The Man with the Knives, by Ellen Kushner

Hey, you know that Different Sort of List I posted, the one where Jeff VanderMeer offered up a number of off the beaten path gift ideas?

Well, in that post Jeff mentioned that Catherynne Valente's Under in the Mere and Ellen Kushner's The Man With the Knives weren't available on Amazon.  If you follow the link, you'll find that Valente's novel is available via the publisher, Rabid Transit Press. 


The Man with the Knives is a limited edition chapbook published by Temporary Culture and there are few copies remaining for sale (via a link that didn't work when I tried it).

The good news: "The Man with the Knives" has been published on Tor.com and everyone who missed out on the chapbook (most people) can read it. 

The story ties into Kushner's 1987 novel Swordspoint and likely answers a lingering question or two and provides some closure.  I couldn't say.  I haven't read Swordspoint.  But after reading "The Man with the Knives", I want to. 

"The Man with the Knives" stands on its own as a story and is a bittersweet tale of a somewhat broken man letting go of the past, and of a man and a woman finding a small place of quiet and home in the world.  Very good story.