Sigrid H. (sigrid) reviewed on + 55 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 7
I purchased and devoured "My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding," so was incredibly eager to read this one as well. While I was glad to read another story about Harry Dresden in any form, I found most of the rest of the stories not really worth my time. The vast majority of them assume knowledge of long-standing series, which end up cheating these shorter contributions - meant to either fill in the gap or entice you to try the series - from any semblance of satisfaction.
Armstrong's uses the protagonists from the first two novels in the "Women of the Otherworld" series and delivers a story that's all action and no feeling. I enjoyed Butcher's Dresden story, but even for being as big of a fan as I am, I think it's probably the weakest Dresden story I've ever read. Caine wrote an enjoyable follow-up to her undead pirate story from "My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding." Elrod's vampire 30s detective was also a joy to read.
Then comes the troublesome second half. Kittredge creates an entirely new world, but the story itself gets lost in all the exposition and details she has to provide for Black London. I never warmed to Liu's story at all, a prequel of sorts to her Dirk & Steele series. This is my first introduction to Liu's writing, and I'm pretty sure it's safe to say her voice just is not my style. Same goes for Katie MacAlister. This is another prequel to yet another series, and while I can see it's supposed to be funny, it's not my brand of humor. My one new find in this anthology was Lilith Saintcrow. Her prose was vivid and evocative, and she wrote a tightly contained short without sacrificing characterization. But then the anthology ends on the shortest and probably most unsatisfying story of the bunch, by Ronda Thompson. It was clearly another of those where the humor - about a Carrie Bradshaw-type married to a woodsy man with a secret - just didn't work for me.
A real mixed bag. I'd only recommend it if you're already a fan of the majority of the authors, not if you're hoping to discover new ones.
Armstrong's uses the protagonists from the first two novels in the "Women of the Otherworld" series and delivers a story that's all action and no feeling. I enjoyed Butcher's Dresden story, but even for being as big of a fan as I am, I think it's probably the weakest Dresden story I've ever read. Caine wrote an enjoyable follow-up to her undead pirate story from "My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding." Elrod's vampire 30s detective was also a joy to read.
Then comes the troublesome second half. Kittredge creates an entirely new world, but the story itself gets lost in all the exposition and details she has to provide for Black London. I never warmed to Liu's story at all, a prequel of sorts to her Dirk & Steele series. This is my first introduction to Liu's writing, and I'm pretty sure it's safe to say her voice just is not my style. Same goes for Katie MacAlister. This is another prequel to yet another series, and while I can see it's supposed to be funny, it's not my brand of humor. My one new find in this anthology was Lilith Saintcrow. Her prose was vivid and evocative, and she wrote a tightly contained short without sacrificing characterization. But then the anthology ends on the shortest and probably most unsatisfying story of the bunch, by Ronda Thompson. It was clearly another of those where the humor - about a Carrie Bradshaw-type married to a woodsy man with a secret - just didn't work for me.
A real mixed bag. I'd only recommend it if you're already a fan of the majority of the authors, not if you're hoping to discover new ones.
Back to all reviews by this member
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details
