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sausome's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not usually into anthologies, as they are usually kind of disjointed and spotty, but this collection was fairly awesome. Firstly, I LOVE Ekaterina Sedia's books, and wanted more more more by her, and stumbled across this anthology which she edited. That being said, I didn't love all the stories, but the ones that I did like compelled me to keep reading, rather than doing that frustrating-feeling-thing-wherein-one-gives-up-on-reading-said-anthology. Here were the stories I liked best:
"Courting the Lady Scythe" by Richard Parks
"The Bumblety's Marble" by Cat Rambo
"Promises; A Tale of the City Imperishable" by Jay Lake
"Sammarynda Deep" by Cat Sparks
"Tearjerker" by Steve Berman
"The Title of this Story" by Stephanie Campisi
"Painting Haiti" by Michael Jasper
"The Funeral, Ruined" by Ben Peek
The stories that didn't grab me right away, or the ones in which I found myself floating around in my own head without a grasp on what I was reading, I just skipped over, which I found to be a good strategy. This happened with the first two stories, actually, but the third was cool, and so it went. Now I'll see if these authors have novels that I might like.
"Courting the Lady Scythe" by Richard Parks
"The Bumblety's Marble" by Cat Rambo
"Promises; A Tale of the City Imperishable" by Jay Lake
"Sammarynda Deep" by Cat Sparks
"Tearjerker" by Steve Berman
"The Title of this Story" by Stephanie Campisi
"Painting Haiti" by Michael Jasper
"The Funeral, Ruined" by Ben Peek
The stories that didn't grab me right away, or the ones in which I found myself floating around in my own head without a grasp on what I was reading, I just skipped over, which I found to be a good strategy. This happened with the first two stories, actually, but the third was cool, and so it went. Now I'll see if these authors have novels that I might like.
katje's review against another edition
4.0
A really good anthology of urban fantasy -- that is, fantasy that takes place in cities, not fantasy about vampires and werewolves. ;) The stories are diverse and well-penned; many are filled with deep thought, most leave you wanting more, and several are downright haunting -- the images they evoke and characters they bring to life staying with you for weeks, months.
While some stories weren't as well-done as the others, that's what happens when you have an anthology by so many different authors. You take the bad with the good.
Must-reads in this anthology, in no particular order: "Somnambulist" by David Schwartz, "Sammarynda Deep" by Cat Sparks, "Palimpsest" by Catherynne M. Valente, "Painting Haiti" by Michael Jasper, "Courting the Lady Scythe" by Richard Parks, "Promises: A Tale of the City Imperishable" by Joseph E. Lake, Jr., "The Funeral, Ruined" by Ben Peek, and "Down to the Silver Spirits" by Kaaron Warren.
I thoroughly enjoyed my foray through this rich landscape of words, and I'll be buying this one in hardcopy to add to my permanent bookshelf.
While some stories weren't as well-done as the others, that's what happens when you have an anthology by so many different authors. You take the bad with the good.
Must-reads in this anthology, in no particular order: "Somnambulist" by David Schwartz, "Sammarynda Deep" by Cat Sparks, "Palimpsest" by Catherynne M. Valente, "Painting Haiti" by Michael Jasper, "Courting the Lady Scythe" by Richard Parks, "Promises: A Tale of the City Imperishable" by Joseph E. Lake, Jr., "The Funeral, Ruined" by Ben Peek, and "Down to the Silver Spirits" by Kaaron Warren.
I thoroughly enjoyed my foray through this rich landscape of words, and I'll be buying this one in hardcopy to add to my permanent bookshelf.
sandeestarlite's review against another edition
2.0
Somehow I came to this book with the preconceived notion that the stories would be about modern cities. However, most of the stories are set in a more Victorian time period. Some good, some not so good - I would have given a 2.5 rating if possible.
jeregenest's review against another edition
2.0
An okay, at times brilliant, collection of short stories that really left me wondering what any of them had to do with Urban fantasy. I really hate the term urban fantasy as I want to like the subgenre (or mode or mood or what have you) but usually find myself just annoyed. None of these stories really captured the city as a character, and most fell into the camp of weird to be weird, not weird to evoke that I find annoying in so called new weird authors.
donfoolery's review against another edition
3.0
The collection has quite a few gems, but a few disappointments from writers I've enjoyed in the past. When the stories work, they worked! The ones I didn't enjoy seem to have one thing in common--IMO, they seemed too "writerly" in the wrong places.
tien's review
3.0
Is it terrible to say that I found the Foreword the most interesting piece in this book? I like that it set out the history of urban fantasy especially ones with a 'city' as central to the works. I actually added about 7 books onto my tbr from the foreword (mostly classics!). I found, however, that I only liked about 1/3 of the stories in this anthology. The rest I found to be either confusing or just plain dislike. Then again, it usually takes me a bit of time to get used to an author's voice/pacing and I find short-stories rather tough to chew. Therefore, when I just got used to or starting liking the story, it's over :(
I found the idea of this anthology fascinating which is why I picked it up but I didn't find the stories that captivating.
I found the idea of this anthology fascinating which is why I picked it up but I didn't find the stories that captivating.
wealhtheow's review
2.0
Of twenty-one stories, I liked five:
Cat Rambo's "The Bumblety's Marble." Two youngsters retrace their steps to find a magic marble. I actually believed in the city, and the characters.
Jay Lake's "Promises; a Tale of the City Imperishable." A girl gives up her name, her infant, her breasts--all to become one of the city's protectors. But there is one more test before she becomes a Grey Lady, and it may be too much for her.
Greg van Eekhout's "Ghost Market." A man goes to buy the memories of a murdered boy. Short, but with a punch to it.
Darin C Bradley's "They Would Only Be Roads." One down on his luck cyber-mage begs the help of another. I liked the world construction: charms powered by email chain letters, rumors, yarn...
Anna Tambour's "The Age of Fish, Post-Flowers." A group of dysfunctional city-dwellers builds themselves into a team in order to survive in a closed-off city. Little food, no sun, and constant invasion by orms, which can eat through anything. Taut, believable.
Catherynne M Valente's piece was well written but too surreal for my tastes.
Two stories stood out as particularly unreadable: Hal Duncan's "The Tower of Morning's Bones" was a confused mess. No sentence connected to the next. Paul Meloy's "Alex and the Toyceivers" was astonishingly bad.
Cat Rambo's "The Bumblety's Marble." Two youngsters retrace their steps to find a magic marble. I actually believed in the city, and the characters.
Jay Lake's "Promises; a Tale of the City Imperishable." A girl gives up her name, her infant, her breasts--all to become one of the city's protectors. But there is one more test before she becomes a Grey Lady, and it may be too much for her.
Greg van Eekhout's "Ghost Market." A man goes to buy the memories of a murdered boy. Short, but with a punch to it.
Darin C Bradley's "They Would Only Be Roads." One down on his luck cyber-mage begs the help of another. I liked the world construction: charms powered by email chain letters, rumors, yarn...
Anna Tambour's "The Age of Fish, Post-Flowers." A group of dysfunctional city-dwellers builds themselves into a team in order to survive in a closed-off city. Little food, no sun, and constant invasion by orms, which can eat through anything. Taut, believable.
Catherynne M Valente's piece was well written but too surreal for my tastes.
Two stories stood out as particularly unreadable: Hal Duncan's "The Tower of Morning's Bones" was a confused mess. No sentence connected to the next. Paul Meloy's "Alex and the Toyceivers" was astonishingly bad.
janapbianchi's review
3.0
Muito legal descobrir, com essa coletânea, que a fantasia urbana vai muito além do que as obras com atmosfera mais "clássica" que conhecemos. Algumas histórias eu sequer classificaria como urbana antes de ler o prefácio e ler os contos selecionados. Como em toda antologia (ainda mais com uma grande quantidade de textos, como é o caso), minha avaliação dos contos oscilou consideravelmente. Há contos que eu achei bem fraquinhos, outros que eu não consegui entender (mas a culpa deve ser minha hahaha) e, por outro lado, há alguns contos MUITO bons. Os meus destaques foram o "Ghost market" do Greg van Eekhout, "Promises; a tale of the city imperishable" do Jay Lake e "Sammarynda deep", da Cat Sparks. Não curti muito a ordem dos contos: achei os primeiros os mais esquisitos e até ininteligíveis pra mim, e os três melhores contos na minha opinião estão em sequência. Acho que vale a leitura pra entender que a fantasia urbana tem muitas nuances.
jen1110's review
5.0
So, so beautiful. This is a collection of short stories based on the theme of Urban Fantasy. The stories are alternately rich, intoxicating, funny, and dark. If you like de Lint's or Gaiman's work, you will probably like this book very much.
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