Cat Rambo - Publications

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Originally appeared in: Subterranean Magazine

Description: Novelette, collaboration with Jeff VanderMeer in late 2006.

Audio:

Reprints: Appears in THE SURGEON'S TALE AND OTHER STORIES (Rambo & VanderMeer) and THE THIRD BEAR (VanderMeer).

Reviews:
Mario Guslandi said:
"The Surgeon's Tale" is a bizarre but delightful and tender piece which will stay for a long time in the reader's mind.
Erica Naone noted:
The Surgeon's Tale is deeply weird and satisfying....I think it stands as proof of how archetypes work. They are archetypes precisely because they are evocative. Most powerful archetypal themes (such as that of the attempt to bring a dead person back to life) are in no danger of becoming cliches if the author goes the distance with them. These authors are not afraid to let the resurrected arm be just as weird and poignant as it needs to be. The result is that, while I do think of Frankenstein as I read the story, The Surgeon's Tale is its own story.
Paul Charles Smith noted:
The Surgeon's Tale, a collaboration between VanderMeer and Cat Rambo, is a cautionary tale to those who would dabble in the dark arts in which an arrogant medical student attempts to bring a dead girl back to life and has to live with the consequences. Despite being a collaboration, it is seamless and I certainly wouldn't be able to tell you what was written by each author. While some of its main themes (corpse preservation and necromancy) are quite dark, it is also rather tender in places as the story embodies both longing and regret. While it is more straightforward that most of the other tales in the collection, it is still very satisfying and continues to prove that Rambo is a writer to keep an eye on.

Notes:
Reprinted in THE SURGEON'S TALE AND OTHER STORIES. Locus recommended reading list. Chosen as aNotable Story for 2007 by the Million Writers Award. Honorable mention, YEAR'S BE ST FANTASY AND HORROR, 2008.
This collaboration was a pleasure to work on and remains one of my favorite pieces.