Reviews

Powers of Detection: Stories of Mystery & Fantasy by Anne Perry, Dana Stabenow, Charlaine Harris, Mike Doogan, Michael Armstrong, Donna Andrews, John Straley, Jay Caselberg, Simon R. Green, Sharon Shinn, Laura Anne Gilman, Anne Bishop

tribefan33's review

5.0

I really enjoyed these short stories... Of course they were a combo of my two favorite genre's!

lilyleia78's review

5.0

I picked up this book because I am a huge fan of Sharon Shinn. I was delighted to discover that her story, while wonderful fun, was not even my favorite. The short stories have inspired me to check out other works by the contributors-mystery and fantasy. In fact, this is the book that introduced me to The Nightside. It's a great read for fans of mystery, fantasy or short stories in general.

peregrineace's review

5.0

An awesome collection of detectives with special powers. My favorite is the Anne Bishop story about Surreal, but the others were equally well written. This is a great introduction to a variety of authors for very little investment in time or money.

reader44ever's review

5.0

I have read this book countless time over the years since its release. It's one of my favorite anthologies: full of stories about murder in fantasy settings. :-)

I'll review each story individually. As of today, September 4, 2015, I've read four stories. My plan is to read the others sometime in the next few days/weeks. Maybe one per night will be workable? ;-)

Cold Spell by [a:Donna Andrews|60646|Donna Andrews|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1287143006p2/60646.jpg]
Read 09/02/2015; ★★★★★ - outstanding/amazing :-)
I think this is my most favorite story in the book. I always end it chuckling. :-) In this story, Master Justinian, the Maestro at Westmarch College (a college for mages!), is called up to the local castle to solve a murder. Unfortunately, he has a cold.

Every time he sneezes, his magic does something that his apprentice, young Gwynn, must then correct. One sneeze sets his teacup to floating, another turns the bats into unusual colors (some even striped!), and the final sneeze of the story, which sets me to chuckling, turns himself into a tiny blue goblin. :-)

I really love this story. Master Justinian is stumped by the murder, and while Gwynn was set to working on the castle warding spell, she ends up with the answer to both their problems. :-) I always enjoy reading this story: it's always fun and never gets old. :-)

Lovely by [a:John Straley|189204|John Straley|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1352208465p2/189204.jpg]
Read 09/04/2015; ★★★ - above-average/liked it
I like this story okay, but after reading it countless times I now find myself wondering why it is in this collection. Sure, it's told from the point of view of a raven, but is that enough of a fantasy element to put it in an anthology with mages and vampires and the like? The world Gunk lives in seems to be the world outside my windows: normal, everyday, real life.

But still, it's a pretty good - and nicely gruesome - little story. ;-)

Fairy Dust by [a:Charlaine Harris|17061|Charlaine Harris|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1399317093p2/17061.jpg]
Read 08/31/2015; ★★★★ - very good/really liked
This short story is set in the world of CH's Southern Vampire series. Sookie is the primary protagonist, and Claudine wants to hire her for a job.

Claudine is a triplet. Her sister, Claudia, died and Claudine and their brother, Claude, want Soookie to help them figure out why and, if applicable, who did it.

I love that this is first-person narrated by Sookie, which lets us share in her internal thoughts. She has some fun thoughts that make me smile. :-) This is a really neat story that lets us see a little into the world of the fairies in Sookie's universe. I really like this glimpse into their lives.

The Sorcerer's Assassin by [a:Sharon Shinn|28544|Sharon Shinn|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1218995575p2/28544.jpg]
Read 09/03/2015; ★★★★ - very good/really liked
This short is the book's second set at a school for mages, the Norwitch Academy of Magic and Sorcery. The murder in this story was of

one of the professors and the pool of suspects is quite small: only five mages have the power...and all five are professors at the Academy and none of them liked their murdered colleague.

None of the main characters in this story are particularly likable, so I find it curious that I really like the story. I think it must just be that Sharon Shinn is that good a writer. :-) And the killer is not who you might think it is. That makes this story fun, too. ;-)