creepiness lingers, long after the book is closed.