The Short: I recently read the Ursula Vernon (under her pen name “T. Kingfisher”) collection Jackalope Wives and Other Stories, 2017 Red Wombat Tea Company/Argyll Productions. IMHO, it’s mostly fantasy, with one story that could be SF and two poems that are not genre. I loved it. My overall rating was 3.82/5, or “Great”. Strongly recommended.
The Long: I’ve been reading Ursula Vernon, mostly under her pen name T. Kingfisher, for a while. I believe the first story of hers I read was probably “The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society“, a short story as by T. Kingfisher, Uncanny Magazine, November-December 2018. The work of hers I have read has been mostly fantasy.
While writing my essay “A Fan’s Celebration 0f International Women’s Day in Science Fiction/Speculative Fiction“, I realized that she had a 2017 collection I had not read, Jackalope Wives and Other Stories, 2017 Red Wombat Tea Company/Argyll Productions.
I was lucky enough to be gifted with an Amazon gift card, and I decided one use of that would be to purchase Jackalope Wives and Other Stories. It contains 16 stories and poems, at 238 pages for the trade paperback. There is a lovely introductory essay, “The Kingfisher & The Jackalope”, about how she became a writer of short fiction. There are story introductions by Vernon for most of the stories, which are interesting and insightful. There is also a wonderful “Acknowledgements” essay where she tells a great story of “The Alfies“, the story “Jackalope Wives“, and her friend author Mur Lafferty.
It is available in both e-book and trade paperback formats. T. Kingfisher is listed as the author on the cover, and was noted as the author in most original appearances. Ursula Vernon is listed on the copyright page.
In reading it, I confirmed that I had never read any of these stories and poems. Two of them are original to this collection, short stories “Let Pass the Horses Black” and “Origin Story“. IMHO, it’s mostly fantasy, with one story that could be SF and two poems that are not genre. I loved it.
I rated 11 of the 16 stories and poems at “Great”, with ratings of 3.8-4/5. My three favorites (all rated at 4/5) were:
- “This Vote is Legally Binding“, a free verse poem. First appearance appears to be on Ursula Vernon’s LiveJournal webpage on August 31 2016. ISFDB does not list it, as they claim it’s not genre. I disagree. I am not typically a fan of poems, but I love this one!
- “Pocosin“, a short story, Apex Magazine January 2015.
- “The Tomato Thief“, a Grandma Harken novelette, Apex Magazine January 2016.
Other than one non-genre poem about gardening, I rated the rest of the contents at “Very good”.
My overall rating was 3.82/5, or “Great”. I loved several of the free verse poems included, which is unusual for me. I found the essays to be charming and interesting. Strongly recommended for those with an interest in fantasy.
I will continue to look for fiction by Ursula Vernon/T. Kingfisher, and seek out her existing work as well.
DETAILED REVIEWS/COMMENT
“The Kingfisher & the Jackalope“, an introductory essay. Somewhat about how she became a writer of short fiction.
“Godmother“, a short story, published online in 2014 as by T. Kingfisher. A very good story, and apparently connected to her 2022 Hugo Award winning novel “Nettle & Bone“. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.
“Jackalope Wives“, a Grandma Harken short story, Apex Magazine January 2014. A great story of a fool grandson and a jackalope wife, and redemption at a price. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.
“Wooden Feathers“, a short story, Uncanny November-December 2015. An amazing story of a wood carver who finds out she is not very good, but helps someone no one else can help. Wooden ducks figure strongly. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.
“Editing“, a poem, self-published (signed “UrsulaV”) on December 18th, 2013. A lovely poem/fragment about the process of editing one’s own work. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.
“Bird Bones“, a novelette, first available as a fundraiser premium in October 2015. I dearly love this story of Louise, an aging, retired math teacher and gardener and her experiences with organized and intelligent birds. I read this as SF, but it could be seen as fantasy. Either way, it’s a great story with great characters. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.
“That Time with Bob and the Unicorn“, a short story, Mothership Zeta January 2016. A very entertaining story of a retired academic, her doofus nephew, social media, and a “unicorn”. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.
“Razorback“, a short story, Apex Magazine January 2016. A sad and yet wonderful story of a witch and her friend the razorback, and how they went on together. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.
“The Dryad’s Shoe“, a short story, Fantasy Magazine October 2014. A wonderful retelling of Cinderella, with a lot of fun, practicality, and good characters. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.
“Let Pass the Horses Black“, a short story, original to this collection. Another of Kingfisher’s turn a fantasy trope on its head stories, with a woman acting like she will try to rescue her brother from the Queen of Fairies, but a big switch of the outcome. Rated 3.6/5, or ‘Very good”.
“This Vote is Legally Binding“, a poem, first appearance on Ursula Vernon’s LiveJournal webpage on August 31 2016. A somewhat free verse essay in response to the “talking to women with headphones on” thing. Its hysterical and yet horrific in terms of why this was a thing and is probably still a thing. I view this as genre, but ISFDB does not. Rated 4/5, or “Great”.
“Telling the Bees“, a short story, Strange Horizons 21 December 2015. A wonderful story based on a folk tale I have not heard of before. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.
“The Tomato Thief“, a novelette, Apex Magazine January 2016. The adventures of Grandma Harken continue, with a tomato thief, train-gods, and much more. This might be the last Grandma Harkens story, but TBD. Hugo Award winner. Rated 4/5, or “Great”.
“In Questionable Taste”, a poem, no information on prior publication. Okay poem about gardening.
“Origin Story“, a short story, first published in this collection. The story introduction reads, “My friend Jared wrote synopses for several fake fairy tales. It was a joke, but I wanted to read several of those stories, and what with one thing and another…” The last of the fairies was not a good fairy, and worked in a charnel house. Bad things happen, and the last fairy makes a last great thing. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.
“Pocosin“, a short story, Apex Magazine January 2015. A phenomenal story of witch Maggie Gray and the final death of a possum-god, and the Powers that contest her for the last bit of the dying god, and Death who wears the body of her grandmother. And a pocosin, which Kingfisher explains in the story introduction is a bog on top of a hill, ‘Pocosins are a type of raised peat wetland found almost exclusively in the Carolinas. The name derives from an Eastern Algonquian word meaning ‘swamp on a hill.’ They are a rare and unique ecosystem, today widely threatened by development. I am very fond of them.” Rated 4/5, or “Great”.
“It Was a Day“, a poem, self-published (signed “UrsulaV”) on September 5, 2013, and then published on Tor.com soon after. I am not generally a fan of poetry, but I have liked the free verse poetry by Vernon here quite a lot. I love this one of a person getting by and perhaps doing the best possible, with some hope. Vernon notes, “I always wanted to be published by Tor, I just didn’t expect it to be for something with a line about phone-sex with Pierson’s puppeteers.” Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.
“Acknowledgments“, an essay. She tells a great story of “The Alfies“, the story “Jackalope Wives“, and her friend author Mur Lafferty.
A Deep Look by Dave Hook 
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