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Emerald Eye edited by Frank Ludlow and Roelof Goudriaan
01/07/2006 . Source: Pauline Morgan 
pub: Albedo/Aeon Press. 293 page enlarged paperback. Price: £ 9.99 (UK), 9.99 euros. ISBN: 0-9534784-4-0. Buy Emerald Eye in the USA - or Buy Emerald Eye in the UK  check out website: www.albedo1.com
Ireland is a country that seems to encourage the imagination. The rich tradition of Celtic magic and a purported gateway to Faery has long inspired the story-teller. Once it was the travelling bard entertaining the population with strange stories of gods and heroes. Modern writers have continued the tradition, re-writing and embellishing that folklore. The conflicts that have given rise to stories of heroes from before the time of Finn and the Fianna have persisted to the present day. The Northern and Southern counties have always found something to argue about. Cattle rustling across the borders still goes on, although most of the cows these days are sacred rather than actual. It is a country of romance.
From bardic times, the role of the storyteller had a recognised importance. Traditionally, a bard was likely to be the only person who could travel alone and know he would not be molested or robbed. Today, writers are welcomed in the Republic of Ireland and given the exalted condition of tax-free status. Many writers have been encouraged to live and work there. This has given the editors of this volume a wealth of material to draw on. To be eligible for inclusion, the writer had to either be born or to live in Ireland. 'Emerald Eye' is an anthology of eighteen stories from a diverse selection of writers. None of the stories are original to the volume and not many of the authors are known to the wider reading public. Only one writer is female. Anne McCaffrey's 'Velvet Fields' is a Science Fiction story from 1973 about the dangers of making assumptions, especially concerning planets you intend to colonise.
To be able to include a story by William Trevor is quite a coup. 'Miss Smith' was originally published in 1967 and is psychological horror. After being humiliated in class by his teacher, James tries to show he is not as stupid as she thinks. James's revenge is not pleasant but this could be classed a stalker story before the term had been coined.
The other two well-known authors are Bob Shaw and James White. Shaw's story 'The Giaconda Caper' is a quirky fantasy with his psi-talented private investigator on the trail of a version of the Mona Lisa. It is totally irreverent and fun. White's 'Custom Fitting' is also humorous Science Fiction. George Hewlitt is an old fashioned bespoke tailor who is asked to make a formal dress suit for a visiting centaur-like alien.
The first story in any anthology is usually chosen because it is the editors favourite and it is used to hook the potential buyer or it sets the tone for a volume. 'Thomas Cromlesh 1960-1992: A Retrospective' by Mike McCormack combines art and horror. Thomas Cromlesh has embarked on a series of installation pieces which incorporate his own body parts in them. Each piece gets more and more bizarre and outrageous. It is a fine piece of black humour but perhaps have been better as the last story in the volume but although there are several very dark stories in this volume, including 'Hello Darkness' by Mike O'Driscoll.
Of the remaining stories, eight of them have appeared previously in 'Albedo One', the magazine issued by this publisher. They are not bad stories but suggests a limited base from which they have drawn the material. It would have been nice to see a wider range of authors and stories.
Pauline Morgan
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