I'm rating this 4 * based on the stories I did read and enjoy. My favorite by far was Patricia Briggs entry- "In Red, With Pearls." I got to read more of Warren and Kyle. Enjoy those 2. I really don't care that much for Dahlia. I enjoyed reading some of Rick's back story (Carrie Vaughn's story). I also enjoyed the Sherlock Holmes-ish story, "The Curious Affair of the Deodand."
They weren't kidding when they named this book "Strange". These shorts are beyond bizarre and a good portion them are terrible. I liked the stories by Charlaine Harris, Diana Gabaldon and Patricia Briggs. I tolerated the ones by Joe Lansdale, S.M. Stirling, Conn Igguiden, Laurie King and Lisa Tuttle. The rest were horribly boring.
I have previously read and enjoyed work by Harris, Gabaldon, Briggs, and Vaughn and I liked their short stories here too. Lansdale's was the most graphic for me (I came to urban fantasy from the romance end rather than horror) and one I could have done without. I got a gift idea for my hard to shop for dad in SM Stirling's bibliography and learned that Iggulden (of Dangerous Book for Boys fame) also writes for adults. All in all, as long as you go in knowing that it's short stories and that the writers are not necessarily showcasing the main character from their "famous" series I think it's a great read!
