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jandi's review
4.0
What is not to like in a book that includes a story very reminiscent of the classic movies with El Santo, fighting anything from female vampires to the mummies of Guanajuato? This collection of short stories really stretches the definition of super hero/villain. Quite worth a read!
jmanchester0's review
4.0
The cool thing about short stories is that they can be truly experimental. Authors can do things that might not find their way into movies, novels, and possibly even comic books.
Another fun thing about short stories is the fantastic diversity. From supervillainesses in the frozen Yukon to ex-luchadors hunting ancient evil to a very weird (very sexual) poem about one of the creators of Superman.
I really enjoyed most of the stories. Though there were some that weren't as good as they could have been.
A note on one of the stories. I loved A Bunny Hug for Karl! What? You don't know what a bunny hug is? Well, if you were from Saskatchewan (which I'm not), where this story takes place, you'd know that bunny hug is Saskatchewan slang for hoodie. (I had no idea. I had to Google it.)
Overall, Masked Mosaic was a lot of fun. If you like superheroes, highly recommended.
Another fun thing about short stories is the fantastic diversity. From supervillainesses in the frozen Yukon to ex-luchadors hunting ancient evil to a very weird (very sexual) poem about one of the creators of Superman.
I really enjoyed most of the stories. Though there were some that weren't as good as they could have been.
A note on one of the stories. I loved A Bunny Hug for Karl! What? You don't know what a bunny hug is? Well, if you were from Saskatchewan (which I'm not), where this story takes place, you'd know that bunny hug is Saskatchewan slang for hoodie. (I had no idea. I had to Google it.)
Overall, Masked Mosaic was a lot of fun. If you like superheroes, highly recommended.
bent's review
4.0
I enjoyed this collection of short stories. There were a lot of interesting takes on the idea of superheroes seen through a Canadian filter. Not every story was a gem, but the majority were very good. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
madarauchiha's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
1.25
โค๏ธ ๐งก ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ my about / byf / CW info carrd: uchiha-madara ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐งก โค๏ธ
Big shout out to Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Lisa Poh for carrying this entire anthology on their shoulders. I wish there was more actual black authors or authors of color included. It would feel less like same old rehashing on super hero stories. At least the additional culture from Black authors or authors of color would make it refreshing.
Faves:
Iron Justice Versus The Fiends Of Evil by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
The Seamstress Without A Costume by Lisa Poh
Canadian Blood Diamonds by Kristi Charish -- this kinda reminded me of Drew Hayes' villain stories, but like. Cheesier and less interesting. More superficial, I suppose.
Content warnings:
โ Canadian Blood Diamonds by Kristi Charish
minor transmisogyny,
medium ableist language, gore, death,
โ Iron Justice Versus The Fiends Of Evil by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
minor cancer,
medium alcohol,gore, amputation, xenophobia, cannibalism, murder, major snakes
โ Never The Twain by Jonathan Olfert
minor murder, death,
medium anti native racism
โ Circe And The Gunboat by Kevin Cockle
medium genocide, murder,
major alcohol abuse, abuse, grooming, child abuse, manipulation,
โ Knife Fight by David Nickle
minor alcohol abuse, blood,
medium police,
major sharps,
โ On-to-ottawa by Derryl Murphy
medium classism,
major police, police brutality, murder, gun violence,
โ The Secret History Of The Intrepids by D.k. Latta
major anti Rromani g slur and stereotypes, nazism,
between the nazism and racial stereotypes, I dont think I can finish this. Skipped, no full content warnings.
โ The Man In The Mask by Emma Faraday
medium parental death, orphaning, death, gun violence, poisons,
major gun violence, fire, demolition, open water, naval accidents, boat crashes, dogs,
โ A Bunny Hug For Karl by Mike Rimar
medium police
major heights,
โ โNot A Dream! Not A Hoax! Not An Imaginary Story!โ by Emma Vossen
n/a, skipped
โ Giant Canadian Comics by Patrick T. Goddard
n/a, skipped
โ Kid Wonder by A.C. Wise
medium medical situations, child abuse, dogs,
major kidnapping, drugging, gaslighting, alcohol use, brainwashing, abuse, torture,
โ Leaf Man by Rhea Rose
minor drugs weed,
medium body horror, nsfw scenarios, trafficking, drugs smoking,
Major racism. Because I think it's fucked up and racist that the trafficked poc coded slave woman talks in broken English. who signed off on this again? And yes the author is a goddamn cracker.
โ Octopi Bleakly Corners by David Perlmutter
medium guns,
โ The Seamstress Without A Costume by Lisa Poh
minor ww2 war crimes, internment camps, slavery, death,
major kidnapping, drugging, violence,
โ The Kevlar Canoe by Marie Bilodeau
major unreality, open waters?,
โ A Face In The Wind by Chantal Boudreau
major body horror, drown scenarios, open water / oceans.
โ The Creep by Michael S. Chong
major murder, stalking,
โ Lonesome Charlie Johnstoneโs Strange Boon by Jason Sharp
minor gun violence, blood,
medium child abandonment, alcohol use, smoking tobacco,
major abuse, fire, burns, gore, violence, police, murder,
โ The Shield Maiden by Alyxandra Harvey
minor emetophobia, police,
medium sexual harassment, unreality,
major gore, body horror,violence, unreality,
โ The Many Lives Of The Xun Long by Michael Matheson
major body horror,
โ Revenge Of The Iron Shadow by Jason S. Ridler
"soldier during the first Riel rebellion, heโd parlayed his dirty fists into bare-knuckle brawls and rough and tumble championships before hunting scalps for Washington during the war with the Sioux. Iโd not heard much else of his exploits until he came to the Pen, ordered by the Warden to establish โpeace and orderโ to this nest of cretins. "
Skipping this one and this paragraph is why.
major racism,
Big shout out to Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Lisa Poh for carrying this entire anthology on their shoulders. I wish there was more actual black authors or authors of color included. It would feel less like same old rehashing on super hero stories. At least the additional culture from Black authors or authors of color would make it refreshing.
Faves:
Iron Justice Versus The Fiends Of Evil by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
The Seamstress Without A Costume by Lisa Poh
Canadian Blood Diamonds by Kristi Charish -- this kinda reminded me of Drew Hayes' villain stories, but like. Cheesier and less interesting. More superficial, I suppose.
Content warnings:
โ Canadian Blood Diamonds by Kristi Charish
minor transmisogyny,
medium ableist language, gore, death,
โ Iron Justice Versus The Fiends Of Evil by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
minor cancer,
medium alcohol,gore, amputation, xenophobia, cannibalism, murder, major snakes
โ Never The Twain by Jonathan Olfert
minor murder, death,
medium anti native racism
โ Circe And The Gunboat by Kevin Cockle
medium genocide, murder,
major alcohol abuse, abuse, grooming, child abuse, manipulation,
โ Knife Fight by David Nickle
minor alcohol abuse, blood,
medium police,
major sharps,
โ On-to-ottawa by Derryl Murphy
medium classism,
major police, police brutality, murder, gun violence,
โ The Secret History Of The Intrepids by D.k. Latta
major anti Rromani g slur and stereotypes, nazism,
between the nazism and racial stereotypes, I dont think I can finish this. Skipped, no full content warnings.
โ The Man In The Mask by Emma Faraday
medium parental death, orphaning, death, gun violence, poisons,
major gun violence, fire, demolition, open water, naval accidents, boat crashes, dogs,
โ A Bunny Hug For Karl by Mike Rimar
medium police
major heights,
โ โNot A Dream! Not A Hoax! Not An Imaginary Story!โ by Emma Vossen
n/a, skipped
โ Giant Canadian Comics by Patrick T. Goddard
n/a, skipped
โ Kid Wonder by A.C. Wise
medium medical situations, child abuse, dogs,
major kidnapping, drugging, gaslighting, alcohol use, brainwashing, abuse, torture,
โ Leaf Man by Rhea Rose
minor drugs weed,
medium body horror, nsfw scenarios, trafficking, drugs smoking,
Major racism. Because I think it's fucked up and racist that the trafficked poc coded slave woman talks in broken English. who signed off on this again? And yes the author is a goddamn cracker.
โ Octopi Bleakly Corners by David Perlmutter
medium guns,
โ The Seamstress Without A Costume by Lisa Poh
minor ww2 war crimes, internment camps, slavery, death,
major kidnapping, drugging, violence,
โ The Kevlar Canoe by Marie Bilodeau
major unreality, open waters?,
โ A Face In The Wind by Chantal Boudreau
major body horror, drown scenarios, open water / oceans.
โ The Creep by Michael S. Chong
major murder, stalking,
โ Lonesome Charlie Johnstoneโs Strange Boon by Jason Sharp
minor gun violence, blood,
medium child abandonment, alcohol use, smoking tobacco,
major abuse, fire, burns, gore, violence, police, murder,
โ The Shield Maiden by Alyxandra Harvey
minor emetophobia, police,
medium sexual harassment, unreality,
major gore, body horror,violence, unreality,
โ The Many Lives Of The Xun Long by Michael Matheson
major body horror,
โ Revenge Of The Iron Shadow by Jason S. Ridler
"soldier during the first Riel rebellion, heโd parlayed his dirty fists into bare-knuckle brawls and rough and tumble championships before hunting scalps for Washington during the war with the Sioux. Iโd not heard much else of his exploits until he came to the Pen, ordered by the Warden to establish โpeace and orderโ to this nest of cretins. "
Skipping this one and this paragraph is why.
major racism,
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Death, and Racism
Minor: Transphobia
apostrophen's review against another edition
3.0
Reading this as part of my Short Stories 366 project. Reviews for some of the stories will appear on my blog under this tag.
Overall, this one was a mixed bag for me. Partly that's my fault: I went in with a certain expectation of superheroes and super-villains and only about a third of the stories hit that expectation (which isn't necessarily a bad thing, it just wasn't what I was looking for at the time). The other issue involved a few stories feeling outright hostile to me as a queer readerโone in particular threw around a few slurs, and the "heroine"'s thoughts made it clear the accusation of queerness was disgusting, so, y'know.
Highlights, though, definitely ticked the balance in the other direction, including Marie Bilodeau, Kristi Charish, Emma Faraday, D.K. Latta, and Silvia Moreno-Garcia, among others, and those stories will pop up on the blog as the days go by under that tag, above.
Overall, this one was a mixed bag for me. Partly that's my fault: I went in with a certain expectation of superheroes and super-villains and only about a third of the stories hit that expectation (which isn't necessarily a bad thing, it just wasn't what I was looking for at the time). The other issue involved a few stories feeling outright hostile to me as a queer readerโone in particular threw around a few slurs, and the "heroine"'s thoughts made it clear the accusation of queerness was disgusting, so, y'know.
Highlights, though, definitely ticked the balance in the other direction, including Marie Bilodeau, Kristi Charish, Emma Faraday, D.K. Latta, and Silvia Moreno-Garcia, among others, and those stories will pop up on the blog as the days go by under that tag, above.
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