Before and Afterlives
"[Barzak] treads a delicate line between the paranormal ghost romance  and the more nuanced literary tradition that includes Shirley Jackson,  Peter S. Beagle, and Robert Nathan...Before and Afterlives is a ﬁne  introduction to the short ﬁction of an author who, in a fairly short  career, has established himself as one of the most distinctive voices  and lyrically effective prose stylists in recent fantasy." --Gary K.  Wolfe for Locus Magazine"Masterfully crafted...each one packs a punch." --Publishers Weekly"Throughout this collection, Barzak effectively writes people contending with their fears and doubts but most especially he writes about loneliness. Barzak makes it all seem so easy, these gentle glimpses into his characters' lives, and even though these lives might include mermaids or ghostly parents or talking ﬁreflies,the extraordinary aspects are not what make his tales so magical. It's the way he sees plain ordinary people that gives his stories such power. Bravo."  --Bookslut