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bookhawk's review
3.0
Faceoff was a good anthology. Most of the stories were very good but there were a couple that brought this from a 4 star to a highish 3 star. The Sandford Deaver story was fantastic. There were several stories that made me want to read different authors including Joseph Finder, James Rollins, Steve Martini, Linda Fairstein and others. Definitely worth trying this book.
cook_memorial_public_library's review
4.0
Recommended by Connie, who calls it a fun anthology. Read her review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1145762397?book_show_action=false
Check our catalog: http://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Sfaceoff%20baldacci__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=pearl
Check our catalog: http://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Sfaceoff%20baldacci__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=pearl
canada_matt's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The premise of the FACEOFF collection is one sure to intrigue any fiction buff; pit popular characters from best-selling series together or against one another and see what falls out. As Baldacci explains in his introduction, it is more of a headache than two authors teaming up to create a crossover, thanks to the legalities of publishing contracts. While I choose not to summarise each of the stories within this collection, I will admit that seeing the likes of Nick Heller and Jack Reacher, Patrick Kenzie and Harry Bosch, and even Sean Reilly and Glen Garber working in tandem opens the reader's mind to many interesting possibilities, all of which are realised in a number of short stories. This collection of authors have spun some wonderful tales, all filled with thrills and spills, with twists that keep the action growing from start to finish. While I am not familiar with a number of the characters, each has some interesting traits sure to intrigue readers familiar with at least a handful of them, as they live out short adventures on the page. A wonderful collection featuring many interesting characters living and working in their own respective elements.
While this collection was full of wonderful stories, each unique in its own right, there is a downside of bringing so many authors together. Learning about new characters and their individual nuances has looped me into wanting to discover more about them, as well as read about their stand-alone adventures. With a pile of books sure to drown me already, I cannot afford to add new authors to my overflowing quiver. I will keep this collection close at hand, as there were some characters who piqued my interest and left me wanting more.
Kudos, Mr. Baldacci, et al. for all your hard work and dedication to this project. I had a blast reading these short stories and hope a similar collection comes out again soon, perhaps from other members of the thriller guild.
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latas's review against another edition
4.0
Jugalbandi is the word that came to my mind when I read this collection of short stories.
Jugalbandi is a performance in Indian classical music, that features a duet of two solo musicians ( vocal or instrumental, playing different instruments). Both musicians act as lead players, and a playful competition exists between the two performers. Such concerts are usually a hit, as we get to see 2 popular performers known for different styles on the same platform and it is double the fun.
Faceoff is a jugalbandi with 2 authors working in tandem on a single story And the result is just as delightful as a classical jugalbandhi.
Getting together 2 acclaimed authors to write a single story featuring their main protagonists would have been quite a task. But, none of the stories felt disconnected, and I enjoyed the easy flow. I haven't read all these authors featured in this book. This has made me take interest add some new authors to my TBR.
Jugalbandi is a performance in Indian classical music, that features a duet of two solo musicians ( vocal or instrumental, playing different instruments). Both musicians act as lead players, and a playful competition exists between the two performers. Such concerts are usually a hit, as we get to see 2 popular performers known for different styles on the same platform and it is double the fun.
Faceoff is a jugalbandi with 2 authors working in tandem on a single story And the result is just as delightful as a classical jugalbandhi.
Getting together 2 acclaimed authors to write a single story featuring their main protagonists would have been quite a task. But, none of the stories felt disconnected, and I enjoyed the easy flow. I haven't read all these authors featured in this book. This has made me take interest add some new authors to my TBR.
5elementknitr's review
1.0
Turned me on to some new writers. Good stories overall.
The above sentence is from when I read this in 2015. Not sure why I was reading it again this year, but I've downgraded from three stars to one, and I'm not finishing it a second time.
In theory, it's a good premise: Get the authors of the most popular detective/thriller series to pair up their main characters for crossover stories. In practice..... not great.
First off, if you haven't read the series of the 20+ different authors, you may not know what the hell is going on in the stories. Second, if you were planning to read any of the series but haven't yet, there are some VERY significant spoilers in these stories!
I got about halfway through it again, then ditched it.
The above sentence is from when I read this in 2015. Not sure why I was reading it again this year, but I've downgraded from three stars to one, and I'm not finishing it a second time.
In theory, it's a good premise: Get the authors of the most popular detective/thriller series to pair up their main characters for crossover stories. In practice..... not great.
First off, if you haven't read the series of the 20+ different authors, you may not know what the hell is going on in the stories. Second, if you were planning to read any of the series but haven't yet, there are some VERY significant spoilers in these stories!
I got about halfway through it again, then ditched it.
matosapa's review against another edition
3.0
This was a great concept but the collection was a bit uneven. The "bookend" stories were fantastic but others were a bit meh. Highly recommended for fans of _any_ of the authors listed on the cover.
xkay_readsx's review
3.0
Not familiar with short stories, I don't think it's my thing even I love the characters (know just a handful, not all). Still it was entertaining.
tboofy's review
4.0
Enjoyable collection of short stories from popular authors paired together. It was fun to recognize some of the characters from other books I've read in unusually couplings with other characters. Lee Child's Reacher was a favorite, though I think I'm going to have to look into some of the other authors since I enjoyed their characters.