“The Bricks of Gelecek”
Naked City
Ed. Ellen Datlow
July 1, 2011

Reviews

“One of the spirits of destruction falls in love with a human girl. Kressel creates absolutely stunning imagery in this story. It has the scope and breadth of an epic story in a way that really worked for me. Descriptions of ancient, fallen cities are gorgeous. Kressel has a talent, I think, in depicting the weight of history, even in short form. …This story is a delight in setting and cinematography.” — Rachel Swirsky”

“The true gem lies in the middle of the collection: Matthew Kressel’s ‘The Bricks of Gelecek,’ a stunning tale of urban destruction and rebirth.” — Shelf Awareness

“Lovely and melancholy fantasy, very different from the others in this collection and quite a bit more to my taste.” — Lois Tilton, Locus Online

“In the poetic and haunting ‘The Bricks of Gelecek’ by Matthew Kressel, a mysterious supernatural being becomes fascinated by a young woman in a medieval desert city.” — Kestrell, The Green Man Review

“I’ve recently bought a story by a relative newcomer, Matthew Kressel. Matt is the editor of Sybil’s Garage, a boutique sf/f magazine–and he’s recently become my co-curator for the KGB Fantastic Fiction reading series in New York City. I knew he was a writer and probably had read some of his stories over the past couple of years. But he submitted a story to my Naked City (urban fantasy) anthology and it blew me away. As soon as I read it, I knew I had something. It’s about creatures in the desert that by their presence, destroy the cities they come to. And it’s a love story.” — Ellen Datlow, Chasing Ray

“This story really helps to drive home that when your city disappears, eventually no one will remember it… ever. It’s a little bit sad, a little bit nostalgic. But mostly, it’s a great reality check and reminder of reality.” — Earth and Skye