Short Story(ies) - The Irresponsible Reader

Some quick thoughts on some audiobooks from July—and one I forgot to write about in June. The point of these quick takes posts is to catch up on my “To Write About” stack—emphasizing pithiness, not thoroughness.

Deep Hole

by Don Winslow, Ed Harris (Narrator)

DETAILS:
Publisher: Audible Originals
Publication Date: May 26, 2022
Format: Audible Original
Length: 1 hr., 4 min.
Read Date: June 9, 2022

(the official blurb)
I don’t know about this. I mean, it’s a short story, so I shouldn’t expect much from this. And it’s a decent story, but…eh. It left me wanting more on just about every front.

But it wasn’t a bad story—which makes sense, Winslow can’t write a bad story—and Harris sells it.
3 Stars

Long Lost

by Linda Castillo, Kathleen McInerney (Narrator)

DETAILS:
Series: Kate Burkholder, #4.5
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Publication Date: September 5, 2016
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 1 hr., 25 min.
Read Date: July 7, 2022

(the official blurb)
I wasn’t paying attention when I saw that this was the next entry for this series and checked it out of the library and was more than a little surprised when this wrapped up as quickly as it did. I was relieved, though, I didn’t think I could handle an entire novel where the setup was Kate and Tomasetti on a romantic weekend where they got distracted by a cold case.

As a short story, the concept and execution are just what you want. A nice way to tide the reader over between novels. I liked the resolution, too—sure, I saw it coming a few miles away, but Castillo ended it well.
3 Stars

My Mess Is a Bit of a Life:
Adventures in Anxiety

by Georgia Pritchett, Katherine Parkinson (Narrator)

DETAILS:
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication Date: September 5, 2016
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 4 hrs., 15 min.
Read Date: June 28, 2021

(the official blurb)

This is a very amusingly told memoir, and you can see how Pritchett succeeded in comedy writing for TV. At the same time, that’s where it gets tripped up—the memories told are very brief, and almost always seem to be leading to a punchline (not necessarily a funny punchline, but a punchline). The result isn’t so much a memoir as loosely-associated scenes. There is a narrative throughout, but it’s subtle—the effect is like reading a sudden fiction collection that happens to be made up of true stories.

There are some really funny bits, some touching bits, and some good emotional moments. But…ugh. It’s like having a skeleton laid out on a table (I’m thinking of a shot from Bones or CSI: Wherever)—and I’d prefer to see some connective tissue between the bones—and maybe some organs and flesh to cover them, so that it’s an actual memoir, not the rough draft of one.
2 Stars

How the Penguins Saved Veronica

by Hazel Prior, read by Helen Lloyd, Andrew Fallaize, Mandy Williams

DETAILS:
Series: Veronica McCreedy, #X
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Publication Date: June 16, 2020
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 10 hrs., 44 min.
Read Date: July 7-13, 2022

(the official blurb)
A sweet, almost-paint-by-numbers story of an elderly curmudgeon finding hope, kindness, and family thanks to time spent on a penguin research base in Antarctica.

There’s one scene at the end that serves to answer the reader’s questions that would be better left unanswered. We’d have been better served if we’d been left with ambiguity. Still, for a bittersweet and unnecessary scene, it was effective.

I’m not sure three narrators were necessary—I think any one of the three could’ve handled the whole thing judging by what I heard, but it wasn’t overly-distracting as multiple-narrator audiobooks can be.

I enjoyed the book, it was a perfectly charming and entertaining novel, as negative as I sound to myself—and am glad I finally indulged my curiosity about the book. But…meh. I’ve seen this story before and done better.
3 Stars

The Diary of a Bookseller

by Shaun Bythell, Robin Laing (Narrator)

DETAILS:
Series: The Diary of a Bookseller, #1
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Publication Date: September 4, 2018
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 9 hrs., 42 min.
Read Date: July 15-19, 2022

(the official blurb)
I guess this would be the cure to any dreams/hopes/aspirations the reader might have to opening/buying a bookstore of their own. And the author certainly makes it clear that no one should do what he does—but it’s not like the book ends with him selling/closing down, in fact, he’s working to keep his store going.

The overall effect was like a James Herriott book—but with used books and readers in place of animals and their owners. Some pretty repetitive stories, just different enough to distinguish them—generally mildly amusing and engaging.

I had fun with it—would’ve enjoyed it a bit more if it were 20% shorter, I think. I do see that this is the beginning of a series. I’ll likely get the next installment, too. But I’m not rushing to do so.
3 Stars

This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase from any of them, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.

Short Tails by Spencer Quinn: Too Short, but a Lot of Fun

By HCNewton

On July 8, 2022

In Chet and Bernie, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Spencer Quinn

Short Tails:
Chet & Bernie Short Stories

by Spencer Quinn

DETAILS:
Series: Chet and Bernie
Publisher: Forge Books
Publication Date: June 28, 2022
Format: Kindle Edition
Length: 90 pgs.
Read Date: July 7, 2022

I grabbed him by the pant leg, which was how we closed our cases, me and Bernie.

“Aieee! Aieee!”

Oh, come on, Chuckie! Suck it up. My teeth were barely engaged at all. But the funny thing is that when that Aieee sound is in the air, they—meaning my teeth—get this sort of…urge.

“AIEEE! AIEEE!”

What’s Short Tails About?

This is a collection of short stories from the Chet & Bernie series. I don’t normally do this for short story collections, but the collection is brief enough that I can get away with it, let’s take a quick look at each.

Upper Story

I want to say that this takes place during Scents and Sensibility, but I can’t swear to it (if it didn’t, I might as well have). Bernie’s in the hospital, so Chet’s staying–and working with–their friend, Rick Torres. This story is heavy on Chet’s actions and his contrasting appraisal of working with Bernie vs. Rick. As you’d expect, the comparison does not go in Rick’s favor (no matter that he’s freer with the Slim Jims).

It’s a very short story with a great emotional punch and some good chuckle-inducing lines. I’d have honestly expected this to be last in the collection because of that–but what do I know?

The Iggy Papers

This is probably the most satisfying story in the bunch. Like with The Iggy Chronicles, this focuses on something to do with Mrs. Parson’s medical care. Bernie gets to flex his investigative muscles here a bit more than in the other stories from the book, and Chet’s major contributions come from his commentary and interaction with Iggy.

This is everything that a Chet and Bernie short story should be.

The Numbers After Two

It’s been a bit since we got to see Bernie’s head for finances on display (more accurately, total lack of one), this story gives us a tale about an interrupted vacation for the detectives and a chance to see Bernie’s gullibility on display.

I know that it’s good to see Bernie’s fallibility–Chet tends toward hagiography when he describes Bernie. We need to see him stumble outside of his romantic relationships–but I have such trouble buying that he can be as gullible as he so often is when it comes to financial schemes and yet be such a good detective. Still, this is who he’s been since Day 1 of the series, so we need to see it every now and then.

The story isn’t all about watching the train wreck of Bernie making a bad investment*, but it’s the heart of it–the rest of the story makes up for that part of it, and it ends on a good note (as it started).

* That feels like a spoiler, but if you don’t know what’s going to happen the instant that Bernie gets a wad of cash, you haven’t been paying attention.

So, what did I think about Short Tails?

These were cute stories, but there were too few of them. If this collection was 2 or 3-times as long? I’d have been as happy as a dog with a new Kong. I had fun with this, but it was just enough to satisfy me. But not much more than that.

Still, I’ll take any excuse to read a Chet & Bernie story, and I figure most of Quinn’s readers will, too. So yeah, I recommend it.

3 Stars

PUB DAY REPOST: Jacked edited by Vern Smith: A Dynamite Collection of Short Crime Fiction

By HCNewton

On July 1, 2022

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Jacked

edited by Vern Smith

DETAILS:
Publisher: Runamok Books
Publication Date: July 1, 2022
Format: eARC
Length: 258 pg.
Read Date: May 23-26, 2022

What is Jacked?

Run Amok Books is a indie press from New Jersey, and they’ve recently launched a crime imprint. Jacked is their “inaugural anthology,” with 20 stories of all sorts of Crime/Thriller Fiction on display.

There’s some gritty realism, there’s some noir, there’s a police procedural/samurai mash-up set in the 80s, and there’s even a “cozy espionage” (a subgenre I learned was a thing in this book). You’ve got stories featuring cops, bikers, hipsters, thrill-seeking teens, kids just trying to survive, a mechanic, addicts, rookie publicists, and rookie criminals.

Some were harrowing. some were bleak, some made me grin, several shocked me, some depressed me, some made me recoil, and I didn’t really know how to react to a couple of them.

Basically, no matter how particular your Crime Fiction Taste is, you’re going to find at least one story in here that’s going to appeal to you.

Stories that I Have to Talk About

I thought about writing a sentence or two about each story but decided that never works out well for anyone—the post becomes too long to read and to write. Also, there are a handful that I’d end up ruining by saying something (a shocking twist in a 6-page story doesn’t carry an impact when you know it’s coming).

Looking over my notes, I found myself singing “One of these things is not like the others,” when I came to “Nick Flaherty and the Body in the Lab” by Anne Louise Bannon. While you get all sorts of things in an anthology, this seemed more unlike the rest than any other story. So it stands out just for that—but I think this would’ve stood out to me regardless. I like the protagonist’s style, the narrative voice, and the world that Bannon created here. This is a spin-off of her Operation Quickline series, and I’ve added the first one to my “Buy This” list.

I really should pay more attention to titles, I know (I really only think of them in retrospect). But sometimes it pays off—there’s a better than even chance that I’d have rolled my eyes at Matt Witten’s “The TikTok Murder” if I had. I’m an old crank, I can’t take TikTok seriously—and the murder of an up-and-coming TikTok star isn’t going to get me excited. But the single note I wrote about this when I was finished was “this is exactly what I wanted to read today.”

“Samurai ’81” by Andrew Miller is one of the best concepts I’ve run across this year—you’ve got a young LAPD detective being mentored by an older, but not that-jaded detective. Not just in how to be a better homicide detective, but in being a Japanese-American detective in the early 80s. Then you throw in modern-day samurai—with the swords and everything. Who puts these things together? And how isn’t this a series already? (seriously, I have money ready to spend)

I had to limit myself to these—there are another half-dozen I could go on about.

So, what did I think about Jacked?

As with just about every anthology, in this Whitman’s Sampler of Crime, there are going to be a couple of stories that you’re going to want to spit out after taking a bite. I won’t name those for me—because I know there are those people in the world who like those orange creams or cherry cordials, even if I don’t understand them. Percentage-wise, they were smaller than I’m used to in a collection as eclectic as this one.

But even the worst story was so well-written, so well-executed that I can’t write it off as bad, just…very not-for-me. But the rest were absolutely worth my time—every single one was a well-written short story and I could see where it would rise to the top of a submissions pile. Jacked is one of those collections that I’m going to remember for a while.

If this anthology is any indication, Run Amok Crime is one to keep an eye on as are every one of the contributors.

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions expressed are my own.

Love and Other Monsters in the Dark by K. B. Jensen: A Truly Impressive Batch of Short Fiction

By HCNewton

On June 23, 2022

In Uncategorized

Love and Other Monsters in the Dark

by K.B. Jensen

DETAILS:
Publisher: Crimson Cloud Media LLC.
Publication Date: June 20, 2022
Format: eARC
Length: 186 pg.
Read Date: June 11-20, 2022

What’s Love and Other Monsters in the Dark About?

I have no idea how to answer this question in any but the most annoying way—it’s a collection of forty-two short stories and flash/sudden fiction (however you want to refer to them). Learning that this is only 186 pages long emphasized just how short these stories are.

As far as this collection goes—the stories are about love and monsters, basically. The fact that the title says “Other Monsters” suggests a little about what kind of love stories will be told. Let’s just say that none of these will be fodder for a Hallmark movie.

The genres these stories approach the subjects from are varied—there’s some Science Fiction, some Horror, some Crime, and a little General Fiction—there’s even a Zombie story (a Zombie story I liked—despite my frequent claims that I don’t like the genre).

Self-Depreciation

Jensen does not have a lot of good things to say about writers in these pages, those comments both ring true and are some of the funnier lines in the book. In one story, a character cites a line in an earlier story and casts aspersions on it. It’s a small moment, and if you don’t recognize the call back you will miss absolutely nothing—but if you do catch it, you’ll enjoy it.

(yes, it’s possible that there are other self-referential moments that I missed. Which would only bolster that point about missing the one I caught not making that much of an impact)

There are not many lighter moments in this book—it’s about monsters, after all. So it makes those that Jensen provides all the nicer.

So, what did I think about Love and Other Monsters in the Dark?

It’s even harder to answer this question than the first one…the short version is, that I really liked it and was more than impressed with Jensen’s skill and versatility. I could list names of stories that wowed me, but that wouldn’t be useful to anyone (and my list would be really long—and incomplete). If I told you a little about the stories or why they were so effective, I’d ruin the experience for you. My hands are tied on being too helpful here.

If I did this as a profession, I’d take the time/effort to give you numbers here, but I’m not, so you’ll get impressions. A little more than half of the flash fiction aren’t complete stories—they’re the beginnings of stories, the introductory page or two for a short story, and then they end. Oddly, with one exception, that was enough for me—I was satisfied.

Well, I say I was satisfied, but I’d have loved to turn the page and get the rest of the story. Yet in a way that I cannot really understand (or, evidently, explain), what Jensen gave was enough. And that one exception had nothing to do with the brevity, it was the piece—I don’t think it would’ve resonated with me no matter how much content was provided.

Now, when she told a whole story in either the flash or short fiction? Some of the best short fiction I’ve read in a dog’s age. Sure, there were two or three stories that didn’t work for me, but that’s about my taste, not Jensen’s writing.

There are moments of sweetness (frequently deserving the prefix “bitter”, sure, but the sweetness is what I remember), there’s some heartbreak, too. There are just some horrible people and worse outcomes. I’m not sure there’s a “happily ever after” to be found, but maybe a few “better than it could’ve been” endings. Sure, there are also the horror stories or the SF that tends in a horror direction. Those might have been my favorites.

I’m going to stop flailing around, trying to describe my impressions of this book. In short—this is the kind of short fiction I want to read more of, and the kind I don’t find that often, which is why I read so little of it. Fast, well-written, impactful—these literary snacks will stay with you longer than you’d think they will based on the length.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from the author and Lori Hettler of The Next Best Book Club in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.

4 Stars

Jacked edited by Vern Smith: A Dynamite Collection of Short Crime Fiction

By HCNewton

On May 31, 2022

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Jacked

edited by Vern Smith

DETAILS:
Publisher: Runamok Books
Publication Date: July 1, 2022
Format: eARC
Length: 258 pg.
Read Date: May 23-26, 2022

What is Jacked?

Run Amok Books is a indie press from New Jersey, and they’ve recently launched a crime imprint. Jacked is their “inaugural anthology,” with 20 stories of all sorts of Crime/Thriller Fiction on display.

There’s some gritty realism, there’s some noir, there’s a police procedural/samurai mash-up set in the 80s, and there’s even a “cozy espionage” (a subgenre I learned was a thing in this book). You’ve got stories featuring cops, bikers, hipsters, thrill-seeking teens, kids just trying to survive, a mechanic, addicts, rookie publicists, and rookie criminals.

Some were harrowing. some were bleak, some made me grin, several shocked me, some depressed me, some made me recoil, and I didn’t really know how to react to a couple of them.

Basically, no matter how particular your Crime Fiction Taste is, you’re going to find at least one story in here that’s going to appeal to you.

Stories that I Have to Talk About

I thought about writing a sentence or two about each story but decided that never works out well for anyone—the post becomes too long to read and to write. Also, there are a handful that I’d end up ruining by saying something (a shocking twist in a 6-page story doesn’t carry an impact when you know it’s coming).

Looking over my notes, I found myself singing “One of these things is not like the others,” when I came to “Nick Flaherty and the Body in the Lab” by Anne Louise Bannon. While you get all sorts of things in an anthology, this seemed more unlike the rest than any other story. So it stands out just for that—but I think this would’ve stood out to me regardless. I like the protagonist’s style, the narrative voice, and the world that Bannon created here. This is a spin-off of her Operation Quickline series, and I’ve added the first one to my “Buy This” list.

I really should pay more attention to titles, I know (I really only think of them in retrospect). But sometimes it pays off—there’s a better than even chance that I’d have rolled my eyes at Matt Witten’s “The TikTok Murder” if I had. I’m an old crank, I can’t take TikTok seriously—and the murder of an up-and-coming TikTok star isn’t going to get me excited. But the single note I wrote about this when I was finished was “this is exactly what I wanted to read today.”

“Samurai ’81” by Andrew Miller is one of the best concepts I’ve run across this year—you’ve got a young LAPD detective being mentored by an older, but not that-jaded detective. Not just in how to be a better homicide detective, but in being a Japanese-American detective in the early 80s. Then you throw in modern-day samurai—with the swords and everything. Who puts these things together? And how isn’t this a series already? (seriously, I have money ready to spend)

I had to limit myself to these—there are another half-dozen I could go on about.

So, what did I think about Jacked?

As with just about every anthology, in this Whitman’s Sampler of Crime, there are going to be a couple of stories that you’re going to want to spit out after taking a bite. I won’t name those for me—because I know there are those people in the world who like those orange creams or cherry cordials, even if I don’t understand them. Percentage-wise, they were smaller than I’m used to in a collection as eclectic as this one.

But even the worst story was so well-written, so well-executed that I can’t write it off as bad, just…very not-for-me. But the rest were absolutely worth my time—every single one was a well-written short story and I could see where it would rise to the top of a submissions pile. Jacked is one of those collections that I’m going to remember for a while.

If this anthology is any indication, Run Amok Crime is one to keep an eye on as are every one of the contributors.

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions expressed are my own.

Tales from the Folly by Ben Aaronovitch: Entertaining Quick Dips into the Rivers of London

By HCNewton

On March 2, 2021

In Ben Aaronovitch, Fiction, Rivers of London (Peter Grant), Urban Fantasy

I’m reposting this one because I thought of it during What Abigail Did That Summer because Abigail gets to shine a little bit in this collection—and because it was short Rivers of London stories, just like the (fairly long) novella).

Tales from the Folly: A Rivers of London Short Story Collection

by Ben Aaronovitch
Series: The Rivers of London

Kindle Edition, 139 pg.
JABberwocky Literary Agency, Inc., 2020

Read: August 1-3, 2020

If asked, I’d have thought I posted about this book weeks ago, so imagine my surprise this past weekend when I saw this title still on my “To Be Written” list when I was checking for something else. Better late than never…

What are the Tales from the Folly?

The subtitle pretty much gives it away, really. These are shorter works set in the Rivers of London series. The Folly is the unofficial name for the recognized British magical organization, following in the first formal study of magic made by Sir Isaac Newton (no known relation, but that doesn’t stop me from claiming him as an uncle), it’s currently formally organized as the Special Assessment Unit of the Metropolitan Police. The Folly is also the nickname for their headquarters. Either use works for this collection.

There are seven short stores (or one novella and six short stories) told from Peter Grant’s perspective—just like the series. Then there are four stories from the point of view of other characters in the series and three “moments” (Aaronovitch’s term for “something that is more of a mood than a story, something that will last a page or two and conjure an atmosphere).

Peter Grant Stories

Obviously, this is Peter’s series (at least so far…), so he gets the bulk of the space. Most of these take place around the time of the first few books in the series, but at different stages of Peter’s development. I enjoyed them all and most of them are good enough to justify the purchase price on their own.

I can’t put my finger on why, exactly, but the first story “The Home Crowd Advantage” is my favorite. It’s about a French practitioner who got up to no good during the 1948 London Games who revisits the scene of the crime in 2012 when rookie apprentice Peter Grant is the only one around to deal with him.

The last entry in this section is the novella, A Rare Book of Cunning Device that I talked about when it was released as an Audible Original in 2017. It’s rare for me to go from hearing a work to reading it, so it was interesting that way. I enjoyed it just as much this time around, but I think Holdbrook-Smith’s voice is a better one for this series than whatever is echoing around in my skull.

Everyone Else

The fact that Aaronovitch is able to tell stories outside of Peter’s perspective shows the strength of the series in my book, he’s built the world and the characters out enough that they can carry the weight of a narrative for at least a little bit.

We get a story from the perspective of one of the Rivers, one from Abigail’s perspective that will warm the cockles of your heart (and maybe make you a little sad for a bit), a nice one featuring Vanessa Sommer from Germany (making me hope we get back to Germany for another novel soon), the answer about what happened to the River Lugg after Foxglove Summer. Then there are the moments, one featuring Nightengale, one with Reynolds and one with Sommer’s pal Tobias Winter years before The October Man

So, what did I think about Tales from the Folly?

That’s easy, I thought it was great. I’d buy volume 2 tomorrow, and volume 3 next month. If Aaronovitch wrote that quickly, anyway. They’re like the comic series in a way—a nice way to spend some time in this universe without having to put in the time of a novel.

The collection covered the gamut of emotions and types of story typical of the series with Aaronovitch’s evident charm and skill. It’s a must for every Rivers of London fan.

4 Stars

Criminal Collective by Russell Day: Great stories about People at Their Worst

By HCNewton

On November 27, 2020

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Russell Day

Criminal Collective

by Russell Day

Paperback, 268 pg.
2020

Read: November 16-20, 2000

Murder is just another service the nation’s capital has to offer. Like any service industry, you get what you pay for. Less than a grand, in some quarters, will buy you a thug with a baseball bat and a good swing. And at no extra cost they’ll usually tell all their friends about it then spill their guts to the police, once they’re hauled into an interview room.

Creating a dead body is the easy bit. Making it vanish, without questions, now, that’s skilled work. If you pay the extra, someone like me will make the body, the evidence and any troublesome connections melt away, like snow in a heatwave.

What’s Criminal Collective About?

This is a collection of shorter stories from Russell Day, one of my favorites in Crime Fiction. There’s really not much more that I can say, but it seems to brief to move on at this point, so let me just steal from the back of the book:

Do you struggle to know the best place to bury a dead gambler?

Do health care professionals laugh at your attempts to fake a slipped disc?

Do your weapons choices leave you embarrassed at punishment beatings?

If the answer is yes, then Criminal Collective is the book for you! Nineteen stories, each one written to help navigate the tricky etiquette of being a scumbag in the 21st century.

Never again be left nonplussed by the rules of Roadkill Roulette!

Never again mistake your German Virgins for your Automatic Nuns!

Never again leave your fingerprints on a golok!

Criminal Collective! Permanent solutions in an uncertain world.

Doc Slidesmith and Yakky

All the troubles I’ve had over the years have been handed to me by the living not the dead.

There are three Doc Slidesmith stories (one might be novella-length, I’m bad at judging that). For me, these are the highlight of the collection—one of my highlights of the year (have I mentioned how much I love Slidesmith?).

There’s “The Tattooist, The Tarot, and Bang-Bang the Clown,” in which someone ducks into the wrong shop while running from the cops. That was plenty of fun. Then there’s “Not Talking Italics,” which I wrote about two years ago, and loved just as much this time around. Seriously, a short story should not be this good.

The novella (or so) piece is called “Coming Up with a Because (A Game for Three Payers). The three players are A Tattooist, A Nurse and A Solider and we focus on each of these in rotation as the novella tells what happens when a figure from Doc’s past comes looking for a favor. I spent more than a few pages convinced I was a step or two ahead of Doc. That was a mistake. I’m tempted to go on and on here, but it’d just be the ravings of a fanboy…

Doc Slidesmith—you won’t find an amateur sleuth smarter or more enjoyable to read about.

SF Stories

There are two stories that are a SF/Crime Fiction hybrid. Neither of them did much for me. Not that either were bad, I just didn’t connect with them. I’m betting if I tried them again in a couple of months, they’d click with me.

However, both made a reference to the “protein wars.” I’d love to read a story/novel/series about them, the idea intrigues me.

So, what did I think about Criminal Collective?

“I never wanted a different life, Dad,” Liam said. “I was trying to change who I was. I wanted to be someone who wanted the life I had.”

I’ve read that line a few times since I read that story. I think I’m going to have to read it a few more to fully digest it.

There was one other story besides the SF ones that didn’t wow me. All three were okay, though. Not a bad one in the bunch. And the highs more than made up for the not-very lows.

Some of these elicited chuckles, some were disturbing (I mean, put the book down and think about something else for a bit disturbing*), there were a few that had an emotional punch that seemed out of balance compared to the brevity of the story—which speaks to how quickly Day can pull the reader in, and get you invested in some pretty unsavory characters.

* That’s not an exaggeration.

I’d love to talk about some of the stories in detail, but to do so would involve spoiling them—but if you get this book as you should, you’re in for a real treat when it comes to “Click. Size Zero. Delete”, “Reduced to Clear”, and “Colon: Full Stop” in addition to the Doc Slidesmith stories.

As always, Day’s ability with voice and style is at the forefront here—it’d be easy to believe that nineteen authors contributed to this anthology rather than one author creating nineteen distinct voices.

Basically this was a treat from beginning to end, and as always when it comes to Russell Day, I strongly recommend this and encourage you to pick it up.

5 Stars

Pub Day Repost: Kitty’s Mix-Tape by Carrie Vaughn: One More Trip to Kitty’s World in this Collection

By HCNewton

On October 16, 2020

In Carrie Vaughn, Fiction, Kitty Norville, Urban Fantasy

Kitty’s Mix-Tape

by Carrie Vaughn
Series: Kitty Norville

eARC, 288 pg.
Tachyon Publications, 2020

Read: September 12-14, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

What’s Kitty’s Mix-Tape?

That’s an easy question: this is the second collection of short stories (previously published) set in the world of Kitty Norville, the werewolf turned talk radio star. We get a lot of stories featuring Kitty and/or her friends and allies (and one foe), and we get some stories that just happen to take place in the same reality even if they really don’t have any cross-over with the series.

There’s an introduction by Emma Bull that by itself would make a great review of this book (and maybe the series). Really, writing anything else after reading Bull seems superfluous.

Kitty & the Gang

I’m going to have a hard time keeping myself from talking too much about the stories featuring Kitty and her friends—Kitty and Ben going to her 10-year high school reunion was the perfect way to start off this book. Quick, fun, and a great way back into this world.

“It’s Still the Same Old Story,” could’ve fit into The Immortal Conquistador that I talked about a few months back—except it didn’t fit into the story arc of that one. But for those who wonder what Rick was up to in the early part of the twentieth century, this will give you a good idea. This is possibly my favorite thing focusing on Rick to date.

On the eve of their wedding in Kitty and the Dead Man’s Hand Ben disappears off on his own for a while, Vaughn finally lets us know what he was up to at the time. I’d forgotten all about that until I read this story, but I remember wondering then (as I was supposed to) what he’d been up to—it’s nice to have that answered.

There was a dynamite story about Detective Jessi Harden of Denver PD investigating a murder with a supernatural angle that doesn’t involve any of the series regulars. This would be the basis of a great follow-up series if Vaughn was in the mood for something. Hardin tackling “woo woo” crimes (I think that’s what the New Orleans PD calls them in the Yellowrock books) would be compelling as all get out.

One more that I want to mention is called “Kitty Learns the Ropes.” In this story, Kitty meets a professional athlete who happens to be a werewolf. Does that give him an unfair advantage? Should he disclose his situation to the world? Can’t this guy who never asked to be supernatural just live is life?

I’m going on too long, so I’ll summarize a few other standouts: there’s a fun little story with Odysseus Grant, and some cute bits with Kitty and her pack dealing with the Super Blood Moon and the like, and a showdown with some Federal Agents.

The Songs

Vaughn includes a list of songs that embody the various stories for her, which she did for the novels, too. I think if you consider this list as a track list for a mixtape, you’d end up with something that Rob Fleming (in any incarnation) would look upon with scorn. If you take them as pieces to go with the stories, it’s a lot of fun, and adds a nice little dimension to them.

I will admit that I didn’t listen to them as I read—I think it would work though. They’re also a good tool to use to ruminate on the stories a bit.

So, what did I think about Kitty’s Mix-Tape?

There wasn’t a dud in the bunch, which is rare for a short story compilation—sure, I liked the ones about Kitty and her friends best, because that’s what I came to the collection for. But I liked them all.

The back cover promises that this is “the final installment” of the series, but Vaugn talks about staying tuned because it’s great to have a pre-existing world to write stories in. If the blurb is right, I’m glad I got a little more time in this world, but I’m hoping that staying tuned will pay off.

This may not be a great introduction to the werewolf DJ named Kitty, but it might work as one just fine, it’s certainly a good tour of the world. But it’s definitely the kind of thing that Kitty’s readers should come for. It’s one of the best collections I’ve read this year—and maybe for a good chunk of last year, too. Give it a whirl.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Tachyon Publications via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.

4 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

Kitty’s Mix-Tape by Carrie Vaughn: One More Trip to Kitty’s World in this Collection

By HCNewton

On September 22, 2020

In Carrie Vaughn, Fiction, Kitty Norville, Urban Fantasy

Kitty’s Mix-Tape

by Carrie Vaughn
Series: Kitty Norville

eARC, 288 pg.
Tachyon Publications, 2020

Read: September 12-14, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

What’s Kitty’s Mix-Tape?

That’s an easy question: this is the second collection of short stories (previously published) set in the world of Kitty Norville, the werewolf turned talk radio star. We get a lot of stories featuring Kitty and/or her friends and allies (and one foe), and we get some stories that just happen to take place in the same reality even if they really don’t have any cross-over with the series.

There’s an introduction by Emma Bull that by itself would make a great review of this book (and maybe the series). Really, writing anything else after reading Bull seems superfluous.

Kitty & the Gang

I’m going to have a hard time keeping myself from talking too much about the stories featuring Kitty and her friends—Kitty and Ben going to her 10-year high school reunion was the perfect way to start off this book. Quick, fun, and a great way back into this world.

“It’s Still the Same Old Story,” could’ve fit into The Immortal Conquistador that I talked about a few months back—except it didn’t fit into the story arc of that one. But for those who wonder what Rick was up to in the early part of the twentieth century, this will give you a good idea. This is possibly my favorite thing focusing on Rick to date.

On the eve of their wedding in Kitty and the Dead Man’s Hand Ben disappears off on his own for a while, Vaughn finally lets us know what he was up to at the time. I’d forgotten all about that until I read this story, but I remember wondering then (as I was supposed to) what he’d been up to—it’s nice to have that answered.

There was a dynamite story about Detective Jessi Harden of Denver PD investigating a murder with a supernatural angle that doesn’t involve any of the series regulars. This would be the basis of a great follow-up series if Vaughn was in the mood for something. Hardin tackling “woo woo” crimes (I think that’s what the New Orleans PD calls them in the Yellowrock books) would be compelling as all get out.

One more that I want to mention is called “Kitty Learns the Ropes.” In this story, Kitty meets a professional athlete who happens to be a werewolf. Does that give him an unfair advantage? Should he disclose his situation to the world? Can’t this guy who never asked to be supernatural just live is life?

I’m going on too long, so I’ll summarize a few other standouts: there’s a fun little story with Odysseus Grant, and some cute bits with Kitty and her pack dealing with the Super Blood Moon and the like, and a showdown with some Federal Agents.

The Songs

Vaughn includes a list of songs that embody the various stories for her, which she did for the novels, too. I think if you consider this list as a track list for a mixtape, you’d end up with something that Rob Fleming (in any incarnation) would look upon with scorn. If you take them as pieces to go with the stories, it’s a lot of fun, and adds a nice little dimension to them.

I will admit that I didn’t listen to them as I read—I think it would work though. They’re also a good tool to use to ruminate on the stories a bit.

So, what did I think about Kitty’s Mix-Tape?

There wasn’t a dud in the bunch, which is rare for a short story compilation—sure, I liked the ones about Kitty and her friends best, because that’s what I came to the collection for. But I liked them all.

The back cover promises that this is “the final installment” of the series, but Vaugn talks about staying tuned because it’s great to have a pre-existing world to write stories in. If the blurb is right, I’m glad I got a little more time in this world, but I’m hoping that staying tuned will pay off.

This may not be a great introduction to the werewolf DJ named Kitty, but it might work as one just fine, it’s certainly a good tour of the world. But it’s definitely the kind of thing that Kitty’s readers should come for. It’s one of the best collections I’ve read this year—and maybe for a good chunk of last year, too. Give it a whirl.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Tachyon Publications via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.

4 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

Tales from the Folly by Ben Aaronovitch: Entertaining Quick Dips into the Rivers of London

By HCNewton

On August 26, 2020

In Ben Aaronovitch, Fiction, Rivers of London (Peter Grant), Urban Fantasy

Tales from the Folly: A Rivers of London Short Story Collection

by Ben Aaronovitch
Series: The Rivers of London

Kindle Edition, 139 pg.
JABberwocky Literary Agency, Inc., 2020

Read: August 1-3, 2020

If asked, I’d have thought I posted about this book weeks ago, so imagine my surprise this past weekend when I saw this title still on my “To Be Written” list when I was checking for something else. Better late than never…

What are the Tales from the Folly?

The subtitle pretty much gives it away, really. These are shorter works set in the Rivers of London series. The Folly is the unofficial name for the recognized British magical organization, following in the first formal study of magic made by Sir Isaac Newton (no known relation, but that doesn’t stop me from claiming him as an uncle), it’s currently formally organized as the Special Assessment Unit of the Metropolitan Police. The Folly is also the nickname for their headquarters. Either use works for this collection.

There are seven short stores (or one novella and six short stories) told from Peter Grant’s perspective—just like the series. Then there are four stories from the point of view of other characters in the series and three “moments” (Aaronovitch’s term for “something that is more of a mood than a story, something that will last a page or two and conjure an atmosphere).

Peter Grant Stories

Obviously, this is Peter’s series (at least so far…), so he gets the bulk of the space. Most of these take place around the time of the first few books in the series, but at different stages of Peter’s development. I enjoyed them all and most of them are good enough to justify the purchase price on their own.

I can’t put my finger on why, exactly, but the first story “The Home Crowd Advantage” is my favorite. It’s about a French practitioner who got up to no good during the 1948 London Games who revisits the scene of the crime in 2012 when rookie apprentice Peter Grant is the only one around to deal with him.

The last entry in this section is the novella, A Rare Book of Cunning Device that I talked about when it was released as an Audible Original in 2017. It’s rare for me to go from hearing a work to reading it, so it was interesting that way. I enjoyed it just as much this time around, but I think Holdbrook-Smith’s voice is a better one for this series than whatever is echoing around in my skull.

Everyone Else

The fact that Aaronovitch is able to tell stories outside of Peter’s perspective shows the strength of the series in my book, he’s built the world and the characters out enough that they can carry the weight of a narrative for at least a little bit.

We get a story from the perspective of one of the Rivers, one from Abigail’s perspective that will warm the cockles of your heart (and maybe make you a little sad for a bit), a nice one featuring Vanessa Sommer from Germany (making me hope we get back to Germany for another novel soon), the answer about what happened to the River Lugg after Foxglove Summer. Then there are the moments, one featuring Nightengale, one with Reynolds and one with Sommer’s pal Tobias Winter years before The October Man

So, what did I think about Tales from the Folly?

That’s easy, I thought it was great. I’d buy volume 2 tomorrow, and volume 3 next month. If Aaronovitch wrote that quickly, anyway. They’re like the comic series in a way—a nice way to spend some time in this universe without having to put in the time of a novel.

The collection covered the gamut of emotions and types of story typical of the series with Aaronovitch’s evident charm and skill. It’s a must for every Rivers of London fan.

4 Stars

Tag: Short Story(ies) Page 2 of 4

What’s Short Tails About?

Upper Story

The Iggy Papers

The Numbers After Two

So, what did I think about Short Tails?

What is Jacked?

Stories that I Have to Talk About

So, what did I think about Jacked?

What’s Love and Other Monsters in the Dark About?

Self-Depreciation

So, what did I think about Love and Other Monsters in the Dark?

What is Jacked?

Stories that I Have to Talk About

So, what did I think about Jacked?

What are the Tales from the Folly?

Peter Grant Stories

Everyone Else

So, what did I think about Tales from the Folly?

What’s Criminal Collective About?

Doc Slidesmith and Yakky

SF Stories

So, what did I think about Criminal Collective?

What’s Kitty’s Mix-Tape?

Kitty & the Gang

Other Stories

The Songs

So, what did I think about Kitty’s Mix-Tape?

What’s Kitty’s Mix-Tape?

Kitty & the Gang

Other Stories

The Songs

So, what did I think about Kitty’s Mix-Tape?

What are the Tales from the Folly?

Peter Grant Stories

Everyone Else

So, what did I think about Tales from the Folly?