While my favorite works by Elizabeth Hand remain out of print (Winterlong, Aestival Tide, and the short story collection Last Summer at Mars Hill) Saffron and Brimstone is an excellent introduction to her unique prose which is somehow always too graceful to shock, even when it absolutely, positively should. In particular, Hand has a gift for describing places — a building, a city, a forrest — in a way that makes them feel nearly tangible under the hand, while not short changing her characters or plot. If you haven’t read this yet (it came out at the end of 2006), you should add it to your holiday wish list immediately.
