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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
A decent collection of stories. I only read the ones of authors that I read so I wouldn't become confused. I do have to say, I'm disappointed that the 'headliner' story by Jim Butcher is a reprint of a story from another anthology. I was looking forward to new content.
Urban Enemies is an anthology containing 17 short stories from a slew of big-name authors in the Urban Fantasy genre. The authors contributing to this collection had a fine line to walk. Each of their stories is set within their own larger universes, so they’re tasked with writing a story that will 1 – not alienate readers new to their universe (and maybe even convince them to pick it up?) and 2 – satisfy readers already familiar with their characters and storylines. I felt like most of the authors pulled this off. I will note, that I was somewhat disappointed that not all the stories were actually about villains – some were just anti-heroes.
I’m not going to do a story-by-story rating, as I might if these stories were standalone because it wouldn’t be fair. I’m already biased to prefer the stories from authors’ whose series I read – Jim Butcher, Seanan McGuire, Kevin Hearne – over the authors who write series I haven’t even heard of.
Of the authors I’m already familiar with, I really enjoyed Kevin Hearne and Seanan McGuire’s contributions. Both were satisfying and added dimension to their universes. I was disappointed with Jim Butcher’s contribution – not because it was a bad story but because it’s a reprint. Not a new story, it’s been printed in earlier anthologies.
About half of the authors I wasn’t familiar with I was intrigued enough by their villain or worldbuilding that I plan to check out at least the first novel in the series. In particular the stories by Craig Shaeffer, Caitlin Kitteridge and the editor Joseph Nassise. Other stories were either major turnoffs or just not my thing.
Overall though, I enjoyed the collection. I didn’t read anything particularly standout in either direction as good or bad (it’s hard to like stories about unlikable characters.) If you’re a fan of any of these series, check this collection out. If not, these stories may not be the easiest entry point into these universes, but you might find one you like (or like to hate.)
I’m not going to do a story-by-story rating, as I might if these stories were standalone because it wouldn’t be fair. I’m already biased to prefer the stories from authors’ whose series I read – Jim Butcher, Seanan McGuire, Kevin Hearne – over the authors who write series I haven’t even heard of.
Of the authors I’m already familiar with, I really enjoyed Kevin Hearne and Seanan McGuire’s contributions. Both were satisfying and added dimension to their universes. I was disappointed with Jim Butcher’s contribution – not because it was a bad story but because it’s a reprint. Not a new story, it’s been printed in earlier anthologies.
About half of the authors I wasn’t familiar with I was intrigued enough by their villain or worldbuilding that I plan to check out at least the first novel in the series. In particular the stories by Craig Shaeffer, Caitlin Kitteridge and the editor Joseph Nassise. Other stories were either major turnoffs or just not my thing.
Overall though, I enjoyed the collection. I didn’t read anything particularly standout in either direction as good or bad (it’s hard to like stories about unlikable characters.) If you’re a fan of any of these series, check this collection out. If not, these stories may not be the easiest entry point into these universes, but you might find one you like (or like to hate.)
Only interested in reading the Jim Butcher tale, Even Hand. A Dresden Files short about Gentleman Johnny Marcone providing protection to Justine.
i think my enjoyment was tempered by not being familiar with any of the series presented
Villains are intriguing characters. I’ve always liked a well fleshed out villain, one that’s a little more than evil cackling and petting cats. Urban Enemies, edited by Joseph Nassise and released August 1, 2017, is a book that definitely scratches that itch.
Urban Enemies is an anthology featuring villains. More specifically, it’s an anthology featuring urban fantasy villains. There are seventeen authors included in this anthology. Each story somehow fits into one of their series. There are origin stories for various villains within their series. There are standalone tales of villains. There are stories that fit well between two books in a series. Really, there’s a little bit of everything.
As wonderful as the premise is, this anthology can feel a little inaccessible in some ways. There are stories from many familiar names. This doesn’t necessarily mean I’ve read their works, of course. Even out of the authors I do read, I found I hadn’t always read the particular series whose villains were being featured. This distance which is potentially created between the story and the reader is addressed, however.
Before each short story is a small blurb, just a short paragraph introducing the world, the characters, or outlining the sort of magics used. This is incredibly helpful when you haven’t read anything else set in that universe. However, it can also be problematic that these are needed. While fans of these authors get fun additions to their favorite series it does somewhat ostracize those who are unfamiliar with them.
A good example of this is the story “The Resurrectionist” by Caitlin Kittredge which is set in the Hellhound Chronicles. The main character of this story is a monster hunter. To humans he is a hero. The characters of the Hellhound Chronicles are monsters, though, and to them he is quite the villain. This is a fascinating take on the theme of the anthology. And, despite what I feel about the story itself, I can’t help but feel like I’m not fully appreciating it. I’ve never read the Hellhound Chronicles, and so have no stake in the characters or understand what the goings-on really mean to them.
On the other hand, if you read a good number of the authors featured in this anthology, this will be a perfect book for you.
Now, one thing which I really took issue with was the headlining story “Even Hand” by Jim Butcher. The story itself is fine. I’ve always loved Marcone’s characters and always welcome a new story featuring him. The problem is that we’ve seen this before. “Even Hand” is a reprint, the story originally featured in a different anthology several years ago. I was looking forward to a new story within the Dresden Files world. Alas, there was none to be had.
I can’t help but feel that this is a bit misleading. With Butcher’s name featured so prominently on the cover I expected something new. As far as I am aware this is the only reprint within the anthology, which only serves to bother me more. I might have forgiven it if this was merely a collection of older works, or even if it was a mash up of old and new tales. Instead, it left me a little disappointed.
But don’t get me wrong. I still enjoyed this anthology. There were some good stories mixed in there, even if I was unfamiliar with the worlds they were set in. I did skim a few; not everything held my attention. But I do want to read more of the works of Jeff Somers whose story “Nigsu Ga Tesgu”, set in the Ustari Cycle, was included within the anthology. And anything by Seanan McGuire is always welcomed.
In the end, I have to give Urban Enemies a solid three stars. I think that this anthology would be best for those extremely familiar with the included authors and their works. This might sound a little obvious, but I really do feel like there was a certain distance that I couldn’t cross with some of these stories, not fully appreciating characters or their stories. If you are a fan of evil characters or urban fantasy, this is probably something you want to check out. If you don’t like reading about evil characters or you are unfamiliar with the majority of the authors this might be a book you want to skip.
This review and more can be found at Looking Glass Reads.
Urban Enemies is an anthology featuring villains. More specifically, it’s an anthology featuring urban fantasy villains. There are seventeen authors included in this anthology. Each story somehow fits into one of their series. There are origin stories for various villains within their series. There are standalone tales of villains. There are stories that fit well between two books in a series. Really, there’s a little bit of everything.
As wonderful as the premise is, this anthology can feel a little inaccessible in some ways. There are stories from many familiar names. This doesn’t necessarily mean I’ve read their works, of course. Even out of the authors I do read, I found I hadn’t always read the particular series whose villains were being featured. This distance which is potentially created between the story and the reader is addressed, however.
Before each short story is a small blurb, just a short paragraph introducing the world, the characters, or outlining the sort of magics used. This is incredibly helpful when you haven’t read anything else set in that universe. However, it can also be problematic that these are needed. While fans of these authors get fun additions to their favorite series it does somewhat ostracize those who are unfamiliar with them.
A good example of this is the story “The Resurrectionist” by Caitlin Kittredge which is set in the Hellhound Chronicles. The main character of this story is a monster hunter. To humans he is a hero. The characters of the Hellhound Chronicles are monsters, though, and to them he is quite the villain. This is a fascinating take on the theme of the anthology. And, despite what I feel about the story itself, I can’t help but feel like I’m not fully appreciating it. I’ve never read the Hellhound Chronicles, and so have no stake in the characters or understand what the goings-on really mean to them.
On the other hand, if you read a good number of the authors featured in this anthology, this will be a perfect book for you.
Now, one thing which I really took issue with was the headlining story “Even Hand” by Jim Butcher. The story itself is fine. I’ve always loved Marcone’s characters and always welcome a new story featuring him. The problem is that we’ve seen this before. “Even Hand” is a reprint, the story originally featured in a different anthology several years ago. I was looking forward to a new story within the Dresden Files world. Alas, there was none to be had.
I can’t help but feel that this is a bit misleading. With Butcher’s name featured so prominently on the cover I expected something new. As far as I am aware this is the only reprint within the anthology, which only serves to bother me more. I might have forgiven it if this was merely a collection of older works, or even if it was a mash up of old and new tales. Instead, it left me a little disappointed.
But don’t get me wrong. I still enjoyed this anthology. There were some good stories mixed in there, even if I was unfamiliar with the worlds they were set in. I did skim a few; not everything held my attention. But I do want to read more of the works of Jeff Somers whose story “Nigsu Ga Tesgu”, set in the Ustari Cycle, was included within the anthology. And anything by Seanan McGuire is always welcomed.
In the end, I have to give Urban Enemies a solid three stars. I think that this anthology would be best for those extremely familiar with the included authors and their works. This might sound a little obvious, but I really do feel like there was a certain distance that I couldn’t cross with some of these stories, not fully appreciating characters or their stories. If you are a fan of evil characters or urban fantasy, this is probably something you want to check out. If you don’t like reading about evil characters or you are unfamiliar with the majority of the authors this might be a book you want to skip.
This review and more can be found at Looking Glass Reads.
I got a free copy of this from NetGalley. I was mostly excited for a new Dresden Files short story, and after all, they do put Butcher's name first and biggest on the cover. Except as I read it, it seemed awfully familiar. Guess what, it's a reprint of a several-years-old short story from a different anthology.
Guys, you can't have your headliner story be a reprint that most fans who'd be drawn by it have already read. Especially when none of the blurbs/promo material make clear it's a reprint of a story we've already read, and when those don't have a list of the titles of the story so we can check for ourselves. This struck me as intentionally misleading.
Also, since this is called "Urban Enemies", I hoped it would be a follow-up to "Urban Allies", which was where well-known urban fantasy authors got together and wrote new stories as collaborations between two authors, so you got fun team-ups of UF characters. This wasn't that at all, so I was further disappointed.
Overall, I feel that this book misrepresents what it is in order to sell itself to unwitting readers who are being led to expect something much cooler than what it is.
ETA: Okay, I went back and finished it, and I'm raising the ranking from two stars to three, because there were several I did enjoy. Especially the Toys story, because I love Toys. There was one, though, that made me kind of angry. The glass world one or whatever it was, because it wasn't even UF, it was horror, and just depressing.
Guys, you can't have your headliner story be a reprint that most fans who'd be drawn by it have already read. Especially when none of the blurbs/promo material make clear it's a reprint of a story we've already read, and when those don't have a list of the titles of the story so we can check for ourselves. This struck me as intentionally misleading.
Also, since this is called "Urban Enemies", I hoped it would be a follow-up to "Urban Allies", which was where well-known urban fantasy authors got together and wrote new stories as collaborations between two authors, so you got fun team-ups of UF characters. This wasn't that at all, so I was further disappointed.
Overall, I feel that this book misrepresents what it is in order to sell itself to unwitting readers who are being led to expect something much cooler than what it is.
ETA: Okay, I went back and finished it, and I'm raising the ranking from two stars to three, because there were several I did enjoy. Especially the Toys story, because I love Toys. There was one, though, that made me kind of angry. The glass world one or whatever it was, because it wasn't even UF, it was horror, and just depressing.
This anthology contains some authors and characters that are auto-buys for me. I really enjoyed those stories. Some of the other stories made me interested to read the series that spawned these villians. Others, though...m'eh.
This collection is a set of stories told from the villains of various series. Most are the main antagonists of ongoing series so if you are a fan of the writers collected here you will be in for a treat. Most of the stories are new to the collection. The Jim Butcher story is a reprint from another collection but it fits the theme here perfectly. Several of the stories were set in new to me universes but for the most part gave a good taste of the settings they used. The Seanan McGuire story is an Incryptid one and gives great background on cuckoos and just hammers home why Sarah is so different. But the best surprise in here was the Lilith Saintcrow story about Perry’s origin. I was glad to get another peek into this story universe even if it was a short story.
Overall this is a good collection and there will be plenty of stuff for fans of various universes. And if you want a sample of what makes the bad guy sometimes the more interesting than the hero of the story try this out.
Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley
Overall this is a good collection and there will be plenty of stuff for fans of various universes. And if you want a sample of what makes the bad guy sometimes the more interesting than the hero of the story try this out.
Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley
Urban Enemies is an anthology containing 17 short stories from a slew of big-name authors in the Urban Fantasy genre. The authors contributing to this collection had a fine line to walk. Each of their stories is set within their own larger universes, so they’re tasked with writing a story that will 1 – not alienate readers new to their universe (and maybe even convince them to pick it up?) and 2 – satisfy readers already familiar with their characters and storylines. I felt like most of the authors pulled this off. I will note, that I was somewhat disappointed that not all the stories were actually about villains – some were just anti-heroes.
I’m not going to do a story-by-story rating, as I might if these stories were standalone because it wouldn’t be fair. I’m already biased to prefer the stories from authors’ whose series I read – Jim Butcher, Seanan McGuire, Kevin Hearne – over the authors who write series I haven’t even heard of.
Of the authors I’m already familiar with, I really enjoyed Kevin Hearne and Seanan McGuire’s contributions. Both were satisfying and added dimension to their universes. I was disappointed with Jim Butcher’s contribution – not because it was a bad story but because it’s a reprint. Not a new story, it’s been printed in earlier anthologies.
About half of the authors I wasn’t familiar with I was intrigued enough by their villain or worldbuilding that I plan to check out at least the first novel in the series. In particular the stories by Craig Shaeffer, Caitlin Kitteridge and the editor Joseph Nassise. Other stories were either major turnoffs or just not my thing.
Overall though, I enjoyed the collection. I didn’t read anything particularly standout in either direction as good or bad (it’s hard to like stories about unlikable characters.) If you’re a fan of any of these series, check this collection out. If not, these stories may not be the easiest entry point into these universes, but you might find one you like (or like to hate.)
I’m not going to do a story-by-story rating, as I might if these stories were standalone because it wouldn’t be fair. I’m already biased to prefer the stories from authors’ whose series I read – Jim Butcher, Seanan McGuire, Kevin Hearne – over the authors who write series I haven’t even heard of.
Of the authors I’m already familiar with, I really enjoyed Kevin Hearne and Seanan McGuire’s contributions. Both were satisfying and added dimension to their universes. I was disappointed with Jim Butcher’s contribution – not because it was a bad story but because it’s a reprint. Not a new story, it’s been printed in earlier anthologies.
About half of the authors I wasn’t familiar with I was intrigued enough by their villain or worldbuilding that I plan to check out at least the first novel in the series. In particular the stories by Craig Shaeffer, Caitlin Kitteridge and the editor Joseph Nassise. Other stories were either major turnoffs or just not my thing.
Overall though, I enjoyed the collection. I didn’t read anything particularly standout in either direction as good or bad (it’s hard to like stories about unlikable characters.) If you’re a fan of any of these series, check this collection out. If not, these stories may not be the easiest entry point into these universes, but you might find one you like (or like to hate.)
