A disappointingly listless discussion, given that Kelly Link practically invented her own brand of fantasy writing. The brief excerpt she read from her acclaimed short story “The Specialist’s Hat” hardly provided a taster of the dynamic prose which Niffenegger praised as containing “surprises like tiny fireworks”. The talk and the response to audience questions bordered on the banal (you can’t make a living at writing and will likely need to teach? Hardly a shocker). The most interesting revelation was Link’s quirky habit of reading crime novels by starting at the beginning, skipping to the end, and then enjoying the satisfying layers of the middle.

ScottishPower Studio Theatre, 16 Aug, 8.30 (9.25), £8.00 – £10.00, eibfpp17.
[tsr]