Sleight of Hand by Peter S. Beagle

Peter S. Beagle will probably always be best known for The Last Unicorn, the 1968 fantasy novel many consider his masterpiece, but the author has assembled a long and impressive bibliography since this perennial classic, including several excellent short story collections. The most recent of these is Sleight of Hand, recently released by Tachyon. If all you know of Peter S. Beagle is The Last Unicorn, this is as good an opportunity as any to jump in and explore the author’s shorter works. Sleight of Hand offers thirteen stories that stretch to the far corners of the fantasy field, from cute children’s tales to ghost and werewolf stories, from traditional, straightforward narratives to more challenging fiction, and from humor to the most painful emotions… Just like all the great authors working in the genre, Peter S. Beagle uses fantasy to examine the most straightforward, non-fantastical, human aspects of our lives. In Sleight of Hand, he offers thirteen excellent examples of why he’s one of the better fantasists working today. Read the rest.