Review: The Aphorisms of Kherishdar.
My copy of the Aphorisms of Kherishdar arrived today, and let me tell you, it is GORGEOUS. It is a superbly elegant book. I already know the content (I helped pay for the content!) so I don't need to elaborate on the similar elegance of the writing, the small self-contained drifts of incense, with their lingering beauty and self-contained nature. I will say that if you think haikujaguar's art looks good on your computer screen, you should see it printed! All the subtlety and delicacy of her watercolors are just gorgeous. The Calligrapher's signature at the bottom of the Introduction page was when I knew I was in for a visual delight: it looks like watercolor, it looks signed. And the artwork is just as superb. Keep an eye out for the last illustration; you'll know it when you see it. I keep turning back to it!

(I'm going to feel very silly indeed if her medium is something else!)

All right, all right, I can too talk about the text. Fifty-five pages seems terribly short for a twenty-dollar book; there are twenty-five incense stories in it, and I doubt any of them are more than two pages long. However, I just about guarantee that you WILL reread them over and over again: the language is beautiful, the turns of phrase memorable, and the thematics exceptionally thought-provoking. haikujaguar immerses the reader in a culture that values interdependence and structure above individuality and independence to the point that a member of one caste may not necessarily be able to speak to a member of a higher caste without their permission, and she does it in such a way that it seems perfectly natural. (Keep an eye out for the fathrekedi!)

In short, this little volume does what the best science fiction and fantasy should do: it transports the reader to another world, and provides food for thought even upon the reader's return from that world.