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Sprawl
Sprawl is an exciting new original anthology, edited by Alisa Krasnostein and published by Twelfth Planet Press, that will give readers from around the world a unique glimpse into the strange, dark, and often wondrous magics that fill the days and nights of Australia’s dreaming cities and towns, homes and parks, and most of all, its endlessly stretching suburbs.
Table of Contents
Peter Ball – One Saturday Night, With Angel
Deborah Biancotti – Never Going Home
Simon Brown – Sweep
Stephanie Campisi – How to Select a Durian at Footscray Market
Thoraiya Dyer – Yowie
Dirk Flinthart – Walker
Paul Haines – Her Gallant Needs
L L Hannett – Weightless
Pete Kempshall – Signature Walk
Ben Peek – White Crocodile Jazz
Tansy Rayner Roberts – Relentless Adaptations
Barbara Robson – Neighbourhood Watch
Angela Slatter – Brisneyland by Night
Cat Sparks – All The Love in the World
Anna Tambour – Gnawer of the Moon Seeks Summit of Paradise
Kaaron Warren – Loss
Sean Williams – Parched (poem)
Sprawl was released in September 2010.
Reviews
Sprawl is a collection of short stories by Australian writers and is an amusing, haunting and sometimes mind-bending glimpse into an alternative, yet strangely familiar, Australia.
Scoop Magazine
It screams that this is an anthology crammed with content and a variety of authors.
The thrust of the book is to produce “a suburban anthology of Australian fantasy,” as mentioned in the introduction. … While there is a theme–the suburban part–each story felt unique and different so that I didn’t really know what to expect with each story. … There’s a lot of diversity here–from alternate history to horror to metaphoric fiction–but at the same time you felt it was rooted in suburban Australia.
Charles Tan, Bibliophile Stalker
Table of Contents
Peter Ball – One Saturday Night, With Angel
Deborah Biancotti – Never Going Home
Simon Brown – Sweep
Stephanie Campisi – How to Select a Durian at Footscray Market
Thoraiya Dyer – Yowie
Dirk Flinthart – Walker
Paul Haines – Her Gallant Needs
L L Hannett – Weightless
Pete Kempshall – Signature Walk
Ben Peek – White Crocodile Jazz
Tansy Rayner Roberts – Relentless Adaptations
Barbara Robson – Neighbourhood Watch
Angela Slatter – Brisneyland by Night
Cat Sparks – All The Love in the World
Anna Tambour – Gnawer of the Moon Seeks Summit of Paradise
Kaaron Warren – Loss
Sean Williams – Parched (poem)
Sprawl was released in September 2010.
Reviews
Sprawl is a collection of short stories by Australian writers and is an amusing, haunting and sometimes mind-bending glimpse into an alternative, yet strangely familiar, Australia.
Scoop Magazine
It screams that this is an anthology crammed with content and a variety of authors.
The thrust of the book is to produce “a suburban anthology of Australian fantasy,” as mentioned in the introduction. … While there is a theme–the suburban part–each story felt unique and different so that I didn’t really know what to expect with each story. … There’s a lot of diversity here–from alternate history to horror to metaphoric fiction–but at the same time you felt it was rooted in suburban Australia.
Charles Tan, Bibliophile Stalker
345 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2010
1 person is currently reading
67 people want to read
About the author
Alisa Krasnostein
24 books43 followersEditor and publisher at independent Twelfth Planet Press, creative publishing PhD candidate and recently retired environmental engineer. She is cohost of the twice Hugo nominated Galactic Suburbia Podcast team (www.galacticsuburbia.com).
In 2011, she won the World Fantasy Award for her work at Twelfth Planet Press. She was the Executive Editor and founder of the review website Aussie Specfic in Focus! from 2004 to 2012. In her spare time she is a critic, reader, reviewer, podcaster, runner, environmentalist, knitter, quilter and puppy lover. And new mum.
In 2011, she won the World Fantasy Award for her work at Twelfth Planet Press. She was the Executive Editor and founder of the review website Aussie Specfic in Focus! from 2004 to 2012. In her spare time she is a critic, reader, reviewer, podcaster, runner, environmentalist, knitter, quilter and puppy lover. And new mum.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 23, 2022
https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/sprawl-ed-alisa-krasnostein/
An anthology of sff stories by Australian writers, published in 2010 in anticipation of that year’s Worldcon. They’re all pretty good. I particularly liked the opening by Tansy Rayner Roberts, “Relentless Adaptations”, which looks at a dystopian future for literature, and the sinister youth of Angela Slatter’s “Brisneyland by Night”. but I don’t think that there is a dud in the collection.
An anthology of sff stories by Australian writers, published in 2010 in anticipation of that year’s Worldcon. They’re all pretty good. I particularly liked the opening by Tansy Rayner Roberts, “Relentless Adaptations”, which looks at a dystopian future for literature, and the sinister youth of Angela Slatter’s “Brisneyland by Night”. but I don’t think that there is a dud in the collection.
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January 16, 2019I'm working my way slowly through this lovely anthology. It reminds me of when I was a teenager and picked up Aurealis magazine for the first time and discovered there was a place where stories existed that spoke to my landscape.
April 5, 2014
Best anthology I've ever read. ALL the writing was above par! My favourites included:
Tansy Rayner Robert's 'Relentless Adaptations'...I so want to go to a bookshop come coffee shop PLUS a playground!!! Do they only exist in stories and dreams
Tansy Rayner Robert's 'Relentless Adaptations'...I so want to go to a bookshop come coffee shop PLUS a playground!!! Do they only exist in stories and dreams
March 10, 2012
I've been looking for speculative fiction anthologies with primarily Australian content recently. The first I came across was Sprawl edited by Alisa Krasnostein (Twelfth Planet Press), which contains a very entertaining array of stories aimed at the Australian suburbs (i.e. not urban fantasy, more like suburban fantasy). It has stories by some authors I've been recently discovering and loving as well as some whose work I haven't had a chance to see before.
Overall the anthology has a strong Australian feel. In the introduction, Ms Krasnostein talks about wanting to showcase Australian writers and I think this book achieves that aim extremely well. As you'd expect from an editor that is involved with an initiative like the Galactic Suburbia podcast, Ms Krasnostein has done an excellent job achieving gender balance in the author list, with slightly more women than men contributing.
As always when writing about an anthology, I'm conscious that saying something about every story would make for a very long review. As such, I've restricted myself to commenting where I have something particular to say - and given the short length of the stories I try not to say too much about plot to avoid spoilers. But up front I will say that there wasn't a single piece in this collection that I didn't find enjoyable in some way.
One Saturday Night, with Angel by Peter Ball was the first story by Mr Ball that I've read (at least as far as I can recall). It is quite a short story and very self contained in terms of location, but I really enjoyed the writing and I thought the atmosphere of a late night convenience store was a fantastic counterpoint to the supernatural elements of the story.
I found Sweep by Simon Brown interesting. I enjoyed the turn of phrase and found the slowly introduced horror, especially when recounting events from memories of being a child, to be particularly effective. The end of the story stuck with me - very satisfyingly nasty.
I'm beginning to expect to enjoy work by Deborah Biancotti, and No Going Home was no exception. A beautifully written story about a mysterious woman, Gabe, who turns up at Harry's house one night, with no memory of her life to that point. The story felt transient, both in the way the characters were rendered and how the story flowed. Lovely to read.
Loss by Kaaron Warren was another very effective horror story, invoking a kind of claustrophobia as the (admittedly somewhat unsympathetic) protagonist's world shrinks around her.
Walker by Dirk Flinthart was one of my favourite stories of the collection. The idea of ancient spirits adapting to modern suburban life, and the shepherds that stand between them and humanity, was very interesting. I also enjoyed the style of writing, the world building elements and the voice of the protagonist.
Seed Dreams by Liz Argall/Matt Hungh was a clever addition to the anthology - a graphical interlude that was a pleasant surprise in the middle of the book.
The "voice" of the protagonist in White Crocodile Jazz by Ben Peek was very compelling. Tom Tom is mute, and his external interactions are by necessity more physical (and often very violent). I liked the atmosphere generated in this story, with a good plot and satisfying conclusion.
The plot was also very strong in Brisneyland by Night by Angela Slatter. There were hints of a broader story here, with the feeling that you'd just touched one element of a whole world. I don't think I've read anything by Ms Slatter before, but if this story is representative I am going to try to track down more of her work.
There was less post-apocalyptic dystopia than I was expecting in this anthology, but All the Love in the World by Cat Sparks certainly made up for the lack. Set in a post apocalyptic Wollongong (that was a fun phrase to write), the story balanced a description of the disintegrating world with the very personal reaction of the protagonist extremely well. Ms Sparks sketched a very strong lead character, sympathetic while still retaining human quirks and follies.
I recently read Her Gallant Needs by the sadly recently departed Paul Haines in his collection The Last Days of Kali Yuga , so I won't describe it again here. A powerful piece of writing though, and an excellent way to finish out the anthology.
Also included in the anthology is:
Parched by Sean Williams
Relentless Adaptations by Tansy Rayner Roberts
How to Select a Durian at Footscray Market by Stephanie Campisi
Yowie by Thoraiya Dyer
Signature Walk by Pete Kempshall
Gnawer of the Moon Seeks Summit of Paradise by Anna Tambour
Neighbourhood Watch by Barbara Robson
Weightless by L.L. Hannett
I also reviewed this book on my website.
Overall the anthology has a strong Australian feel. In the introduction, Ms Krasnostein talks about wanting to showcase Australian writers and I think this book achieves that aim extremely well. As you'd expect from an editor that is involved with an initiative like the Galactic Suburbia podcast, Ms Krasnostein has done an excellent job achieving gender balance in the author list, with slightly more women than men contributing.
As always when writing about an anthology, I'm conscious that saying something about every story would make for a very long review. As such, I've restricted myself to commenting where I have something particular to say - and given the short length of the stories I try not to say too much about plot to avoid spoilers. But up front I will say that there wasn't a single piece in this collection that I didn't find enjoyable in some way.
One Saturday Night, with Angel by Peter Ball was the first story by Mr Ball that I've read (at least as far as I can recall). It is quite a short story and very self contained in terms of location, but I really enjoyed the writing and I thought the atmosphere of a late night convenience store was a fantastic counterpoint to the supernatural elements of the story.
I found Sweep by Simon Brown interesting. I enjoyed the turn of phrase and found the slowly introduced horror, especially when recounting events from memories of being a child, to be particularly effective. The end of the story stuck with me - very satisfyingly nasty.
I'm beginning to expect to enjoy work by Deborah Biancotti, and No Going Home was no exception. A beautifully written story about a mysterious woman, Gabe, who turns up at Harry's house one night, with no memory of her life to that point. The story felt transient, both in the way the characters were rendered and how the story flowed. Lovely to read.
Loss by Kaaron Warren was another very effective horror story, invoking a kind of claustrophobia as the (admittedly somewhat unsympathetic) protagonist's world shrinks around her.
Walker by Dirk Flinthart was one of my favourite stories of the collection. The idea of ancient spirits adapting to modern suburban life, and the shepherds that stand between them and humanity, was very interesting. I also enjoyed the style of writing, the world building elements and the voice of the protagonist.
Seed Dreams by Liz Argall/Matt Hungh was a clever addition to the anthology - a graphical interlude that was a pleasant surprise in the middle of the book.
The "voice" of the protagonist in White Crocodile Jazz by Ben Peek was very compelling. Tom Tom is mute, and his external interactions are by necessity more physical (and often very violent). I liked the atmosphere generated in this story, with a good plot and satisfying conclusion.
The plot was also very strong in Brisneyland by Night by Angela Slatter. There were hints of a broader story here, with the feeling that you'd just touched one element of a whole world. I don't think I've read anything by Ms Slatter before, but if this story is representative I am going to try to track down more of her work.
There was less post-apocalyptic dystopia than I was expecting in this anthology, but All the Love in the World by Cat Sparks certainly made up for the lack. Set in a post apocalyptic Wollongong (that was a fun phrase to write), the story balanced a description of the disintegrating world with the very personal reaction of the protagonist extremely well. Ms Sparks sketched a very strong lead character, sympathetic while still retaining human quirks and follies.
I recently read Her Gallant Needs by the sadly recently departed Paul Haines in his collection The Last Days of Kali Yuga , so I won't describe it again here. A powerful piece of writing though, and an excellent way to finish out the anthology.
Also included in the anthology is:
Parched by Sean Williams
Relentless Adaptations by Tansy Rayner Roberts
How to Select a Durian at Footscray Market by Stephanie Campisi
Yowie by Thoraiya Dyer
Signature Walk by Pete Kempshall
Gnawer of the Moon Seeks Summit of Paradise by Anna Tambour
Neighbourhood Watch by Barbara Robson
Weightless by L.L. Hannett
I also reviewed this book on my website.
January 17, 2015
On finishing, my thoughts were, "...but the last story left such an unpleasant feeling that it brings the whole collection down. This was not helped by the preceeding two stories also being unpleasant stories about unpleasant people". And then I looked back through, and realised that in the main, they are all horrible stories about horrible people. Working from the back:
"Her Gallant Needs", Paul Haines - I don't think I've ever read a nice story by Paul Haines, nor do I think I've ever done anything but skim through the last half of any of them. This is no exception. Pointlessly unpleasant. [and yet, there were obsessive details about 1982 that almost kept my interest].
"Weightless", L L Hannett - ? Again, a pointlessly unpleasant story. I couldn't tell if it was a sparse story line, an unreliable narrator issue, or just incoherent writing.
"All the love in the World", Cat Sparks - post-apocalyptic nasty small town politics. More unredeemable characters.
"Neighbourhood Watch", Barbara Robson - small group politics with humour and panache. Pointed, subtle, enjoyable. One of the redeeming features of the collection
"Gnawer of the Moon seeks Summit of Paradise", Anna Tambour - slow to get going, gripping by the end. A lovely take on exactly who the ferals are in this country. Not quite a redeeming feature of the collection, but an enjoyable story.
"Brisneyland by Night", Angela Slatter - given that this had one of the nastiest underlying stories, a surprisingly simple modern Faery Tale. Not a hardship to read.
"White Crocodile Jazz", Ben Peek - Peek appears to have finally move on from writing the story of the Angry Young Man, to writing about the angry and the dispossessed. I did not expect to like this - fans of Peek's writing should love it.
"Signature Walk", Pete Kempshall - more horrible people being horrible in horrible circumstances. Also, Perth summer heat, as experienced by the whinging Pom.
"Seed Dreams", Liz Argall/Matt Hungh - gorgeous little piece, subtle and powerful.
"Walker", Dirk Flinthart - this is one of the stand out stories of the collection, possibly the only one I didn't want to put down (and then turned back to read again, because I *knew* I'd missed details). This one made the Australian landscape feel like home, rather than an alien landscape to be endured.
"Loss", Kaaron Warren - Revenge fantasy. I can see the appeal, but again, stuck inside the head of a thoroughly revolting first person character.
"No Going Home", Deborah Biancotti - unlike some of the other stories in the collection, where the writing was disjointed and wandering, in this one it makes sense. When the protagonist is lost, possibly amnesiac, attempting to understand the world, the story isn't clear. Interesting, but still not enjoyable.
"Sweep", Simon Brown - going back to one's childhood town to remember what a little shit you were. Not enthused.
"Yowie", Thoraiya Dyer - New mother, not coping, going slowly mad. Or encountering the supernatural. Never quite clear whether the oddities of the story are real or hallucinations. This and Robert's opening story made me wonder where the stories about life going on okay despite the hell of raising tiny humans might be. An interesting story, but I wasn't receptive to it at this point.
"One Saturday Night, with Angel", Peter Ball - three stories in, and we've gone from end of the world as we know it, to personal hell, and back to end of the world as we know it. urgh.
"How to select a durian at Footscray Market", Stephanie Campisi - the alienness of this story was somewhat forgivable, with the perspective on the immigrant woman who is apart from all the communities.
"Relentless Adaptations", Tansy Rayner Roberts - as an opening salvo, a grim-dark future, where even ones reading pleasure, and the pleasure of making new stories for one's children become secretive behaviour, this was a great choice. Given how it set the tone for the rest of the book, I almost which I'd given up then.
in summary - the intro claims it is a fantasy anthology. The intro is wrong. It is a horror anthology, of the sick and twisted, there is no escape sort, with the odd piece of fantasy garnishing the gore. It reads as if this collection of 'Australian' writers are no such thing, but a group of people who live here, but hate the place. The main reason this will stay in my collection is the Flinthart story, which I want to foist on people. The other four that I liked - I might read them again, but the chances are low.
"Her Gallant Needs", Paul Haines - I don't think I've ever read a nice story by Paul Haines, nor do I think I've ever done anything but skim through the last half of any of them. This is no exception. Pointlessly unpleasant. [and yet, there were obsessive details about 1982 that almost kept my interest].
"Weightless", L L Hannett - ? Again, a pointlessly unpleasant story. I couldn't tell if it was a sparse story line, an unreliable narrator issue, or just incoherent writing.
"All the love in the World", Cat Sparks - post-apocalyptic nasty small town politics. More unredeemable characters.
"Neighbourhood Watch", Barbara Robson - small group politics with humour and panache. Pointed, subtle, enjoyable. One of the redeeming features of the collection
"Gnawer of the Moon seeks Summit of Paradise", Anna Tambour - slow to get going, gripping by the end. A lovely take on exactly who the ferals are in this country. Not quite a redeeming feature of the collection, but an enjoyable story.
"Brisneyland by Night", Angela Slatter - given that this had one of the nastiest underlying stories, a surprisingly simple modern Faery Tale. Not a hardship to read.
"White Crocodile Jazz", Ben Peek - Peek appears to have finally move on from writing the story of the Angry Young Man, to writing about the angry and the dispossessed. I did not expect to like this - fans of Peek's writing should love it.
"Signature Walk", Pete Kempshall - more horrible people being horrible in horrible circumstances. Also, Perth summer heat, as experienced by the whinging Pom.
"Seed Dreams", Liz Argall/Matt Hungh - gorgeous little piece, subtle and powerful.
"Walker", Dirk Flinthart - this is one of the stand out stories of the collection, possibly the only one I didn't want to put down (and then turned back to read again, because I *knew* I'd missed details). This one made the Australian landscape feel like home, rather than an alien landscape to be endured.
"Loss", Kaaron Warren - Revenge fantasy. I can see the appeal, but again, stuck inside the head of a thoroughly revolting first person character.
"No Going Home", Deborah Biancotti - unlike some of the other stories in the collection, where the writing was disjointed and wandering, in this one it makes sense. When the protagonist is lost, possibly amnesiac, attempting to understand the world, the story isn't clear. Interesting, but still not enjoyable.
"Sweep", Simon Brown - going back to one's childhood town to remember what a little shit you were. Not enthused.
"Yowie", Thoraiya Dyer - New mother, not coping, going slowly mad. Or encountering the supernatural. Never quite clear whether the oddities of the story are real or hallucinations. This and Robert's opening story made me wonder where the stories about life going on okay despite the hell of raising tiny humans might be. An interesting story, but I wasn't receptive to it at this point.
"One Saturday Night, with Angel", Peter Ball - three stories in, and we've gone from end of the world as we know it, to personal hell, and back to end of the world as we know it. urgh.
"How to select a durian at Footscray Market", Stephanie Campisi - the alienness of this story was somewhat forgivable, with the perspective on the immigrant woman who is apart from all the communities.
"Relentless Adaptations", Tansy Rayner Roberts - as an opening salvo, a grim-dark future, where even ones reading pleasure, and the pleasure of making new stories for one's children become secretive behaviour, this was a great choice. Given how it set the tone for the rest of the book, I almost which I'd given up then.
in summary - the intro claims it is a fantasy anthology. The intro is wrong. It is a horror anthology, of the sick and twisted, there is no escape sort, with the odd piece of fantasy garnishing the gore. It reads as if this collection of 'Australian' writers are no such thing, but a group of people who live here, but hate the place. The main reason this will stay in my collection is the Flinthart story, which I want to foist on people. The other four that I liked - I might read them again, but the chances are low.
February 16, 2021
Sprawl is inspired by many of the same drives that inform the anthology Baggage – alienation, strangeness, an uneasy alliance with a land that does not seem very friendly. While Baggage looks at the attitudes, sorrows and memories we carry with us, Sprawl uses the places we live as a framework. These suburbs, country towns, homes and even social groups we choose to live in are populated with horror – and humour.
Sprawl opens with Tansy Raynor Roberts’ funny and possibly subversive take on literary puritism in Relentless Adaptations, where fictional characters come to life to protest the constant reworking of their classic stories to include zombies and sea monsters. At the other end of the collection is Paul Haines’ Her Gallant Needs, a powerful, disturbing and sad horror story.
In between those two gems are a wonderful selection of stories about the Australian experience. Particular favourites are:
~How to Select a Durian at Footscray Markets, by Stephanie Campisi, with its view of Vietnamese Australia and a misunderstood fruit…
~Peter M Ball’s One Saturday Night, with Angel – I love his novellas and it was a treat to read some of his short fiction.
~Cat Spark’s strangely hopeful, post-apocalyptic All the Love in the World.
Well, and all the stories in between.
Australian publishing and Australian short fiction are both producing really powerful work at the moment. You should read them. Right now!
Sprawl opens with Tansy Raynor Roberts’ funny and possibly subversive take on literary puritism in Relentless Adaptations, where fictional characters come to life to protest the constant reworking of their classic stories to include zombies and sea monsters. At the other end of the collection is Paul Haines’ Her Gallant Needs, a powerful, disturbing and sad horror story.
In between those two gems are a wonderful selection of stories about the Australian experience. Particular favourites are:
~How to Select a Durian at Footscray Markets, by Stephanie Campisi, with its view of Vietnamese Australia and a misunderstood fruit…
~Peter M Ball’s One Saturday Night, with Angel – I love his novellas and it was a treat to read some of his short fiction.
~Cat Spark’s strangely hopeful, post-apocalyptic All the Love in the World.
Well, and all the stories in between.
Australian publishing and Australian short fiction are both producing really powerful work at the moment. You should read them. Right now!
November 13, 2014
A fantastic collection of Australian speculative fiction covering a gamut of genres and tones. The collection seems almost tailor-made for my tastes - lots of what I like (gritty/grumpy female leads, urban fantasy in local(ish) urbs, creepy sliding numinous weirdness) and refreshingly little of what I don't, particularly in the horror division (one unfortunate scary-gross-ladybits story, but that's all, thank goodness).
Highlights:
Tansy Rayner Roberts – Relentless Adaptations
Literary characters have got wind of the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies trend, and they are Not Pleased. A fun, dystopia-from-the-margins take on a real-world craze.
Barbara Robson – Neighbourhood Watch
Look, if your neighbourhood was filling up with potential child-snatching portals to Faerie, I'm sure you would put it top of the agenda, too.
Peter Ball – One Saturday Night, With Angel
An eerie peek into a world that has already given up explaining the terrible and incomprehensible.
Highlights:
Tansy Rayner Roberts – Relentless Adaptations
Literary characters have got wind of the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies trend, and they are Not Pleased. A fun, dystopia-from-the-margins take on a real-world craze.
Barbara Robson – Neighbourhood Watch
Look, if your neighbourhood was filling up with potential child-snatching portals to Faerie, I'm sure you would put it top of the agenda, too.
Peter Ball – One Saturday Night, With Angel
An eerie peek into a world that has already given up explaining the terrible and incomprehensible.
October 26, 2010
Disclaimer: One of the stories in this anthology is mine. But ignoring that particular story, I was completely hooked by this anthology. I just kept waiting for the point at where the "best" stories gave way to the fillers, as happens in most anthologies, and then I found myself at the end without having read a single lower-quality contribution.
Get hammered between the eyes by Peter M. Ball. Swoon at the luscious language of Stephanie Campisi. Drift into a dreamlike childhood with Simon Brown. Or a real and painful post-apocalyptic community with Cat Sparks. Dial-a-classic with Tansy Roberts. Pause between each hard-hitting serving to think about whether we make the suburbs or the suburbs make us.
Get hammered between the eyes by Peter M. Ball. Swoon at the luscious language of Stephanie Campisi. Drift into a dreamlike childhood with Simon Brown. Or a real and painful post-apocalyptic community with Cat Sparks. Dial-a-classic with Tansy Roberts. Pause between each hard-hitting serving to think about whether we make the suburbs or the suburbs make us.
December 23, 2010
There are some great stories in this anthology, especially Simon Brown's 'Sweep', Dirk Flinthart's 'Walker' and Angela Slatter's 'Brisneyland by Night'.
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