Two Worlds and In Between

The Best of Caitlin R. Kiernan, Vol. 1

By: Caitlín R. Kiernan

Narrated by: various narrators, Jayme Mattler, Helen Lloyd, Amy Landon, Lisa Flanagan, Sophie Amoss, Andrew Eiden, Kevin Kenerly, Paul Woodson, Gabra Zackman, Robert Fass, Brittany Pressley

Length: 24 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

Two Worlds and in Between: The Best of Caitlín R. Kiernan presents a stunning retrospective of the first 10 years of the author’s work. It is a compilation of more than 200,000 words of short fiction, including many of her most acclaimed stories as well as some of the author’s personal favorites; several previously uncollected, hard-to-find pieces; her sci-fi novella, The Dry Salvages; and a rare collaboration with Poppy Z. Brite.

©2011 Caitlin R. Kiernan (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

A Good Entrance to Ms. Kiernan

Ms. Kiernan's work means a lot to me as a writer.

I often joke and declare that if I grow up, I want to write like Ms. Kiernan. To tell truth, nobody writes like Ms. Kiernan. Her work amazes me at how it takes normal situations like an ordinary puddle, and transforms it into something otherworldly, and even unnerving. She is at her best when she channels both HP Lovecraft, and Charles Fort.

I started with her novel SILK and then bought her first collection, TALES OF PAIN AND WONDER, finding myself head over heels in deep and abiding love for her short stories. To date, my favorite of hers is "To This Water (Johnstown, PA 1889)" It is a gutwrenching story of a young Hungarian emigree and how vile people can be in their hatred and bigotry. It is also a stunning story of revenge and how Ms. Kiernan weaves this journey, using the Johnstown flood as the backdrop, left me breathless and wanting more.

Her writing stands alone, despite being influenced by HP Lovecraft and Charles Fort, Ray Bradbury, Angela Carter and so many others.

She is, by far, my favorite contemporary writer and I highly recommend everything she writes, but if you are new to CRK, this is a great place to start.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Wonderfully written and narrated!

It is rare that I enjoy every story in a collection. The stories ranged from horror to sci-fi. It was wonderfully narrated too.

Amazing collection!

You know, I've been waiting to sing Caitlin R Kiernan's praises for a while now and this seems as good a time as any. Especially since, in my opion, short stories are where she excels. Don't misunderstand me, all her writing available here on audible is worth listening to (novels under any pseudonyms included), without a doubt. But if you're looking for a selection of great, often Lovecraftian, stories that truly show off the author's talent... then look no further. Ms. Kiernan seems to understand this type of weird fiction better than anyone else I've ever read.
Not all the stories are Lovecraftian in nature. We get everything thing from a brief look into the final days of one Mina Harker to a fairly straightforward (if no less twisted in nature) crime drama/shoot-em-up. Not to mention echoes of Charles Hoy Fort: one of the first writers and researchers of odd phenomena.
My three favorite stories are, "Les Fleurs Empoisonnees," In which our teen hero: the albino, monster-slaying Dancy Flammarion encounters a coven of not-quite-ghouls already having a bad day, "Onion," Which is a beautiful love story about a couple experiencing strange phenomena together, their pain shared in a genuine way, and "Tears Seven Times Salt," Which is dark fantasy at its finest and most guttural.
All the stories are good if not great. This is weird fiction/horror, however, and though not everyone is doomed like they would be in (oh, I don't know, let's say,) actual Lovecraft, everyone is transformed in some way (either mind, body, or spirit) by the end of each story.
I've been a fan of Ms Kiernan's for some time and I'm thrilled to see her short story collections starting to become available here. If you like weird fiction... Boy, oh boy, are you going to have some fun with this!

EPIC, ABSOLUTELY EPIC!

Caitlin Kieran is incapable of writing a inferior short story, novella or substantial novel; so, this being a epic collection of her absolute best work, that would make this book nothing less than amazing ; climatically satisfying with a lust to revisit over and over! Yes, that good: IF! you enjoy horror; if you reveal in Lovecraftian mythos, if you enjoy the John Langan’s, Laird Barron’s, Ania Ahlborn’s, Nick Cutter’s, Neil Gaiman’s, Robert E Howard- etcetera of the horror/Si-Fi/Fantasy or, “Pulp Fiction” genre’s! Caitlin Kieran is a master of horror that regularly creates spine chilling absolutely terrifying stories;always interesting, clever and satisfying….. Narrations? EPIC AS WELL!!!

one of my favorite authors

I had tried for a long time to find a writer who I liked as much as Poppy Z Brite and I finally found them.

These are not short stories

Stream of consciousness writing can be Good , if it’s done by a talented enough writer , she dips in and out of some universe (apparently) of her creation , but not well.
She is pretentious and extremely full of herself.
This book makes me angry , it’s so bad , the interlude, insights by the “author” are some real cringe.