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Fantastic
I adore Peter Beagle's writing. It always evokes something in me, whether it be joy, or sadness, or nostalgia. A few of the stories in this turned out to be tales I loved to some degree, and it's weird that I read this right after Kabu Kabu, since it became my favorite short story collec.rtion that I'd read to that point, then this one blew it out of the water.
Part is probably just the deftness that comes with long practice and honing of a craft. The stories all flow smoothly, just as long as they need to be, sometimes haunting and beautiful, sometimes joyful, sometimes just really interesting. There's the sweet "Best Worst Monster," the mythological "Shark God's Children," the sometimes hilarious "Oakland Dragon Blues" (which will speak to anyone with a creative spirit), the poignant titular story "Sleight of Hand" and the lovely "The Rabbi's Hobby."
I don't want to say too much about it because really, this is a masterful collection of fantasy stories and if you like those, or if you like Beagle's writing, this is something you should definitely try. Seriously. It's fabulous.
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