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santanareads's review
3.0
I wrote mini-reviews for all 20 short stories, so enjoy!
Ms. Liberty Gets a Haircut by Cat Rambo
I love superheroes. I've made that very clear multiple times. So I was very happy when I started reading this story about a team of SUPERHEROINES. Our protagonist, Ms. Liberty, is a cyborg writer whose creators made her to not really feel anything, just to have a woman to have sex with. Pretty disgusting to me. This is her journey on how she discovers herself and her true meaning, and what doea life mean to her. It's amazing how this story is so short, but Rambo managed to create a character that you feel for and relate to.
Ms. Liberty Gets a Haircut is diverse af, since all the heroines don't really have genders, but still decide to call themselves women, because they feel like a woman and feel comfortable as a woman. How they are willing to love anyone who loves them for who they are, but not their looks. How men often treat women like if they were objects, ones they can sweep the floor with.
The whole idea of The Unidentified is great. These women create this group because males put them aside, and under them. They want to feel powerful, and want to escape the judgment of men. They don't include men in this group, because the men in their city are all the same and they won't change anytime soon. Trust me girls, I feel the same.
Basically, if you're feeling down or you have a low self-esteem at the moment, read this. It'll make you realize that you are WORTH it, that no matter what anyone tells you, you are who you are, names, and bodies, and sexualities will NEVER FUCKING MATTER. Be yourself, put others' thoughts behind you, and simply be awesome.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Destroy the City With Me Tonight by Kat Marshall
The first line really drew me in but compared to Ms. Liberty, it was weak in terms of character development & plot. I didn't connect to the main character, and I would've liked a further explanation of the marks on her skin. I know this isn't a novel, but I was confused, and when I ended reading, I had more questions than answers. I guess I didn't like how everything was put together.
I did like the message sent. Because others don't value you, it doesn't mean you aren't worth anything. You don't need other people's opinions to know that you are valuable and meaningful to the world. And if someone ignores you or forgets you, they don't deserve your time.
Rating: ⭐⭐
Fool by Keith Frady
There's not really a hero, there is a villain in this story. And he reminds me too much of Gru. Or maybe I'm too obsessed with Despicable Me. He has created a bunch of androids who are yellow & cute. Wait, wrong description. He humanized them so they could be his servants. He wanted them to help him destroy the planet.
It was never explained what were his motives for this particular desire, which is a bit upsetting. But the story does send a very important message, don't blame your problems on others. They're not guilty of what you're going through. Don't get mad at them because your upset or disappointed. Handle the problem and don't take out your anger on others.
Definitely going to be checking out more Keith Frady's work to devour his exquisite writing style.
Rating: ⭐⭐.75
Pedestal by Seanan McGuire
What a unique short story! This was my most anticipated story from the anthology and it did not disappoint. Seanan McGuire is the author of Every Heart a Doorway, and now I want to read it more than I already do. The writing was so amazing and funny, I loved it. It was the first story we saw an actual fighting scene and it was EPIC! And in a grocery store!
Pedestal sends an incredibly important message: don't judge someone when you don't know them. Being so judgemental won't lead you anywhere. Insulting someone without knowing what they've gone through is simply ridiculous. It also shows the struggles of being famous. And I found it very realistic. Celebrities live complicated lives, why do we need to invade their privacy?
I would've liked Alice's powers to be explored much further and I was very confused at what that purple thing was. Other than that, it was a very unique story I would recommend to every superhero fan out there.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
As I Fall Asleep by Aimee Ogden
As I Fall Asleep was very interesting since Cerebrelle's powers very unique. Somehow, she could see every single component and substance in the human body and the atmosphere. The writing was pretty nice and I liked the idea Ogden was going for. But I think it wasn't executed very well. The ending was VERY open and there are a bunch of plot holes waiting to be explained.
I can definitely see this working as a novel, not a short story.
Rating: ⭐⭐.5
Meeting Someone in the 22nd Century or Until the Gears Quit Turning by Jennifer Pullen
This one was cool, because it goes into the lives of a superhero we never see in action. It's about this guy who goes frequently to this bookstore, and he's very attracted to the female cashier. When he finally builds up the courage to ask her out, she reveals she's a cyborg and later that she MAY be a superhero.
We see three stages: dating, marriage, and parenthood. And it's really freaking adorable. Greg and Sandra go through a lot, but this story teaches us that love is powerful enough to survive anything. True love is true love, no matter the person's faults or oddities. Greg is #Goals because he loved and cared for Sandra even though she was a cyborg. Someone else might have just pushed her away because she was different.
It lacked superhero action and I wanted to see her in costume, but that's just personal taste, I guess.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Inheritance by Michael Milne
Throughout Inheritance, we follow Oliver, whose parents are getting divorced, and if you're a distracted reader, you won't catch on to his powers. I guess it was a story about finding yourself and realizing that things are not always going to be the same.
While reading the other stories in this anthology, I've gotten something nice from most of them. But, in my opinion, this story wasn't structured very well, and didn't really have a beginning or end. Probably my least favorite so far...
Rating: ⭐⭐
Heroes by Lavie Tidhar
Unfortunately, Heroes has beaten Inheritance to my least favorite story from the anthology. I hate History and I don't like historical fiction, from movies, to books, to TV shows, etc, etc, etc. It's always been incredibly boring to me. Maybe that's why I didn't like it. Maybe other people will like it better. But is was SO NOT my cup of tea.
I found it confusing and it changed from year to year several times. And the constant talk about the Nazis, Hitler, and the war, was just, ugh. I hated it. I finished reading and was like: "What the hell did I just read? I didn't get a fucking thing."
Rating: ⭐
Madjack by Nathan Crowder
Such an interesting coming-of-age story about coming to terms with who you are and what's ahead in life. Not only were the characters so nicely fleshed out in no-time, the writing was simple but poetic, and it was very diverse. The main character was of Indian heritage and her and her father were rock stars. The characters featured at the beginning weren't really developed and really didn't have a purpose.
I did find it interesting that the author chose rock & roll, since in most novels talking about fame, the music genre is pop. I wanted to see Madjack in action, and like outer space and the aliens, so I didn't love it because of it. But it was still good, and I would definitely re-read it at some point.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.75
Quintessential Justice by Patrick Flanagan
The writing was very funny and clever, but the story itself was boring af. I didn't care for the characters and was very confused the entire time. Lots of words with Q though, and quite some action, but in my opinion, it wasn't executed very well.
Rating: ⭐⭐
The Fall of the Jade Sword by Stephanie Lai
Let's just say, I don't know what I just read. It's a diverse short story with Chinese characters that confused me with its writing and plot. I didn't understand anything, didn't connect to the characters, and the writing style was not my thing.
Rating: ⭐
Origin Story by Carrie Vaughn
Just like the title says, it's the origin story of a twenty-something henchwoman and how she became evil. The writing was very nice. This story was quite short, but I still really connected to the characters. It was interesting to read, the setting was cool, and it just comes to show you that love makes people do crazy things.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Eggshells by Ziggy Schutz
I wasn't really sure what to think of this one, because of the title. I know, ridiculous. But I quite enjoyed it. I was a little bit confused at parts, like I knew Pen was queer and maybe she didn't want to decide on a certain label, and I don't want to jump into conclusions. I mixed up the characters a little bit, and I wanted to know why the concussion affected Penny so much. It was nice to see the relationship with her brother, and I related.
Rating: ⭐⭐.5
Salt City Blue by Chris Large
Definitely one of the funniest stories of this anthology! Helen's humor had me laughing out loud and the story itself was very odd but unique. It was giving me serious Kryptonian vibes. Except Crimson Reign isn't Skyball's cousin. The writing was witty and extremely hilarious, making this story very entertaining.
I would've loved this as a novel, as it had tons of potential and I really liked all the characters and simply wanted more of Salt City. I still have some questions after finishing it, but I can safely say it is one of the best.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5
Birthright by Stuart Suffel
I don't know how to feel. The introduction was promising and I was sure I was in for the coolest futuristic story, but it felt very anticlimactic. The language was confusing, I couldn't connect with the characters or the story and plot. I was left with a lot of questions and I wasn't impacted whatsover.
Rating: ⭐⭐
The Smoke Means It's Working by Sarah Pinsker
This was such a unique short story. It was definitely intriguing and the robot aspect was super cool. It was a bit confusing to understand the bot's parts but nonetheless, a lot of fun. I wanted a bit more of superhero action, but I feel like this would work wonderfully as a novel.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.75
Torch Songs by Keith Rosson
Carnivals and circuses have become a recent weakness of mine, so I was instantly pulled into the story. It had very poetic and evocative writing, and the setting was incredibly eerie and mysterious, which I loved. This is some great novel material right here, and I'd pay anything to read a bit more. The ending was a bit disappointing and there was a lot of potential in terms of villainy and storyline. But, it was still fantastic.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5
The Beard of Truth by Matt Mikalatos
This was probably one of the funniest short stories from this anthology. Everyone was hilarious and the fact that anyone could get any superpower at any moment was really cool. It seriously got me wishing I lived there, in hopes of getting superspeed.
I got really attached to the story and I really wanted it to be longer. The writing was very witty and fun, so expect me to check more of Mikalatos' work.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Over an Embattled City by Adam R. Shannon
This had to do with comic books, so I was immediately in. But, there was no sense of purpose to this story. Yeah, it was interesting. But, it was shallow and flat. Anticlimactic to the max. I wanted more out of it, something that wasn't confusion.
Rating: ⭐⭐
Origin Story by Kelly Link
I wanted this anthology to close out with a momentum. The best short story of them all. But I couldn't be more disappointed. There was no plot to this, just a boy and a girl blabbering out and about, and it made no sense. At first, I thought it was some short Wizard of Oz retelling. It was confusing and nothing happened. Or maybe it did and I didn't understand.
Rating: ⭐
All in all, for being my first anthology, it was pretty great. It took me the longest time to read, but what matters is that I'm done and I enjoyed it. As a lover of superheroes, I found a couple of new favorites, and some, I'd rather not think about. If you're a fan of anthologies, give this one a go. And even if you're not the biggest fan of short story collections but adore superheroes, it's worth checking out.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.75
Thank you to Meerkat Press for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.
Actual rating: 3.75/5
Ms. Liberty Gets a Haircut by Cat Rambo
I love superheroes. I've made that very clear multiple times. So I was very happy when I started reading this story about a team of SUPERHEROINES. Our protagonist, Ms. Liberty, is a cyborg writer whose creators made her to not really feel anything, just to have a woman to have sex with. Pretty disgusting to me. This is her journey on how she discovers herself and her true meaning, and what doea life mean to her. It's amazing how this story is so short, but Rambo managed to create a character that you feel for and relate to.
Ms. Liberty Gets a Haircut is diverse af, since all the heroines don't really have genders, but still decide to call themselves women, because they feel like a woman and feel comfortable as a woman. How they are willing to love anyone who loves them for who they are, but not their looks. How men often treat women like if they were objects, ones they can sweep the floor with.
The whole idea of The Unidentified is great. These women create this group because males put them aside, and under them. They want to feel powerful, and want to escape the judgment of men. They don't include men in this group, because the men in their city are all the same and they won't change anytime soon. Trust me girls, I feel the same.
Basically, if you're feeling down or you have a low self-esteem at the moment, read this. It'll make you realize that you are WORTH it, that no matter what anyone tells you, you are who you are, names, and bodies, and sexualities will NEVER FUCKING MATTER. Be yourself, put others' thoughts behind you, and simply be awesome.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Destroy the City With Me Tonight by Kat Marshall
The first line really drew me in but compared to Ms. Liberty, it was weak in terms of character development & plot. I didn't connect to the main character, and I would've liked a further explanation of the marks on her skin. I know this isn't a novel, but I was confused, and when I ended reading, I had more questions than answers. I guess I didn't like how everything was put together.
I did like the message sent. Because others don't value you, it doesn't mean you aren't worth anything. You don't need other people's opinions to know that you are valuable and meaningful to the world. And if someone ignores you or forgets you, they don't deserve your time.
Rating: ⭐⭐
Fool by Keith Frady
There's not really a hero, there is a villain in this story. And he reminds me too much of Gru. Or maybe I'm too obsessed with Despicable Me. He has created a bunch of androids who are yellow & cute. Wait, wrong description. He humanized them so they could be his servants. He wanted them to help him destroy the planet.
It was never explained what were his motives for this particular desire, which is a bit upsetting. But the story does send a very important message, don't blame your problems on others. They're not guilty of what you're going through. Don't get mad at them because your upset or disappointed. Handle the problem and don't take out your anger on others.
Definitely going to be checking out more Keith Frady's work to devour his exquisite writing style.
Rating: ⭐⭐.75
Pedestal by Seanan McGuire
What a unique short story! This was my most anticipated story from the anthology and it did not disappoint. Seanan McGuire is the author of Every Heart a Doorway, and now I want to read it more than I already do. The writing was so amazing and funny, I loved it. It was the first story we saw an actual fighting scene and it was EPIC! And in a grocery store!
Pedestal sends an incredibly important message: don't judge someone when you don't know them. Being so judgemental won't lead you anywhere. Insulting someone without knowing what they've gone through is simply ridiculous. It also shows the struggles of being famous. And I found it very realistic. Celebrities live complicated lives, why do we need to invade their privacy?
I would've liked Alice's powers to be explored much further and I was very confused at what that purple thing was. Other than that, it was a very unique story I would recommend to every superhero fan out there.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
As I Fall Asleep by Aimee Ogden
As I Fall Asleep was very interesting since Cerebrelle's powers very unique. Somehow, she could see every single component and substance in the human body and the atmosphere. The writing was pretty nice and I liked the idea Ogden was going for. But I think it wasn't executed very well. The ending was VERY open and there are a bunch of plot holes waiting to be explained.
I can definitely see this working as a novel, not a short story.
Rating: ⭐⭐.5
Meeting Someone in the 22nd Century or Until the Gears Quit Turning by Jennifer Pullen
This one was cool, because it goes into the lives of a superhero we never see in action. It's about this guy who goes frequently to this bookstore, and he's very attracted to the female cashier. When he finally builds up the courage to ask her out, she reveals she's a cyborg and later that she MAY be a superhero.
We see three stages: dating, marriage, and parenthood. And it's really freaking adorable. Greg and Sandra go through a lot, but this story teaches us that love is powerful enough to survive anything. True love is true love, no matter the person's faults or oddities. Greg is #Goals because he loved and cared for Sandra even though she was a cyborg. Someone else might have just pushed her away because she was different.
It lacked superhero action and I wanted to see her in costume, but that's just personal taste, I guess.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Inheritance by Michael Milne
Throughout Inheritance, we follow Oliver, whose parents are getting divorced, and if you're a distracted reader, you won't catch on to his powers. I guess it was a story about finding yourself and realizing that things are not always going to be the same.
While reading the other stories in this anthology, I've gotten something nice from most of them. But, in my opinion, this story wasn't structured very well, and didn't really have a beginning or end. Probably my least favorite so far...
Rating: ⭐⭐
Heroes by Lavie Tidhar
Unfortunately, Heroes has beaten Inheritance to my least favorite story from the anthology. I hate History and I don't like historical fiction, from movies, to books, to TV shows, etc, etc, etc. It's always been incredibly boring to me. Maybe that's why I didn't like it. Maybe other people will like it better. But is was SO NOT my cup of tea.
I found it confusing and it changed from year to year several times. And the constant talk about the Nazis, Hitler, and the war, was just, ugh. I hated it. I finished reading and was like: "What the hell did I just read? I didn't get a fucking thing."
Rating: ⭐
Madjack by Nathan Crowder
Such an interesting coming-of-age story about coming to terms with who you are and what's ahead in life. Not only were the characters so nicely fleshed out in no-time, the writing was simple but poetic, and it was very diverse. The main character was of Indian heritage and her and her father were rock stars. The characters featured at the beginning weren't really developed and really didn't have a purpose.
I did find it interesting that the author chose rock & roll, since in most novels talking about fame, the music genre is pop. I wanted to see Madjack in action, and like outer space and the aliens, so I didn't love it because of it. But it was still good, and I would definitely re-read it at some point.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.75
Quintessential Justice by Patrick Flanagan
The writing was very funny and clever, but the story itself was boring af. I didn't care for the characters and was very confused the entire time. Lots of words with Q though, and quite some action, but in my opinion, it wasn't executed very well.
Rating: ⭐⭐
The Fall of the Jade Sword by Stephanie Lai
Let's just say, I don't know what I just read. It's a diverse short story with Chinese characters that confused me with its writing and plot. I didn't understand anything, didn't connect to the characters, and the writing style was not my thing.
Rating: ⭐
Origin Story by Carrie Vaughn
Just like the title says, it's the origin story of a twenty-something henchwoman and how she became evil. The writing was very nice. This story was quite short, but I still really connected to the characters. It was interesting to read, the setting was cool, and it just comes to show you that love makes people do crazy things.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Eggshells by Ziggy Schutz
I wasn't really sure what to think of this one, because of the title. I know, ridiculous. But I quite enjoyed it. I was a little bit confused at parts, like I knew Pen was queer and maybe she didn't want to decide on a certain label, and I don't want to jump into conclusions. I mixed up the characters a little bit, and I wanted to know why the concussion affected Penny so much. It was nice to see the relationship with her brother, and I related.
Rating: ⭐⭐.5
Salt City Blue by Chris Large
Definitely one of the funniest stories of this anthology! Helen's humor had me laughing out loud and the story itself was very odd but unique. It was giving me serious Kryptonian vibes. Except Crimson Reign isn't Skyball's cousin. The writing was witty and extremely hilarious, making this story very entertaining.
I would've loved this as a novel, as it had tons of potential and I really liked all the characters and simply wanted more of Salt City. I still have some questions after finishing it, but I can safely say it is one of the best.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5
Birthright by Stuart Suffel
I don't know how to feel. The introduction was promising and I was sure I was in for the coolest futuristic story, but it felt very anticlimactic. The language was confusing, I couldn't connect with the characters or the story and plot. I was left with a lot of questions and I wasn't impacted whatsover.
Rating: ⭐⭐
The Smoke Means It's Working by Sarah Pinsker
This was such a unique short story. It was definitely intriguing and the robot aspect was super cool. It was a bit confusing to understand the bot's parts but nonetheless, a lot of fun. I wanted a bit more of superhero action, but I feel like this would work wonderfully as a novel.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.75
Torch Songs by Keith Rosson
Carnivals and circuses have become a recent weakness of mine, so I was instantly pulled into the story. It had very poetic and evocative writing, and the setting was incredibly eerie and mysterious, which I loved. This is some great novel material right here, and I'd pay anything to read a bit more. The ending was a bit disappointing and there was a lot of potential in terms of villainy and storyline. But, it was still fantastic.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5
The Beard of Truth by Matt Mikalatos
This was probably one of the funniest short stories from this anthology. Everyone was hilarious and the fact that anyone could get any superpower at any moment was really cool. It seriously got me wishing I lived there, in hopes of getting superspeed.
I got really attached to the story and I really wanted it to be longer. The writing was very witty and fun, so expect me to check more of Mikalatos' work.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Over an Embattled City by Adam R. Shannon
This had to do with comic books, so I was immediately in. But, there was no sense of purpose to this story. Yeah, it was interesting. But, it was shallow and flat. Anticlimactic to the max. I wanted more out of it, something that wasn't confusion.
Rating: ⭐⭐
Origin Story by Kelly Link
I wanted this anthology to close out with a momentum. The best short story of them all. But I couldn't be more disappointed. There was no plot to this, just a boy and a girl blabbering out and about, and it made no sense. At first, I thought it was some short Wizard of Oz retelling. It was confusing and nothing happened. Or maybe it did and I didn't understand.
Rating: ⭐
All in all, for being my first anthology, it was pretty great. It took me the longest time to read, but what matters is that I'm done and I enjoyed it. As a lover of superheroes, I found a couple of new favorites, and some, I'd rather not think about. If you're a fan of anthologies, give this one a go. And even if you're not the biggest fan of short story collections but adore superheroes, it's worth checking out.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.75
Thank you to Meerkat Press for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.
Actual rating: 3.75/5
marziesreads's review
3.0
I received this book from Net Galleyi. Exchange for an honest review.
First let me be straight up and say that short story anthologies aren't always my thing. Their usual unevenness bothers me. I was interested in this anthology because of the A-List of authors involved. It doesn't disappoint but it doesn't enthrall, either. For the most part, the stories are interesting, and some, for example Kate Marshall's "Destroy The City With Me Tonight," and Ziggy Schutz's "Eggshells," have stayed with me days after reading them. All these stories have an undertone of what a pain it is to be a superhero. Whether in Seánan McGuire's "Pedestal," where even going to the grocery store turns into a paparazzi event, complete with social media tagging disaster, to Carrie Vaughn's "Origin Story," where your ex-girlfriend recognizes you during your now-turned-super -villain bank robbery, being super is hard. And I guess that sadness and despair is part of what made the anthology less than enjoyable at times. I read one or two stories a day, and that was fine. That was plenty. Some good craft here. Very little joy.
First let me be straight up and say that short story anthologies aren't always my thing. Their usual unevenness bothers me. I was interested in this anthology because of the A-List of authors involved. It doesn't disappoint but it doesn't enthrall, either. For the most part, the stories are interesting, and some, for example Kate Marshall's "Destroy The City With Me Tonight," and Ziggy Schutz's "Eggshells," have stayed with me days after reading them. All these stories have an undertone of what a pain it is to be a superhero. Whether in Seánan McGuire's "Pedestal," where even going to the grocery store turns into a paparazzi event, complete with social media tagging disaster, to Carrie Vaughn's "Origin Story," where your ex-girlfriend recognizes you during your now-turned-super -villain bank robbery, being super is hard. And I guess that sadness and despair is part of what made the anthology less than enjoyable at times. I read one or two stories a day, and that was fine. That was plenty. Some good craft here. Very little joy.
dawnvogel's review
4.0
(Original posted at Mad Scientist Journal, 6/7/2017)
Behind the Mask is a collection of twenty super hero stories, but you won’t find a lot of knock-down, drag-out fights between heroes and villains in this anthology. Instead, Behind the Mask focuses on super heroes dealing with matters of everyday life, while still having powers, nemeses, and the myriad other issues with which super heroes are confronted.
The stories range from funny to poignant, sometimes touching on both ends of the spectrum within a single story. A number of the stories feature heroes who are still learning things about their powers or their very natures. Kate Marshall’s “Destroy the City with Me Tonight” is one of the stories that uses this to delightful effect, as the hero and her nemesis discover more about what they are. “Eggshells,” by Ziggy Schutz, features a hero who doesn’t feel pain and whose skin cannot be broken, but can still be brought low by a concussion. Tracking the hero over the course of the year following her concussion gives a touching look at the issues that someone with a traumatic brain injury deals with.
Other stories touch on heroes trying to get by in the real world. When Seanan McGuire’s main character in “Pedestal” needs to go to the grocery store, she deals with paparazzi and the impact their actions have on both her and innocent bystanders. There are also tales of heroes coping with the absence of a parent. Michael Milne’s “Inheritance” has a young hero who has inherited powers from his father coming to terms with both those powers and the father who was never around when he needed him, while Nathan Crowder’s “Madjack” has the hero dealing with the death of her alien and somewhat estranged father.
Though as is the case with many anthologies, there are likely stories that an individual reader may not like as much, Behind the Mask is a solid anthology, filled with well-written and -edited stories that fans of the super hero genre will enjoy. You can learn more about the anthology and where to buy it here.
The publisher provided us with a free copy of this publication in exchange for an honest review.
Behind the Mask is a collection of twenty super hero stories, but you won’t find a lot of knock-down, drag-out fights between heroes and villains in this anthology. Instead, Behind the Mask focuses on super heroes dealing with matters of everyday life, while still having powers, nemeses, and the myriad other issues with which super heroes are confronted.
The stories range from funny to poignant, sometimes touching on both ends of the spectrum within a single story. A number of the stories feature heroes who are still learning things about their powers or their very natures. Kate Marshall’s “Destroy the City with Me Tonight” is one of the stories that uses this to delightful effect, as the hero and her nemesis discover more about what they are. “Eggshells,” by Ziggy Schutz, features a hero who doesn’t feel pain and whose skin cannot be broken, but can still be brought low by a concussion. Tracking the hero over the course of the year following her concussion gives a touching look at the issues that someone with a traumatic brain injury deals with.
Other stories touch on heroes trying to get by in the real world. When Seanan McGuire’s main character in “Pedestal” needs to go to the grocery store, she deals with paparazzi and the impact their actions have on both her and innocent bystanders. There are also tales of heroes coping with the absence of a parent. Michael Milne’s “Inheritance” has a young hero who has inherited powers from his father coming to terms with both those powers and the father who was never around when he needed him, while Nathan Crowder’s “Madjack” has the hero dealing with the death of her alien and somewhat estranged father.
Though as is the case with many anthologies, there are likely stories that an individual reader may not like as much, Behind the Mask is a solid anthology, filled with well-written and -edited stories that fans of the super hero genre will enjoy. You can learn more about the anthology and where to buy it here.
The publisher provided us with a free copy of this publication in exchange for an honest review.
willdrown's review
5.0
A strong, varied anthology about superheroes, supervillains, and their regular lives
tl;dr at Overall, as always
The whole point of an anthology is to bring together wildly different styles and ideas, united by a single concept and see if it works. More often than not, it doesn’t. There’s always a varying ratio of duds to gems and it’s very rare to see a book of this kind that accomplishes the herculean feat of being good all the way through.
And yet here we are.
Behind the Mask presents 20 stories from 20 authors, all about heroes and villains and the way they live or influence normal people or see each other or… There is a wide range of ideas on display here, some more novel than others (The Beard of Truth is a nice story, but “what if your partner couldn’t lie to you?” is far from a fresh take on superpowers), and it is evident that all authors have a deep love of the superhero genre, as they gently poke fun at its conventions or outright skewer the sexist standards set in the last century and upheld out of sheer laziness.
I generally found the stories to be on the same level as a whole, though some stood out with more evocative writing styles and some boasted more unexpected stories that elevated the bland-ish writing. Still, there are some that I’d like to mention specifically, of course.
First, “Madjack”, a touching tribute to David Bowie and the power of music, that manages to evade the dangerous waters of schmaltzy hero worship, viewing its titular rockstar ubermensch through the eyes of his musician daughter. And its all the better for its downbeat, tasteful portrayal of her grief.
Second, “Pedestal”, which is extremely relevant and fun, though I have to admit that it is extremely on the nose at times, but some themes work even when subtlety is lost and this, thankfully, is one of them.
Third, “Salt City Blue”, which suffers only from pretty stale descriptions of sexual encounters that made me feel like the author himself wasn’t too interested in writing them. But the story is stellar and the side of heroes that it explores is new and exciting.
Fourth, “Torch Songs”, which Rosson writes the hell out of, even though the narrative could have used stronger pacing. It’s tough not to love this, as it is one of the better-written tales in the anthology, using vivid imagery and never flinching when the time comes to deliver a description that toes the line between “moody and atmospheric” and “gaudy”, always landing on the right side.
And, lastly, fifth, “Fool”, a tragedy which takes the “loser villain” trope, so often portrayed for laughs in cartoons and more comedic comic books, and plays it straight with a heartbroken man hoping to finally achieve some great dastardly deed and being unable to perform.
That’s not to say that the other stories aren’t good, I greatly enjoyed all of them, with just two stories being not entirely my cup of tea (The Fall of the Jade Sword, Origin Story #2). I would highly recommend this to anybody and everybody.
Overall, versatile and highly creative, this anthology sets some limitations for talented writers and lets us watch them flourish with each new story. A must-read for anybody who even remotely enjoys the concept of superheroes.
ARC received from the publisher via Netgalley
tl;dr at Overall, as always
The whole point of an anthology is to bring together wildly different styles and ideas, united by a single concept and see if it works. More often than not, it doesn’t. There’s always a varying ratio of duds to gems and it’s very rare to see a book of this kind that accomplishes the herculean feat of being good all the way through.
And yet here we are.
Behind the Mask presents 20 stories from 20 authors, all about heroes and villains and the way they live or influence normal people or see each other or… There is a wide range of ideas on display here, some more novel than others (The Beard of Truth is a nice story, but “what if your partner couldn’t lie to you?” is far from a fresh take on superpowers), and it is evident that all authors have a deep love of the superhero genre, as they gently poke fun at its conventions or outright skewer the sexist standards set in the last century and upheld out of sheer laziness.
I generally found the stories to be on the same level as a whole, though some stood out with more evocative writing styles and some boasted more unexpected stories that elevated the bland-ish writing. Still, there are some that I’d like to mention specifically, of course.
First, “Madjack”, a touching tribute to David Bowie and the power of music, that manages to evade the dangerous waters of schmaltzy hero worship, viewing its titular rockstar ubermensch through the eyes of his musician daughter. And its all the better for its downbeat, tasteful portrayal of her grief.
Second, “Pedestal”, which is extremely relevant and fun, though I have to admit that it is extremely on the nose at times, but some themes work even when subtlety is lost and this, thankfully, is one of them.
Third, “Salt City Blue”, which suffers only from pretty stale descriptions of sexual encounters that made me feel like the author himself wasn’t too interested in writing them. But the story is stellar and the side of heroes that it explores is new and exciting.
Fourth, “Torch Songs”, which Rosson writes the hell out of, even though the narrative could have used stronger pacing. It’s tough not to love this, as it is one of the better-written tales in the anthology, using vivid imagery and never flinching when the time comes to deliver a description that toes the line between “moody and atmospheric” and “gaudy”, always landing on the right side.
And, lastly, fifth, “Fool”, a tragedy which takes the “loser villain” trope, so often portrayed for laughs in cartoons and more comedic comic books, and plays it straight with a heartbroken man hoping to finally achieve some great dastardly deed and being unable to perform.
That’s not to say that the other stories aren’t good, I greatly enjoyed all of them, with just two stories being not entirely my cup of tea (The Fall of the Jade Sword, Origin Story #2). I would highly recommend this to anybody and everybody.
Overall, versatile and highly creative, this anthology sets some limitations for talented writers and lets us watch them flourish with each new story. A must-read for anybody who even remotely enjoys the concept of superheroes.
ARC received from the publisher via Netgalley
calissa's review
3.0
Behind the Mask is a solid collection of short stories that nevertheless left me feeling ambivalent. Since I'm not much of a short story reader, this could definitely be more a reflection of my reading taste than the anthology itself. However, I didn't find myself hurrying back to it.
The stories often focused on the domestic and the personal, which I rather enjoyed. They're less about the big, flashy battles--though those make the occasional appearance, such as in Seanan McGuire's story Pedestal. Instead, the stories use their superheroes as lenses to examine themes such as memory, chronic illness, celebrity, and family dynamics and legacies. These stories are often quite poignant, such as Destroy the City with Me Tonight by Kate Marshall.
It also means this isn't the most up-beat of anthologies. The tone tends towards the melancholy, and while there are notes of hope throughout, they tend to be muted.
I'd like to make special mention of Stephanie Lai's The Fall of the Jade Sword. The story provided an excellent contrast to the fare of standard Western superheroes. Instead, it offers a historical fantasy about a young Chinese immigrant living in Melbourne. Chafing under the confines of social expectations, she sneaks out and attempts to emulate the local superhero--a figure the Chinese community recognises as a skilled practitioner of Wushu. It provided a breath of fresh air in an anthology otherwise fairly uniform in tone.
Disclaimer: I was provided with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This review first appeared on Earl Grey Editing.
The stories often focused on the domestic and the personal, which I rather enjoyed. They're less about the big, flashy battles--though those make the occasional appearance, such as in Seanan McGuire's story Pedestal. Instead, the stories use their superheroes as lenses to examine themes such as memory, chronic illness, celebrity, and family dynamics and legacies. These stories are often quite poignant, such as Destroy the City with Me Tonight by Kate Marshall.
It also means this isn't the most up-beat of anthologies. The tone tends towards the melancholy, and while there are notes of hope throughout, they tend to be muted.
I'd like to make special mention of Stephanie Lai's The Fall of the Jade Sword. The story provided an excellent contrast to the fare of standard Western superheroes. Instead, it offers a historical fantasy about a young Chinese immigrant living in Melbourne. Chafing under the confines of social expectations, she sneaks out and attempts to emulate the local superhero--a figure the Chinese community recognises as a skilled practitioner of Wushu. It provided a breath of fresh air in an anthology otherwise fairly uniform in tone.
Disclaimer: I was provided with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This review first appeared on Earl Grey Editing.
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