Alive in Shape and Color: 16 Paintings by Great Artists and the Stories They Inspired

Following the success of 2016's art-related collection In Sunlight or in Shadow: Stories Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper, also edited by Block, this follow-up falls a little short but still contains some nuggets. Unlike the Hopper-centric stories of the earlier volume, this title features all manner of art, from the cave paintings of Lascaux (Jeffery Deaver's "A Significant Find") to Balthus (Joyce Carol Oates's creepy "Les Beaux Jours"), Bosch (Michael Connelly's taut "The Third Panel"), Van Gogh (David Morrell's "Orange Is for Anguish, Blue for Insanity"), Rodin (Kristine Kathryn Rusch's uneven "Thinkers"), and many others. Some authors tell the painting's creation myth, with Morrell's Stephen King-inflected offering a standout, and Nicholas Christopher contributing "Girl with a Fan" (Gauguin), a spy story with Nazis. Sarah Weinman's period-perfect "The Big Town," and Lee Child's well-crafted "Pierre, Lucien, and Me" feature art-loving protagonists compelled by paintings to do wrong. In "The Great Wave," S.J. Rozan's captive narrator speaks to a print of Katsushika Hokusai's masterpiece (it talks back). Yet two of the best stories, Joe R. Lansdale's deceptively folksy "Charlie the Barber," and Thomas Pluck's stunning "Truth Comes Out of Her Well To Shame Mankind," barely mention their chosen artworks.