Cyn Newman

Mean Streets is one of the best anthologies I've read in a while. It only has four different pieces in it, but they're all novellas, and all by strong, experienced writers. I don't think any of them are here riding on someone else's name on the book cover.

Jim Butcher's “Warrior,” the first piece, is very good. It follows Harry and the Carpenter family after they experienced some major changes in the last Dresden novel. I could have stood a little more Molly, but Harry and Michael were the focus characters and they worked out some things that really needed to be dealt with. I'm glad I read this before the next Dresden novel, because I feel there's important character development. I seriously recommend this book to all Dresden fans.

I haven't read any of Simon R. Green's novels, though I've heard of the Nightside series and thought about picking one up. If “The Difference a Day Makes” is typical, though, I may not bother. He is a good writer, so I'm not sure what it is that bothered me so much. I know that something framed as one of the nastiest things people could choose to do in this piece isn't even in my top 10, but I feel there's something else that I just can't quite articulate yet.

I've read all three of Kat Richardson's Greywalker novels and enjoyed them enough that I plan to keep reading. “The Third Death of the Little Clay Dog” is my favorite piece of her work, hands down. There's more light, somehow, and that's important to me.

“Noah's Orphans” is my first exposure to Thomas E. Sniegoski, as far as I can recall. It was an interesting piece. I found myself wondering about Remy Chandler's past, about how the character has developed. If there are novels featuring that character, I may give them a read. In any case, it brought up some interesting questions about faith and obedience. I think it would have been more personally relevant to me about 20 years ago, though.

I started reading this series years ago, because of “meeting” Ms. Ferris via rec.crafts.textiles.needlework . It's odd to think of how much has changed since then—I don't even have a dedicated usenet client installed any more! Still, I still stitch, and I still enjoy the little handwork bits throughout Ferris' novels.

Unfortunately, the digressions into minutia on other topics (do I care where Goddy picked up an expression? Honestly, no) gets annoying. If there had been one more sentence about Lars' Stanley Steamer, I might have thrown the book across the room.

Still, these books are much brighter in tone than so much of what I read that they make a nice break here and there. The free patterns at the back of each book certainly don't hurt, either.

I picked up this book to read just one of the four novellas, “Pandora's Bottle” by Eileen Wilks, because I've enjoyed her Lupi books. Honestly, it was the weakest of the four. (Seriously—why would a djinn's magic be tied in any way to Halloween?)

Ordinarily, I would have moved on to another book right away. Charmed is very clearly a romance anthology, and I'm not a romance fan.

On the other hand, I was doing something involving a lot of waiting, and Charmed happened to be the book that was in my hands. I decided to try something new for me, so I read the other stories and tried to judge them as romance stories. Failing that, I tried to at least be less annoyed at the standard romance “stuff” (look, it's almost 5am and I do not know where my thesaurus is).

So—Jayne Castle's “Bridal Jitters” was set in a world I'd like to know more about. The relationship barrier was a bit contrived, but at least it was relatively fresh (to me).

Julie Beard's “Man in the Mirror” started with a handicap: I detest all those modern-person-goes-back-to-good-old-days stories, especially the romances. She saved the tale from total suckage by turning things around a bit.

Finally, “Tangled Dreams” by Lori Foster is our obligatory ghost story. The ghosts are the good people here, and they're matchmaking merrily while trying to warn the living occupant of their house that all is not well. From her prose, I have to wonder if Ms. Foster really thinks that the scenes she describes are “kinky” to most people? There's nothing to get your harness in a knot over, though, just a little light bondage.

So the volume wasn't torturous, and it did provide me with some distraction. Changing my attitude almost certainly helped me enjoy these stories a bit more. I don't think I'm likely to start seeking out romances, but with so much “paranormal romance” all over the shelves, I should probably get used to having somebody's romance in my fantasy.

I can't remember reading any other book that focuses on a main character's transition from human to vampire. I suppose we'll see more of them, now that Stein has done so. The book is a fairly good read, but you should definitely ignore the text on the back, as it's misleading. I assume Becoming is the first of a series, as there was a major issue left unresolved at the end.

This is definitely not a book for romance fans. While there are some explicit sex scenes, there isn't much real romance. I rather liked the omission, but some folks might assume that it is a paranormal romance.

I read several rave reviews about Acevedo's work, so I gave this book a try. One thing in its favor is that it is NOT a romance! Yay!

On the other hand, Felix Gomez is just a little too annoyingly prickly for me to give a damn about him. And the plot? Let's just say that as soon as I learned what “EBE” stood for, any chance of liking the book was gone. Too many clichés! Certain plot points were never adequately explained, leaving holes big enough to drive a semi through without scraping the sides.

I'm taking the other books off my to-read shelf. Life is too short to read boring novels.

I picked up this book solely because it contains “Hunter Kiss,” the novella that precedes Iron Hunt. Liu certainly didn't disappoint me.

The other three novellas didn't suck as much as most romance-centered works do. Maggie Shayne's “Animal Magnetism” was working for me, but then a mention of a dog seeing a color brought my suspension of disbelief crashing down around me. “Paradise” by Meljean Brook was, eh, okay, I guess. I just couldn't really get excited, and the “plot” seemed a lame excuse to bring the man and woman together. Alyssa Day's “Wild Hearts in Atlantis” would have been much, much better without the all-too-common “Oh, I'm so unattractive!” crap from the female lead. I suppose it would be fine for romance fans.

Moral Sins is Wilks' best work, really showing her growth as a writer. I can't seem to figure out a way to give much more without spoilers, which wouldn't make any sense at all to those who are new to the World of the Lupi anyway. A good read, though!

This was a marvelously fun read. I don't think it will be very accessible to anyone who hasn't read books one and two, but they're not long and fairly enjoyable. I'm truly impressed with the breadth and depth of mythology Andrews uses in the series. I'm eager to read book 4!

I've enjoyed Stabenow's work since her first novel, Second Star, and I request every new book at the library as soon as it hits their computer system. I'm glad I read this one, but it really took patience to get to the “good stuff.” For some reason, the first half of the book moves very, very slowly. It does wrap up a loose end from the previous Shugak tale, but one of the book's two murders is solved in such a way that it seems an afterthought, right at the end.

Still, Johnny Morgan, now 16, gets more “face time” in this book than in any of the earlier ones. The Aunties (Vi, Edna, Joy, and Balasha) all get some time, and we get more of their background than we've had in the past.

I definitely recommend the book for confirmed fans of the Shugak series, but it wouldn't be the best place for a reader new to the author to start.

I meant to write this review with the book in my hands, which is really the only way I can properly review any anthology. Alas, the volume had to be returned to the library before that happened (and before that, Sam was enjoying it). As it is, some stories just didn't register strongly enough for me to remember them.

On the other hand the stories I do recall were really, really good, and if I could rate them on their own they'd get 4s and 5s.

I'd read Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette's “Boojum” online, but it was so good that I read it again. I adore their work (individually and together). That story was actually the only reason I even considered reading the book, as I'm not really much of a pirate fan. I'm not into too much darkness in my leisure reading, and I don't like antiheroes.

Next, “Pirate Solutions” by Katherine Sparrow was so good that I insisted that Sam read it. RIGHT THEN. I think Katie would have enjoyed it, too. It should be added to the “poly culture” lists. I'll be looking for more of Sparrow's work!

Naomi Novik's “Araminta, or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake” was all right, and I do remember it. It just didn't really toast my bread—possibly because I found Araminta to be an annoying brat.

“Elegy for Gabrielle, Patron Saint of Healers, Whores and Righteous Thieves” by Kelly Barnhill was absolutely lovely. I can't describe it beyond that without spoiling it for you, which would be criminal.

Carrie Vaughn managed to make me cry with “The Sea Nymph's Child.” It was especially poignant to me right now, at this point in the parenting process.

We may well end up buying a copy of this one. It's certainly worth the cover price!

As usual, too much romance for my tastes–but the rest made up for it. I keep reading Sinclair's work, even though it is largely romance, because she also has good plots and does a good job with character development. Unlike many authors, each of her main characters is a well-defined individual, not “another good guy” or “another beautiful-yet-insecure woman.” There was a touch of beautiful-yet-insecure in Rya Bennton (SUCH an annoying clich@eacute;!), but she got past it.

Some of the things that annoy me the most are, apparently, standard romance memes. Having relationship problems just because nobody will say, “Hey, this is what I want and need, how about you?” is fairly realistic, but I'd love to see SOMEBODY in a book who has grown past that.

Anyway, this was a worthy read, and it does stand alone, but everything will make far more sense if you read the earlier books in the same universe.

I had downloaded these stories from Armstrong's web site, but never got around to reading them (I don't do much reading for pleasure on a screen). I'm sorry that I delayed doing so! Don't make the mistake of thinking of these pieces as second-rate or “throwaway” just because they were free at first. They are a delight, and do a lot to fill out Clay and Jeremy's backgrounds and motivations. The final story, which is completely new, is also marvelous. Jeremy has always been one of my favorite characters, and I really appreciate seeing him as the focal point of a story.

Bah. I didn't like this nearly as much a the earlier ones. It felt as if there were too many different plot threads, and the ending just wasn't that satisfactory. And leaving something hanging to be resolved in the next book? BAH!

I enjoyed this book more than Chance's Cassie Palmer novels set in the same universe. While I think I would have twigged to some bits more quickly if I had paid more attention to the earlier trilogy, this novel does stand alone (mostly). The references you don't get aren't truly necessary to understand the characters and the plot.

I did get rather annoyed at the characters who brought pain to themselves because of making too many assumptions about people around them, but I suppose poor communication skills are very common, even in fantasy worlds.

I love love love this book. If you haven't read anything else in this universe, you'll be just fine. I've read all the previous books, and plan to go back and re-read them as soon as this bit (duology? triloy? I don't know West's plans) is done.

The only thing that kept it from five stars was the repetitive nature of some characters' internal dialogues. I got the point right away, but I suppose some readers might need more. I don't know that anyone needs to be hit over the head with Rath, Jewel, and Duster's issues, though.

In any case, while huge, the book is well worth reading, and I am eager to read whatever comes next.

I only read the story by [a:J.D. Robb 17065 J.D. Robb http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1202524651p2/17065.jpg]. I glanced at the other three, but they're primarily romance stories, which do NOT interest me.The whole point of these little anthologies is to introduce readers who enjoy an established author's work to other, similar authors, right? I know that J.D. Robb is a pen name for [a:Nora Roberts 11139 Mary Shelley http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1205347203p2/11139.jpg]. I know that the stories she publishes as NR are romances. If I saw an anthology anchored by an NR story, I'd expect it to be full of romances.However, I don't read the NR stuff. I only read her JDR books, which have a little romantic spice about the main character, Eve Dallas, and her husband Roarke, with occasional glimpses into Eve's partner, Peabody's, relationship with her guy, McNab. That's it, though. Neither of those sets of relationships are the focal point of the plots. The mystery/crime is the main thing, and while they're set in the future with the advantages of technology we don't yet have, they're essentially police procedurals. (I don't consider them SF, quite, because all the tech seems to be extrapolated from what we have now, and quite plausible. And, of course, the tech isn't the point of the stories, either.)So why not put similar stories in an anthology anchored by a JDR story? Why why why? Misleading and disappointing readers is NOT the way to garner any positive buzz for the lesser-known authors, and the backlash can lead to less enthusiasm from established readers (like me) for the established author's work.

Some of the short stories were amusing, but too much of the fiction was excerpted from well-known novels. I have to admit that I only skimmed the non-fiction, which makes up the majority of the book.

I hated it. I read the first 3 or so stories, then skipped ahead to Kelley Armstrong's contribution, since she's the only reason I picked up the book.

If you like dark stories, almost horror but no gore, this book is for you. Otherwise, steer clear. I like the idea of interconnected stories, but I don't need so much of the bleak.

This seems to be a retelling of the events in [book:The Lost Colony] from Zoe's point of view. There are a few details that weren't told (or happened off-stage) in that book, but not enough to hold my attention. Did someone say, “Hey, Scalzi? You gotta write a Young Adult novel, man!” at some point? Blah.

I made it about 100 pages in, then lost patience. The story began well enough, then got bogged down in planetary politics and industrial intrigue. Too many people are introduced, but the reader is given no reason to care about them. I probably would have enjoyed reading about the “replaced” character far more than the protagonist. Too bad–I adored Riva from [book:Mathemagics], and would love to read more in that universe, but otherwise it seems that Ball's work just isn't for me.

Very satisfying read, as I've come to expect from Bear. While the intrigues could have been explained a bit more (especially on the fae side), I felt a kinship with the characters who were never quite certain as to what was going on. There was much less angst about who might be doing whom in this volume than in the last, which was a relief.

Whine, bitch, moan, complain. Occasional sex. What does Nikolai see in Selene, anyway?

I finished it. I still have the same opinion, after 19 chapters and an epilogue, as I did after the first five chapters. The first bit was published in the anthology Hotter Than Hell.Selene is an utterly ungrateful bitch who couldn't catch a clue during clue mating season if she stood in a field covered in clue musk. Nikolai healed her with his blood, right? So when he's injured, why doesn't she at least try to do the same? D'oh.

Yeah, I'm off Saintcrow.

I finished this book and its sequel a week or so ago. They didn't make enough of an impression to compel me to write about them at the time. However, one issue has stuck with me, so I decided to go back and write about it briefly.

Jenna Black has absolutely NO understanding of BDSM, and she has done a disservice to those who do practice it. I am not an authority on the subject, but I have some exposure, and none of the activity she describes rings true. She doesn't even understand the equipment! That seriously damages her standing as a writer, as far as I'm concerned. There's more than enough information available to anyone who wants to do the research, and it wouldn't have been too difficult for her to find serious practitioners to critique the BDSM content had she cared to do so.

If I had it to do over again, I'd read this and Hell and Earth first, then the “first” two Promethean Age novels. That would put them in chronological order, which is how I prefer to read.

Normally, I'd be terribly unhappy with the fact that this book leaves so many loose ends. Since it is clearly marked “The Straford Man, Volume I,” and the author's note states that it is one of two closely-linked novels, I don't feel cheated. It helps that this and Hell and Earth were released very close together.

Bear's mastery of the language is always a pleasure. The book is well-plotted, and while I struggled a bit to keep up with all the similarly-named people in Elizabethan England, I can hardly blame the author for the fact that there really were three “Will's” in the same company of players, or several plotting Richards in association. I'm not well-educated enough with regards to that period in history to know how much of the intrigue is pure fiction, and how much may have historical basis. I look forward to the promised explicatory note at the end of H&E for that.

I was really looking forward to some swashbuckling fun and good repartée, so when I heard of these books I put the first four on my reading list. After reading the first, I removed the others.

The murder mystery isn't as mysterious as all that, and the delay in solving it relies heavily on D'Artagnan not recognizing someone he'd encountered before. As he is supposed to be very observant and cunning, that doesn't work very well.

I suppose it's time for a re-read of Brust's The Phoenix Guards and Five Hundred Years After. I know I won't be disappointed there!