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charshorrorcorner's review against another edition
4.0
What an outstanding premise-short stories based on old folk ballads. I'm happy to say that this book lived up to that premise.
Edited by Jonathan Maberry, this anthology features many authors I was already familiar with, which was good, but also some new to me authors, like Seanan McGuire and Del Howison. (I mean, who the hell is this guy? He is the author of my favorite story in the collection: "Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair.") That story was followed closely in my favorites list by Seanan McGuire's "Driving Jenny Home." One thing I've always loved about anthologies is that it's a great way to find new authors and obviously this method is still working for me to this day.
Each story was followed up by notes as to the folk ballad on which the story was based. I found them to be interesting while also shedding some light as to the origins of the songs.
I listened to the audio version of this book and there were two narrators. I'm sorry to report that I did not care for the female narrator at all, but I enjoyed the male voicing just fine.
Out of Tune is a lovely anthology with a lot of variety and new blood to offer. I highly recommend it!
*Thanks to Christopher Payne of JournalStone for the free audio version he provided.*
Edited by Jonathan Maberry, this anthology features many authors I was already familiar with, which was good, but also some new to me authors, like Seanan McGuire and Del Howison. (I mean, who the hell is this guy? He is the author of my favorite story in the collection: "Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair.") That story was followed closely in my favorites list by Seanan McGuire's "Driving Jenny Home." One thing I've always loved about anthologies is that it's a great way to find new authors and obviously this method is still working for me to this day.
Each story was followed up by notes as to the folk ballad on which the story was based. I found them to be interesting while also shedding some light as to the origins of the songs.
I listened to the audio version of this book and there were two narrators. I'm sorry to report that I did not care for the female narrator at all, but I enjoyed the male voicing just fine.
Out of Tune is a lovely anthology with a lot of variety and new blood to offer. I highly recommend it!
*Thanks to Christopher Payne of JournalStone for the free audio version he provided.*
ctgt's review against another edition
3.0
First of all, thanks to JournalStone for providing a free copy of the audiobook. Also thanks to the mods over at HA for setting up the giveaway.
First the good. I really liked the majority of these stories, there were only two or three that didn't ring my bell. All use old folk ballads for their basis and while I knew some of the songs many were unfamiliar to me so that added to my enjoyment. Each story ended with a short description of the song and it's history.
Some of my favorites
Wendy Darling-by Christopher Golden,based on The Cruel Mother
Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair-by Del Howison, ballad of the same name
Bedlam-by Gregory Frost, based on The Demon Lover and Tom O' Bedlam
Fish out of Water-by Keith R. A. DeCandido, based on The Mermaid
John Barleycorn Must Die-by Marsheila Rockwell & Jeffrey Mariotte based on John Barleycorn
and my favorite Driving Jenny Home-by Seanan McGuire based on The Unquiet Grave
Now for the not so good. The two narrators just didn't work for me. Initially I didn't mind the female narrator but as the book went on her narrator voice really started to grate on me, her character voices were actually great but otherwise her voice made her sound almost uninterested. The male narrator never impressed me one way or the other he was just sort of.....there. Now I don't listen to many audiobooks so you can take my opinion with a grain of salt.
Stories 4
Narration 2
Overall 3
First the good. I really liked the majority of these stories, there were only two or three that didn't ring my bell. All use old folk ballads for their basis and while I knew some of the songs many were unfamiliar to me so that added to my enjoyment. Each story ended with a short description of the song and it's history.
Some of my favorites
Wendy Darling-by Christopher Golden,based on The Cruel Mother
Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair-by Del Howison, ballad of the same name
Bedlam-by Gregory Frost, based on The Demon Lover and Tom O' Bedlam
Fish out of Water-by Keith R. A. DeCandido, based on The Mermaid
John Barleycorn Must Die-by Marsheila Rockwell & Jeffrey Mariotte based on John Barleycorn
and my favorite Driving Jenny Home-by Seanan McGuire based on The Unquiet Grave
Now for the not so good. The two narrators just didn't work for me. Initially I didn't mind the female narrator but as the book went on her narrator voice really started to grate on me, her character voices were actually great but otherwise her voice made her sound almost uninterested. The male narrator never impressed me one way or the other he was just sort of.....there. Now I don't listen to many audiobooks so you can take my opinion with a grain of salt.
Stories 4
Narration 2
Overall 3
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