So what have you been reading?

 

This collection of all of Kage Baker’s short stories set on Mars reads wonderfully together. Colonization with corporations and what can go wrong, new religions sprouting up in a new land and people wanting more than just work every day, they want arts and entertainment.  Stories of a what might happen if we go to Mars.   A great collection and shorter than what we deserved due to the loss of the writer way too soon. 

 

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley

This is a great collection of short stories that most have only been available to people who bought the special Waterstone editions of the hardcover. I had read about half of these before but was more than happy to buy it to get the rest including an audio only story now in print for the first time. The collection fills in the cracks between the books. Some happening right after the end of the main story and some are just set on their own not bookending any particular story. This will tide any fan over until the next book comes out.

Most of the stories collected here have shown up in various anthologies but one is from her Patreon. I’m a fan of her stuff and there were a few that I hadn’t read before. None of the stories here are set in any of her current series and yet so many of these stories are almost begging for more stories in their setting. A great collection for fans of short stories or fans of McGuire’s writing.


Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley

This is a collection of short stories that have been previously published in various places with one new short story at the end of the book. It was nice to reread some of these stories and see the introductions explaining where they fell in the series or why they were written. I had read most but not all of the reprints since some were either in small press publications or RPG books. A great collection for any fan of the Dresden Files and nice to see the story universe with other characters getting a turn as narrator. The last story is the new one and the furthest in the timeline of the series. So nice to see Harry, Maggie and Mouse all together in one story.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley

This is a short story collection that has some new stuff and some old stuff. Half of this can be read without having finished everything that is out so far but the last half does spoil Staked and there are warnings. This is not all of the short fiction set in this world but most of it. The POV characters do change with some of the stories and the Owen one is really good. The first half fills in time before the start of the first book and some of the time that Atticus was training Granuaile. I like that not all the stories are all Atticus and that other people do not see him the way he sees himself.

This is a great book to read while waiting for Scourged to come out. And tracking down the other stories that were not added to this collection will make the time go faster.

Digital review copy from the publisher through NetGalley

1) Brazen – Subterranean Press 2013 Nick novella
2) Amityville Horrible – Subterranean Press Jaime/Jeremy novella
3) Chaotic – Hope/Karl novella from Dates from Hell, Hope’s 1st appearance in the series
4) Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word – Zoe short story from Expiration Date
5) Off-Duty Angel – Eve/Kristof story from The Hunter & The Hunted
6) The Puppy Plan – Logan Danvers novella from Gifted
7) Baby Boom – new Paige/Lucas novella

With only one all new piece of fiction this might not be the best buy for hardcore readers of Kelley Armstrong’s Otherworld stories. But if you haven’t read the small press novellas or tracked down every anthology her work has been in or bought an electronic only version of a short story then this is a treat. I read most of her stuff and I still get a few new nuggets in this collection. This collection has a varied collection of POV characters and it covers almost all of the supernatural races that her world encompasses. Overall this was a great read and I’m sure at some point there will be another collection since I know there are more small press novellas out there.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss

This is a set of interlocking short stories that take place in Tel Aviv of the future. There is a space station above it so it is a hub of travel for people coming from the colonies to return home. The stories all are connected to one family that lives there. Most of the stories have been published before but a few are new to this collection.  It isn’t all life and death stories some are quiet gems about birth, death, and religion.  This isn’t a huge sprawling world you see, it is a close to home slice of the future and is rather fun to read how we will change as a society because of what we did when we fought wars, came up with new technologies and met new species.  I did like that even in the far future there were still book collectors. And enjoyable read and makes me want to pick up more of the author’s stuff.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

This short story collection has bit of everything for a Kelley Armstrong reader. Covering her well known series, standalone short stories and new material written for the book the selection certainly entertains the reader.  Several of the stories have appeared in themed anthologies and to have them here without trying to track them all down is a treat since I enjoyed the one for the Clive Barker book but I don’t think I would have bought that collection and would have missed that gem. A great read to get the full flavor of writing and story universes from a very prolific author.


Digital Revew copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley

It was nice to see a collection of short stories that had more than one or two new stories in it. This one had 4 new stories and 6 reissues but it also had two chapters that had been previously cut from books. The stories are set in chronological order and they let the reader know where each story falls in the series. I had read most of the reprints before but it was nice to reread them in this collection. What I liked about the collection is you got some backstory on several other characters that normally would come up during the course of a book. A good solid collection of stories for someone that enjoys the Mercy Thompson universe.

This is a collection of previous published novellas and short stories with one brand new story written by her sister using extensive notes on the story idea. Any fan of the Company stories that hadn't wanted to pay for the small press editions of these stories will be very happy to dip back into this story universe. The new story has that same magic as her solo stories and includes Joseph and Lewis in California. It was good and bittersweet at the same time knowing that we were robbed of so many more stories.


Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Netgalley