Scan barcode
A review by bookaneer
Evil is a Matter of Perspective: An Anthology of Antagonists by Adrian Collins
3.0
Overall, a good anthology and a must read for all grimdark fans.
I liked 11 stories out of 19, so I guess three stars are enough.
My top three stories are: The Greater of Two Evils (Turner), A Storm Unbound (Morrigan), The Aging of a Kill (Orullian). It so happens that they showcase strong and interesting female characters.
My bottom three are: Old Blood (Tchaikovsky), Black Bargain (Wurts) and The Tattered Prince and the Demon Veiled (Beaulieu). Well, actually the last story by Bakker is kind of annoying as well.
Well, lucky that I read Tchaikovsky before this, or else I would have backed away from his works. Which is what I am planning to do with Wurts and Bakker. I read one of Beaulieu's works before which I disliked, reading his story in this collection just cemented my judgment.
Individual random comments about each story:
The Broken Dead by Michael Fletcher.
Very interesting worldbuilding and sufficiently dark. I need to read Manifest Delusions someday.
Every Hair Casts a Shadow by Teresa Frohock. This is also a new author for me. I liked the Spanish Civil War setting but unsure about the use of angels and demons. Would probably make a good visuals. An okay story - not really crazy about the plot.
The Divine Death of Jirella Martigore by Alex Marshall
Started out so-so but it gets really dark at the end. I am not particularly fond of the writing/narrative style.
A Royal Gift by Mark Alder
It so happens that I am currently reading a book about The Plantagenets so I was excited to know that the story's about Edward the Black Prince. Too bad it ended too abruptly.
Old Blood by Adrian Tchaikovsky
I don't get it.
Black Bargain by Janny Wurts
Too many worldbuilding with lack of clear plot - my head hurts.
The Syldoon Sun by Jeff Salyards
Interesting set-up, and I always like military fantasy stuff. The ending was rather unclear to me though.
The Darkness within the Light (The Annwyn Cycles) by Shawn Speakman
Surprisingly I like this one. Read one of his works years ago and did not like it. Grimdark faerie world is cool.
The Greater of Two Evils by Marc Turner
Probably my favorite so far. I love any kind of water magic and the MC is such as a bad ass. I think I want to try his trilogy.
Exceeding Bitter by Kaaron Warrren
This is a ghost story and it is so sad.
A Game of Mage by Courtney Schafer
I liked this one too, with its Eastern flavor. Great pacing.
The Tattered Prince and the Demon Veiled (Beaulieu) - I don't like it. It's overly long and just convoluted. I read his Sharakai first book and almost DNFed it. I guess his writing style is not for me.
A Storm Unbound (Morrigan): fantastic character! great action. and that ending!
The Game (Ward): I like the world - the start of the story reminds me of the movie Gladiator where Maximus faces his judgment. I may try on his novels someday.
Blood Penny (Wolf); I am familiar with her work, and I found myself also liking this. She's a great wordsmith and I enjoy her writing and characters.
Better than Breath (Staveley): also not a stranger to the author, this is a great GD story. great characterization as well.
A Foundation of Bones (Williams): a bit of a snoozefest, to be frank.
The Aging of a Kill (Orullian): very unique and intriguing. I love these kind of conversation between adversaries and flashbacks in between. One of my favorites of the bunch.
The Carathayan (Bakker): That's weird. Not my kind of weird. Sufficiently dark but it's too disturbing. Also, there were too many exclamation points.
I liked 11 stories out of 19, so I guess three stars are enough.
My top three stories are: The Greater of Two Evils (Turner), A Storm Unbound (Morrigan), The Aging of a Kill (Orullian). It so happens that they showcase strong and interesting female characters.
My bottom three are: Old Blood (Tchaikovsky), Black Bargain (Wurts) and The Tattered Prince and the Demon Veiled (Beaulieu). Well, actually the last story by Bakker is kind of annoying as well.
Well, lucky that I read Tchaikovsky before this, or else I would have backed away from his works. Which is what I am planning to do with Wurts and Bakker. I read one of Beaulieu's works before which I disliked, reading his story in this collection just cemented my judgment.
Individual random comments about each story:
The Broken Dead by Michael Fletcher.
Very interesting worldbuilding and sufficiently dark. I need to read Manifest Delusions someday.
Every Hair Casts a Shadow by Teresa Frohock. This is also a new author for me. I liked the Spanish Civil War setting but unsure about the use of angels and demons. Would probably make a good visuals. An okay story - not really crazy about the plot.
The Divine Death of Jirella Martigore by Alex Marshall
Started out so-so but it gets really dark at the end. I am not particularly fond of the writing/narrative style.
A Royal Gift by Mark Alder
It so happens that I am currently reading a book about The Plantagenets so I was excited to know that the story's about Edward the Black Prince. Too bad it ended too abruptly.
Old Blood by Adrian Tchaikovsky
I don't get it.
Black Bargain by Janny Wurts
Too many worldbuilding with lack of clear plot - my head hurts.
The Syldoon Sun by Jeff Salyards
Interesting set-up, and I always like military fantasy stuff. The ending was rather unclear to me though.
The Darkness within the Light (The Annwyn Cycles) by Shawn Speakman
Surprisingly I like this one. Read one of his works years ago and did not like it. Grimdark faerie world is cool.
The Greater of Two Evils by Marc Turner
Probably my favorite so far. I love any kind of water magic and the MC is such as a bad ass. I think I want to try his trilogy.
Exceeding Bitter by Kaaron Warrren
This is a ghost story and it is so sad.
A Game of Mage by Courtney Schafer
I liked this one too, with its Eastern flavor. Great pacing.
The Tattered Prince and the Demon Veiled (Beaulieu) - I don't like it. It's overly long and just convoluted. I read his Sharakai first book and almost DNFed it. I guess his writing style is not for me.
A Storm Unbound (Morrigan): fantastic character! great action. and that ending!
The Game (Ward): I like the world - the start of the story reminds me of the movie Gladiator where Maximus faces his judgment. I may try on his novels someday.
Blood Penny (Wolf); I am familiar with her work, and I found myself also liking this. She's a great wordsmith and I enjoy her writing and characters.
Better than Breath (Staveley): also not a stranger to the author, this is a great GD story. great characterization as well.
A Foundation of Bones (Williams): a bit of a snoozefest, to be frank.
The Aging of a Kill (Orullian): very unique and intriguing. I love these kind of conversation between adversaries and flashbacks in between. One of my favorites of the bunch.
The Carathayan (Bakker): That's weird. Not my kind of weird. Sufficiently dark but it's too disturbing. Also, there were too many exclamation points.