So what have you been reading?

 

Another good collection of stories set in the Valdemar universe with many returning writers. The main theme of the collection is reflected in the title so reading it all in one setting does bang the drum of the theme a bit much. But the Lackey story is a Vanyel story that is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet so there was that payoff. Not as many Herald stories but several to deal with Bards.

 

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley

A science fiction anthology that uses lost worlds and alien races long gone and newly found as a basis for the stories. The kickoff story is great and very enjoyable, and I wished for that same feeling with every one of them but as with most anthologies not every story was to my taste.  Several play with the Cthulhu mythos and invoke a great feeling of dread in their stories. Overall the stories work well in the framework of the theme and a reader will find something in this collection to their taste and possibly a new writer to read as well.

 

Digital review copy provided by the publisher 

Noir mystery stories with settings running from a space station to talking animal helpers of a wizard.  Some of the stories are set in the author’s story universe while others are all new.  Like most themed anthologies there are some stories better than others.  Some stories are more noir than others but if you liked their previous anthology then you will like this one as well.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher

The annual anthology of Valdemar stories brings back several writers from the last few years to continue working on storylines they have going in this setting. It was nice to see the continuation of these characters and not have them in peril. The final story is by Mercedes, and it is a standalone story with a Herald in Karse.  For the most part the collection is entertaining and if you are happy visiting different settings in the Valdemar universe then you will be happy to read this one.

 

 

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss

I like themed anthologies and I like mysteries, so this was a natural to read. With the idea of the feme fatale in a noir setting as the basis for the stories most but not all of them hit the mark. Some of these are samples of new story universes and those I liked a lot more and hopefully will be able to read more in those settings. If detective mysteries in all sorts of settings work for you then this is fun read that takes the Noir idea and plays with it just fine and dandy.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss

This anthology is a collection of robot and fey stories and the last story in the collection took the title of the anthology to heart and ran with it. I really enjoyed most of the short stories. As with most collections there were always a few that I didn’t like as much but I’m sure that the ones I liked the most will not be other readers favorites. The stories were balanced pretty well between both teams and I don’t think one really came out as a better collection than the other. Several writers I read stuff from for the first time and now I want to give them a read in a larger format.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher Edelweiss

This collection is a set of stories told from the villains of various series. Most are the main antagonists of ongoing series so if you are a fan of the writers collected here you will be in for a treat. Most of the stories are new to the collection. The Jim Butcher story is a reprint from another collection but it fits the theme here perfectly. Several of the stories were set in new to me universes but for the most part gave a good taste of the settings they used. The Seanan McGuire story is an Incryptid one and gives great background on cuckoos and just hammers home why Sarah is so different. But the best surprise in here was the Lilith Saintcrow story about Perry’s origin. I was glad to get another peek into this story universe even if it was a short story.

Overall this is a good collection and there will be plenty of stuff for fans of various universes. And if you want a sample of what makes the bad guy sometimes the more interesting than the hero of the story try this out.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley

I grabbed this one from the library as an easy comfort read without realizing I am skipping a few of the previous collections.  Each story does stand on its own but several of the stories do build on previous short stories in the last few books that I missed. This just means that I have more reason to get caught up.  There were more stories that dealt with life outside of Valdemar and several that you really didn’t know when in the time line they happened and that was a nice change.   Good solid stories in a setting that is familiar to readers of the series.

I was only familiar with half the writers in this collection. The Sighn story is set in her Psy-Changeling universe and this is more of a romance with a touch of mystery but doesn’t do anything to the overall story arc. Bastien scents a changeling in the city that he knows will be his mate and has trouble tracking it since it is so faint.  Saying much more will give away the plot but it is a nice HEA story.  The Andrew’s  story is set in the Kate Daniels universe but doesn’t deal with Kate or Curran. This is set during the time frame of Magic Rises but deals with Jim and Dali. I liked the more info in Dali’s magic use and again this is a bit of a mystery with a HEA. The other two writers were new to me.  Shearin’s story seems to be a bit of a backstory piece to her current series. Lots of our heroine floundering around at her first day of work and being tossed into the deep end of the pool. It was ok but not sure if I would bother to read any more in the series. The last story by Vane just rubbed me the wrong way. Looks like this is a pen name for another writer that I haven’t read but it seems the story is a stand alone. This was a high fantasy setting completely different than the urban fantasy feel of the other three stories.  If it was me doing the collection I don’t think I would have added it since the setting was so different than the rest of them. The first two stories have were creatures in it so you get the shift in the title. The third story has a werewolf but not as the main character. The fourth story doesn’t have any shape shifters in it.