Kage Baker is a name I was familiar with, but I had only read one of her stories in an issue of Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine years ago. Interested in experiencing more of her work I was excited at the opportunity to read this collection, but ended up feeling ambivalent during most of the time reading it. Yet for fans of Baker I am sure this will be a welcome and highly enjoyed volume, particularly in the absence of further works following her unfortunate death from cancer at a relatively young age.

Part of my difficulty of appreciating these stories likely stemmed from my ignorance about this “Company” universe that her stories mostly fit into. This is probably not an ideal book to start out for an introduction to Baker’s works. Oddly, the last story in the collection, written by Baker’s sister from notes and fragments that Baker left prior to her death, does the best job at imparting a background to this universe and the rules that defines its characters and their abilities. Sadly this comes at the end, and is written in a very stated fashion rather than anything particularly literary.

The second hurdle inherently facing these stories is their length, primarily novellas. The novella is a tricky beast, too long for the artistry and impact of a short story, too short to develop complexities and overall meditative themes that a novel can afford. Really it fits best stories that are pulpish, prolonged, multi-staged adventures that mix lightheartedness with bits of excitements and thrills. For me most of the stories here dragged, and simply wore out my interest, perhaps because I just don’t have an appreciation for Baker’s style of humor.

Nonetheless, there were a couple of high points to the collection that I enjoyed. The opening story, “The Carpet Beds of Sutro Park” was engaging and sublime, and succeeds in part because it maintains an appropriate length. Rather than going for word count the story stays on point and has a profound hook in its investigation of a character with characteristics of autism who is immortal and is exploited for his unique abilities. “The Women of Nell Gwynnes” was the most enjoyable of the novella length pieces, really a combination of two intriguing stories. First it covers the history and recruitment of a srong-willed independent woman into a secretive organization and then for the second portion goes into her first ‘mission’ with this group. Here the story is exciting and the additional portions of text and background that fill out the main ‘action’ are of note for Baker’s no nonsense tackling of the feminine.