Rating: 
Summary: An Auspicious Beginning from a Promising Writer
Review: Andy Duncan attained a certain level of notoriety a few years ago with his short story "Beluthahatchie," about a African-American blues guitarist from the Depression-era South who dies and gets off at the next train stop past Hell. The story was nominated for a Hugo award. I've read this particular story several times, and still laugh out loud each time. Most of Andy's stories take place in by-gone times - and all have some element of strangeness. His writing style deftly changes to match the time period in which the story is set. His Southern stories are like a cross between the Twilight Zone and To Kill a Mockingbird. Other tales are reminiscent of Edgar Allen Poe. Regardless of where or when the tales are set, Andy always captures the spirit of the society - revealed in his incredible attention to detail. He also takes great pains to depict his characters without 21st century condescension, and without glossing over their cultural failings. Beluthahatchie & Other Stories is the first compilation of this talented writer's works. The book contains eleven of Andy's best stories; highlights (aside from the title story) include: "The Executioner's Guild," in which a white traveling executioner, assigned to dispatch a black prisoner, is joined by an elder of his ancient society. "Lincoln in Frogmore," the remembrance of a former slave who recalls the Great Emancipator making a secret nocturnal visit to the black residents of St. Helena Island, South Carolina - at the height of the Civil War! "Fortitude," a twist on legendary General George S. Patton's obsession with reincarnation. Andy explores Patton's belief that he has a particular destiny - and not just one of victory in battle - and the internal conflicts that arise as a result...END
Rating: 
Summary: A Delight, a Surprise, and an Original
Review: Andy Duncan is a delight, a surprise, and an original. If you haven't yet sampled his work, in "Beluthahatchie and Other Stories" you've got the pleasure of discovering a huge new talent ahead of you. And if you're already familiar with his beautifully written and crafted stories, "Beluthahatchie and Other Stories" allows you to re-read, rediscover, and relish them as often as you wish -- and if you're like me, you'll find yourself dipping into this wonderful collection again and again.
Rating:
Summary: A Delight, a Surprise, and an Original
Review: Andy Duncan is a delight, a surprise, and an original. If you haven't yet sampled his work, in "Beluthahatchie and Other Stories" you've got the pleasure of discovering a huge new talent ahead of you. And if you're already familiar with his beautifully written and crafted stories, "Beluthahatchie and Other Stories" allows you to re-read, rediscover, and relish them as often as you wish -- and if you're like me, you'll find yourself dipping into this wonderful collection again and again.
Rating:
Summary: Next Stop Beluthahatchie
Review: Andy Duncan is one of those rare and wonderful writers that only come along once in a great while, making an immediate impact with his adroit storytelling ability, while his stories defy category. Duncan has the electrifying intensity of Richard Powers, with a touch of Tennessee Williams, a smidgen of William Faulkner and Hemingway, and the sense of humor that blends Mark Twain and Kurt Vonnegut all into one. But despite this heady mix - Andy Duncan is a fresh and exciting and original voice; a voice you're going to be hearing a lot about and lot from. BELUTHAHATCHIE is just a sampling of things to come...much bigger and better things. A solid collection from a powerful young voice. Gary S. Potter Author/Poet.
Rating:
Summary: The debut of an astonishing new talent
Review: Andy Duncan writes brilliant stories. That's all I need to say. He puts words down on paper and they look beautiful! This collection, from the magnificent Golden Gryphon press, collects all of Andy Duncan's early published work. The stories are by turns, beautiful, poignant, and sometimes horrific. My favorite story of the collection is 'The Executioner's Guild'. This incredible novella is set in a small Southern town. The town is abuzz because the Execution wagon is coming to town. The Executioner is a young man whose job it is to perform Executions for the state. The story becomes really interesting when the Executioner's mysterious mentor unexpectedly arrives in town and the Executioner must come to grips with the true importance of his job. This story will leave you thinking long after you've put the book down. There are other stories in this collection of equal quality: 'Liza and the Crazy Water Man', 'Fenneman's Mouth', 'Grand Guignol', 'From Alfano's Reliquary', and the title story 'Beluthahatchie', set in a suburb of Hell. It's a genuinely exciting experience to stumble across a relatively new author. If you're not familiar with Andy Duncan, you should definitely check out this explosive new author. Duncan's stories remind me a lot of those by another Southern author, Howard Waldrop. Whatever their similarities and differences, both are incredible authors. Duncan's published stories since this collection have maintained his very high level of excellence. I have every reason to believe that Andy Duncan will be a very big name in short speculative fiction. Don't miss this collection. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: The debut of an astonishing new talent
Review: Andy Duncan writes brilliant stories. That's all I need to say. He puts words down on paper and they look beautiful! This collection, from the magnificent Golden Gryphon press, collects all of Andy Duncan's early published work. The stories are by turns, beautiful, poignant, and sometimes horrific. My favorite story of the collection is 'The Executioner's Guild'. This incredible novella is set in a small Southern town. The town is abuzz because the Execution wagon is coming to town. The Executioner is a young man whose job it is to perform Executions for the state. The story becomes really interesting when the Executioner's mysterious mentor unexpectedly arrives in town and the Executioner must come to grips with the true importance of his job. This story will leave you thinking long after you've put the book down. There are other stories in this collection of equal quality: 'Liza and the Crazy Water Man', 'Fenneman's Mouth', 'Grand Guignol', 'From Alfano's Reliquary', and the title story 'Beluthahatchie', set in a suburb of Hell. It's a genuinely exciting experience to stumble across a relatively new author. If you're not familiar with Andy Duncan, you should definitely check out this explosive new author. Duncan's stories remind me a lot of those by another Southern author, Howard Waldrop. Whatever their similarities and differences, both are incredible authors. Duncan's published stories since this collection have maintained his very high level of excellence. I have every reason to believe that Andy Duncan will be a very big name in short speculative fiction. Don't miss this collection. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: An outstanding, highly recommended collection
Review: Beluthahatchie And Other Stories is an outstanding, highly recommended collection of Andy Duncan's short stories, include a Hugo and a Nebula nominated tale. Quality speculative fiction from a talented and accomplished writer, Beluthahatchie And Other Stories is enhanced with a Foreword by Michael Bishop, an Afterword by John Kkessel, and includes: Saved; Grand Guignol; The Executioners' Guild; The Premature Burials; Fenneman's Mouth; Lincoln in Frogmore; The Map to the Homes of the Stars; From Alfano's Reliquary; Lisa and the Crazy Water Man; Fortitude; and the title piece, Beluthahatchie.
Rating:
Summary: Damn
Review: Damn what a fine book. Amazing range and passion, wonderful writing. Weird and sad, surprising and wise. And very, very funny. Damn. Read one story and try to imagine the author. Read another and try again. Read a third and you will give up. Andy Duncan's got some serious stories to tell us. And we have such a good time listening to his remarkably convincing and varied voices we don't figure that out till later. A grand collection.
Rating:
Summary: I was very wrong!
Review: I originally wrote a review of this book saying that it did not merit the praise others gave it, but I was wrong. I've since reread the book and now see that it's highly crafted, witty, and original. If you want to see fiction that's not like anything else you've ever read, buy this book and read Mr. Duncan's excellent stories. He's a writer to watch, and will surely go far, in the mainstream as well as in the SF world.
Rating: 
Summary: I have Michael Bishop to thank for this . . .
Review: I'm Andy Duncan, author of Beluthahatchie and Other Stories, a book that came about because our Pine Mountain, Georgia, friends Michael and Jeri Bishop came to visit Sydney and me in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in summer 1999. (Michael is a Nebula Award-winning novelist, author of Brittle Innings and other wonderful books.) The night before Michael and Jeri left home, they amused one another by reading aloud my then-current Asimov's novella, "The Executioners' Guild." (I take it they don't have cable.) This apparently put ideas in Michael's head. En route to dinner at the Taylorville Diner, Michael asked me, "Hey, Andy, how many stories have you published to date?" I told him, "About a dozen." He pondered this, then said, "That's enough for a collection." I said yes, I supposed it was. Then he told me that the folks at a World Fantasy Award-winning small press, Golden Gryphon, had asked him to recommend writers, including new writers, who deserved to have a collection of their work published. "Would you mind terribly," Michael asked, "if I were to recommend an Andy Duncan collection to Golden Gryphon? I even could volunteer to write a foreword." Doing my best not to drive into the ditch, I managed to squawk out that I wouldn't mind that at all-in fact, that would be very nice, thanks. By October, I had a book "in press," as they say in academe. I'm very proud of the book, and of all the stories therein, and I can't thank Michael enough for getting the ball rolling. I'd love to hear what you folks think about the book, here at Amazon or at my own Web page. In the meantime, thanks for reading!
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