K.J. Bishop opens proceedings with an account of how Alsiso, who begins as a legendary assassin-cum-bogeyman figure, falls in and out of favour with popular culture through the centuries. Serving as a commentary both on how historical reality becomes distorted over time by the popular imagination, and on the very concept of The Alsiso Project itself, Bishop's story is an ideal introduction to the anthology. Interestingly, it's also a story that wouldn't work nearly so well outside the context of this anthology, and even gains power from its position in the book. A fine example, then, of what a concept like The Alsiso Project's can allow writers to achieve.
Gary Couzens contributes one of the anthology's highlights with his dark tale of sexuality and fractured friendships. Here, Alsiso is a word formed form the names of its protagonists (Alex, Simon and Sophie). The story documents the course and break-up of the three characters' friendship at university. There are revelations along the way, and a highly ambiguous narrator. A compelling story.
Marion Arnott is the writer whose typing error sparked off the whole anthology (intending to type 'Alison' on the TTA Press message boards, she mistakenly typed 'Alsiso', which, Andrew Hook remarked, sounded like a good title for a story...), so it's fitting that she provides the volume's closing tale. It's a tragic love story set during a war in a place that falls somewhere between fantasy and history. Certainly, it feels more real than your average medieval fantasy world. I didn't see the final twist coming, but in hindsight it seems inevitable, which of course is, in itself, the hallmark of a good twist. There is more in this story's twenty pages than you'll find in 500 pages of many epic fantasies.
Many of the authors in The Alsiso Project are not widely known, and it's doubtful that any one reader will be familiar with all the names in the book. So the chances are that everyone will come away with a least one writer whose work they want to follow up. For me, such a writer is Matt Dinniman. His contribution starts with people exploding after they say the word 'alsiso', and continues in a similar vein. I enjoyed the story immensely, and I'll be keeping an eye out for Dinniman's work in future.
John Grant tells a tale of clashing realities where inhabitants of a dream world invade ours, threatening the existence of both. Our guide is the dream-figure (or 'alsis') struggling to return to her reality. The story gets a little too bogged down in metaphysics, but Grant keeps you reading, and the beautiful image at the destination makes up for any difficulties during the journey.
Nicholas Royle's piece is outstanding, a deceptively quiet story of a man who has returned to his home city of Manchester, only for his life to slowly fall apart. As we learn more of his past, we discover just why the protagonist is so troubled by such seemingly mundane activities as house-hunting. This is a subtle, understated tale that doesn't give up all its secrets readily. It is well worth your time.
Marie O'Regan gives us another of the anthology's finest entries. Her protagonist, Ben, begins to hear (or imagines) 'alsiso' in everyday sounds and speech, and finds himself becoming more and more violent, which seems to go against his natural tendencies. Events come to a head when he confronts his cheating wife at her lover's flat, and we finally understand what has been happening to Ben. The chilling final sentence ends the tale on a note of inescapable horror.
The stories discussed so far are all very good indeed, but Steve Savile's is exceptional. Whilst travelling in Italy, Owen Frost has been abducted, along with his girlfriend Sasha, and taken to a remote monastery. There, Frost is forced to play a part in the creation of the golem Alsiso, who will be sent to battle God. But Owen has other plans... Savile has written a beautiful, deeply moving story, truly one of the best of a very fine bunch.
But, for me, the absolute pick of the anthology is the story by Conrad Williams. A scrap-metal merchant is given sheets of a mysterious paper-thin metal by a woman from a nearby laboratory, leading to revelations that shake the very foundations of the protagonist's life. I admired this story not just for its striking use of language, but especially for the way it makes what might, in other hands, be far-fetched and hoary, seem entirely believable and startlingly new.
The Alsiso Project isn't an unqualified success: Lisa Pearson's inconsequential tale of a brief fling in Africa, and David Allen Lambert's story of possession that starts brilliantly but fails to live up to its initial promise, are two of the poorer entries. But there are many more stories here which are good or better than good (by no means have I covered them all in this review); and disliking a few of the stories is a small price to pay if it means anthologies this eclectic will be published. It's inevitable that not all the tales in this book will appeal to everyone, but that is all part of the game. In short, you owe it to yourself to read The Alsiso Project – if not for its individual stories (though they should provide reason enough!), then for the anthology's sheer spirit of adventure.
Finally, a note on the book's price. Small press publications are often (necessarily, though regrettably) priced out of the range of the casual buyer; so full marks to Elastic Press for pricing this volume at only £6.00. At that price, you can afford to take a chance on The Alsiso Project. It is a chance you won't regret taking.
This review first appeared in The Alien Online.
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