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80 reviews for:
Urban Enemies
Jonathan Maberry, Kevin Hearne, Kelley Armstrong, Seanan McGuire, Jim Butcher
3.5 AVERAGE
80 reviews for:
Urban Enemies
Jonathan Maberry, Kevin Hearne, Kelley Armstrong, Seanan McGuire, Jim Butcher
3.5 AVERAGE
I liked about two thirds of the stories, and the rest I gave up on. Butcher, Armstrong, Vaughn, and Witt made it worthwhile.
A huge anthology of the best urban fantasy short stories told by the point of view of the most notorious and nefarious villains.... It is not bad, but in a way it spoiled all my favorite series, specially the one I'm most attached to: Kevin Hearne's druids and Butcher's Dresden Files, because I didn't want to like the villains mostly.
Una massiccia antologia di alcuni di storie tratte dalle serie piú famose urban fantasy e raccontate dai cattivi piú famosi....Non male, il mio problema peró é che se mi affezioni anche ai cattivi in qualche modo mi si rovina la serie, come per i druidi di Kevin Hearne e per i Dresden Files di Jim Butcher...
THANKS TO NETGALLEY FOR THE PREVIEW!
Una massiccia antologia di alcuni di storie tratte dalle serie piú famose urban fantasy e raccontate dai cattivi piú famosi....Non male, il mio problema peró é che se mi affezioni anche ai cattivi in qualche modo mi si rovina la serie, come per i druidi di Kevin Hearne e per i Dresden Files di Jim Butcher...
THANKS TO NETGALLEY FOR THE PREVIEW!
If you've read the books these characters come from, then this is an enjoyable look into a pov you've probably never seen before. Otherwise, it might not do much for you. You could absolutely find a writing style that appeals and go find the series, but it makes much more sense with the history behind the short stories. Sometimes it's good to be bad, though these "enemies" vary from well-meaning to bent on Ragnorak.
I've enjoyed the books by authors I already love, like Jim Butcher and Faith Hunter and added a new series to my to read list based on this view into Horngate Witches by Diana Pharaoh Francis
I wanted to like this book more. Honestly, three stars is a bit too high. 2.5... maybe. But I liked the other books, so... I rounded up.
After reading book 2 in the series, I wanted more cuckoo-stories, so I picked this one. I hadn't read the description too well, and so I thought it would be a Sarah novella. So from the beginning I was waiting for the main character to change into the Sarah we know and love. And then, poof, it was finished. Whiplash.
It is an interesting peek into the mind of a regular cuckoo. It's chilling and well written, while still staying very light and airy. It neatly ticks the boxes on the Character-building-checklist, which, to be fair, I found a bit too formulaistic for my taste. But the author executes it quite well, as usual, so I shouldn't complain too much, as it was never heavy handed.
My complaint: it was too short. Yes, it's a novella. So that's entirely my problem. But I would have liked to see some kind of development. Still, it was a nice sweet and fluffy snack.
I can recommend this to the fans of the series.
After reading book 2 in the series, I wanted more cuckoo-stories, so I picked this one. I hadn't read the description too well, and so I thought it would be a Sarah novella. So from the beginning I was waiting for the main character to change into the Sarah we know and love. And then, poof, it was finished. Whiplash.
It is an interesting peek into the mind of a regular cuckoo. It's chilling and well written, while still staying very light and airy. It neatly ticks the boxes on the Character-building-checklist, which, to be fair, I found a bit too formulaistic for my taste. But the author executes it quite well, as usual, so I shouldn't complain too much, as it was never heavy handed.
My complaint: it was too short. Yes, it's a novella. So that's entirely my problem. But I would have liked to see some kind of development. Still, it was a nice sweet and fluffy snack.
I can recommend this to the fans of the series.
I have never been a huge fan of short story collections just because I like longer stories. Lately, however, I’ve been enjoying those collections just so I can discover new authors. This book more than fits that bill. I also add to reviews of story collections that I generally don’t review each individual story as I think that fools people into not getting a book if there is one story that doesn’t work that well. So, my overall thoughts on this collection are what you will get. I thought every story was at least a three star. There were a couple stories I think if I had read a book in those universes before, I wouldn’t have found them to be uninspiring, if well-written. They were good, but I didn’t quite get them. However, I do have to admit I’m intrigued enough to want to try those series which is the purpose of these collections. Most of the stories were at least a four-star read. And, every story was well-written, had great characters, and did introduce me to authors I want to try as well as delighting me with the authors I already know. Overall, this book is well-worth getting, if only to try out new authors. Recommend! Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books for the e-copy of the book which I voluntarily reviewed.
A large collection of stories, although I understand some of them are already available to readers. I felt like the strongest stories stepped out of their protagonist's world and into the antagonist's, although a few just felt like extensions of the series which I often didn't enjoy (this may be because I don't read most of these authors, however my favorite was by my #1 author and she did an excellent job building her character without bringing in her series regulars, one of my least favorite was from a series I love, but it felt like it was really about the protagonist and I was unimpressed.)
A few stories were dnf for me. Reel Life by Steven Savile was too much. A battered woman, a stolen baby, a truly repugnant character who didn't show evidence of dying within a page - I'm here for a light look at adversaries, not to follow around a disgusting man whose first little character monologue mentions rape. I don't fucking think so.
Unexpected Choices, a Horngate Witches story, just bored me. I think this is one of the stories where if you know the series/world building you may be all in, but personally this one did a good job of confirming my feeling that antagonist's stand alone stories are best left outside of the main story line.
Make it Snappy, a Jane Yellowrock story ended up a skip, but I've never liked the dialogue or word use in the series, so I wasn't too surprised when the story plot broke under the painful attempt at pithy patter.
Chase the Fire, a Lawson Vampire story, just stretched endlessly and I moved on out of boredom.
For the good!
Hounded, from the Cainsville series, was a good look at a truly bad guy. Not a series I read, but till easy to follow.
Nigsu Ga Tesgu, from the Ustari Cycle is a standout favorite. Excellent world building, timing, characters. Fun all the way around.
Sixty-six Seconds, the Harmony Black series, does an excellent job of setting up the world, maintaining pace through a variety of bad guys, and keeping up the fun until the last page.
The Difference Because Deceit and Delusion, a prequel to Black Magic Outlaw, was a fun, fast-paced read that introduced a host of interesting character types.
Balance, an InCryptid story, was really fun. I do read this series and the look at one particular Cryptid, the cuckoo, was great. I really enjoyed the shaping of the species in the work. Seanan always manages fascinating characters and beasties, well worth reading.
Everywhere, A Pitchfork County story, was pitch perfect on pace, characterization, and world. The end was predictable based on the good story set up, but you weren't there for that. You were there to watch the inevitable fall out. Excellent, a series I might pick up despite a reveal of some of my least favorite tropes.
A few stories were dnf for me. Reel Life by Steven Savile was too much. A battered woman, a stolen baby, a truly repugnant character who didn't show evidence of dying within a page - I'm here for a light look at adversaries, not to follow around a disgusting man whose first little character monologue mentions rape. I don't fucking think so.
Unexpected Choices, a Horngate Witches story, just bored me. I think this is one of the stories where if you know the series/world building you may be all in, but personally this one did a good job of confirming my feeling that antagonist's stand alone stories are best left outside of the main story line.
Make it Snappy, a Jane Yellowrock story ended up a skip, but I've never liked the dialogue or word use in the series, so I wasn't too surprised when the story plot broke under the painful attempt at pithy patter.
Chase the Fire, a Lawson Vampire story, just stretched endlessly and I moved on out of boredom.
For the good!
Hounded, from the Cainsville series, was a good look at a truly bad guy. Not a series I read, but till easy to follow.
Nigsu Ga Tesgu, from the Ustari Cycle is a standout favorite. Excellent world building, timing, characters. Fun all the way around.
Sixty-six Seconds, the Harmony Black series, does an excellent job of setting up the world, maintaining pace through a variety of bad guys, and keeping up the fun until the last page.
The Difference Because Deceit and Delusion, a prequel to Black Magic Outlaw, was a fun, fast-paced read that introduced a host of interesting character types.
Balance, an InCryptid story, was really fun. I do read this series and the look at one particular Cryptid, the cuckoo, was great. I really enjoyed the shaping of the species in the work. Seanan always manages fascinating characters and beasties, well worth reading.
Everywhere, A Pitchfork County story, was pitch perfect on pace, characterization, and world. The end was predictable based on the good story set up, but you weren't there for that. You were there to watch the inevitable fall out. Excellent, a series I might pick up despite a reveal of some of my least favorite tropes.
It was a good read, but hard to read some of the stories not knowing the world they were placed in. I have read the previous anthology (Urban Allies, where authors combined their series protagonists in shared stories), which gave me a jump into some of these worlds, and some of the stories were more stand-alone than others, but it's not quite the same.