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A review by liacooper
The Best of Subterranean by William Schafer
4.0
I received a digital ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
My average rating for this collection is 3.7 stars.
1/3 of this collection is pretty stand out (There are couple authors in particular who i'll be checking out further), 1/3 is just not to my taste or interest but otherwise well written, and 1/3 was pretty dry AF.
Overall this collection wasn't bad. I think most readers would find at least a couple stories here they'd really like but because it covers such a diverse range of topics, genres, writing styles, I don't think every story is going to appeal to every reader--if that makes sense? A decent collection for those interested in surveying a lot of speculative authors. Like I mentioned above, I found a couple new names to check out.
I think the stories that worked the best were the ones that pushed the envelope. Several were just a little too...tame, a little too timid and stoic in their execution, but I can't fault the writing in any of the stories--it's all by accomplished and polished writers.
I jotted down brief thoughts about most of the short stories, though I should emphasize they are only BRIEF. My absolute favs have been bolded.
1. Perfidia *3.5
2. Game *4
3. Last Log of the Lachrimosa *4.5 this was one of my favorites, super gripping, great characters, intrigue, interesting spin, would make a great movie
4. The 17th King *3.75 lolz
5. Dispersed by the Sun *3.75 depressing AF
6. The Pile *3.5 good but the ending fell flat for me
7. The Bohemian Astrolabe *4 really entertaining, I would definitely read an entire series of novels set in this universe
8. Tanglefoot *3.75 creepy. there was a lot of stuff about the civil war and trying to set this in an AU that felt...sort of unnecessary and didn't tie back in
9. Hide and Horns *3.25 writing was fine but not the most engaging
10. Balfour and Meriweather *4 the two protagonists were a little hard to set apart but the story itself was a lot of fun and i would totally read a series set in this universe with these characters
11. Last Breath *3.5
12. Younger Women *3.75 gave me a lol
13. White Lines etc *4 (this is the sort of thing I wanted to see from American Gods but which American Gods UTTERLY failed to deliver.)
14. Least of the Deathly Arts *3.75 liked the world, liked the concept, weak ending
15. Water Can't be Nervous *2.5 umm, wtf
16. Valley of the Girls *4 Interesting
17. Sic Him, Hellhounds! Kill! Kill! *4.5 YAS, love the twilight digs, loved the relationship
18. Troublesolving *4 lot of fun and quirky
19. The Indelible Dark *4 I like parts of it
20. The Prayer of 90 Cats *3.75 the beginning is cumbersome but at its heart theres an interesting story
21. The Crane Method *3 good concept and title, eh execution
22. The Tomb of the Pontifax Dvorn *3 the beginning was PAINFULLY slow, lots of bleh exposition, abrupt rushed ending
23. The Toys of Caliban *3 JFC GRRM is a such a Nihilist
24. The Secret History etc *3 not a real short story, eh (I didnt make a note of it but I think this is the Scalzi addition that feels like it was only added so they could put his name on the cover)
25. The Screams of Dragons *4 Man that was dark
26. The Dry Spy *3.75 super boring beginning but great ending
27. He Who Grew Up reading Sherlock Holmes *3.5 eh
28. A Small Price to Pay *4.5 Almost Amadeus w/ more murder
29. The Truth of Fact etc *3 interesting but i found the writing soooo dry
30. Long Walk Home *4.5 OMG!!!!
My average rating for this collection is 3.7 stars.
1/3 of this collection is pretty stand out (There are couple authors in particular who i'll be checking out further), 1/3 is just not to my taste or interest but otherwise well written, and 1/3 was pretty dry AF.
Overall this collection wasn't bad. I think most readers would find at least a couple stories here they'd really like but because it covers such a diverse range of topics, genres, writing styles, I don't think every story is going to appeal to every reader--if that makes sense? A decent collection for those interested in surveying a lot of speculative authors. Like I mentioned above, I found a couple new names to check out.
I think the stories that worked the best were the ones that pushed the envelope. Several were just a little too...tame, a little too timid and stoic in their execution, but I can't fault the writing in any of the stories--it's all by accomplished and polished writers.
I jotted down brief thoughts about most of the short stories, though I should emphasize they are only BRIEF. My absolute favs have been bolded.
1. Perfidia *3.5
2. Game *4
3. Last Log of the Lachrimosa *4.5 this was one of my favorites, super gripping, great characters, intrigue, interesting spin, would make a great movie
4. The 17th King *3.75 lolz
5. Dispersed by the Sun *3.75 depressing AF
6. The Pile *3.5 good but the ending fell flat for me
7. The Bohemian Astrolabe *4 really entertaining, I would definitely read an entire series of novels set in this universe
8. Tanglefoot *3.75 creepy. there was a lot of stuff about the civil war and trying to set this in an AU that felt...sort of unnecessary and didn't tie back in
9. Hide and Horns *3.25 writing was fine but not the most engaging
10. Balfour and Meriweather *4 the two protagonists were a little hard to set apart but the story itself was a lot of fun and i would totally read a series set in this universe with these characters
11. Last Breath *3.5
12. Younger Women *3.75 gave me a lol
13. White Lines etc *4 (this is the sort of thing I wanted to see from American Gods but which American Gods UTTERLY failed to deliver.)
14. Least of the Deathly Arts *3.75 liked the world, liked the concept, weak ending
15. Water Can't be Nervous *2.5 umm, wtf
16. Valley of the Girls *4 Interesting
17. Sic Him, Hellhounds! Kill! Kill! *4.5 YAS, love the twilight digs, loved the relationship
18. Troublesolving *4 lot of fun and quirky
19. The Indelible Dark *4 I like parts of it
20. The Prayer of 90 Cats *3.75 the beginning is cumbersome but at its heart theres an interesting story
21. The Crane Method *3 good concept and title, eh execution
22. The Tomb of the Pontifax Dvorn *3 the beginning was PAINFULLY slow, lots of bleh exposition, abrupt rushed ending
23. The Toys of Caliban *3 JFC GRRM is a such a Nihilist
24. The Secret History etc *3 not a real short story, eh (I didnt make a note of it but I think this is the Scalzi addition that feels like it was only added so they could put his name on the cover)
25. The Screams of Dragons *4 Man that was dark
26. The Dry Spy *3.75 super boring beginning but great ending
27. He Who Grew Up reading Sherlock Holmes *3.5 eh
28. A Small Price to Pay *4.5 Almost Amadeus w/ more murder
29. The Truth of Fact etc *3 interesting but i found the writing soooo dry
30. Long Walk Home *4.5 OMG!!!!