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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
There were some promising short stories with interesting premises but there were a lot of really really bad stories in this one. Some were downright disgusting. Why is it that urban fantasy has to be so gross? It can be gritty without being so stomach-turning. It took me a long time to finish this book because the payoff ratio was so low.
The subject known as “urban fantasy” has grown to become its very own strong and prominent genre in fantasy, and yet there are still many people who have yet to read an urban fantasy book, or an urban fantasy story for that matter. And where are said readers supposed to start with the glut of urban fantasy currently out, along with the many more works being published? An anthology is a good place to start; this particular anthology – Naked City – is a great one.
With so many different authors writing urban fantasy, it’s hard to decide on which one to like and read. Naked City makes that easy for the reader in offering twenty stories by different authors to get interested in and choose from. The book kicks off with another great romping ride courtesy of Jim Butcher, and this time Harry Dresden is on the case of the Chicago Cubs curse. Naomi Novik’s entertaining tale, “Priced to Sell,” is about vampires buying real estate in Manhattan. Patricia Brigg’s “Fairy Gifts” features a vampire called home to save those who freed him from a curse. Melissa Marr’s “Guns for the Dead” is the story of a dead man trying to get by in the afterlife, who keeps falling into trouble.
In the introduction, popular and prolific editor Ellen Datlow talks about the important of place in Naked City, with most of the stories featuring an important location as their focus point. Readers will learn lots about various towns across America in Naked City, as well as some other places not found on any known map.
Originally written on September 21, 2011 ©Alex C. Telander.
For more reviews and exclusive interviews, go to the BookBanter site.
With so many different authors writing urban fantasy, it’s hard to decide on which one to like and read. Naked City makes that easy for the reader in offering twenty stories by different authors to get interested in and choose from. The book kicks off with another great romping ride courtesy of Jim Butcher, and this time Harry Dresden is on the case of the Chicago Cubs curse. Naomi Novik’s entertaining tale, “Priced to Sell,” is about vampires buying real estate in Manhattan. Patricia Brigg’s “Fairy Gifts” features a vampire called home to save those who freed him from a curse. Melissa Marr’s “Guns for the Dead” is the story of a dead man trying to get by in the afterlife, who keeps falling into trouble.
In the introduction, popular and prolific editor Ellen Datlow talks about the important of place in Naked City, with most of the stories featuring an important location as their focus point. Readers will learn lots about various towns across America in Naked City, as well as some other places not found on any known map.
Originally written on September 21, 2011 ©Alex C. Telander.
For more reviews and exclusive interviews, go to the BookBanter site.
Naked City is a decent anthology, but one I felt failed to live up to its potential.
I had two major criticisms of the anthology. The first was that some of the stories were merely set in a city, rather than engaging with the city as a character in its own right. While perfectly readable, and often decent stories, they do nothing to give the reader a sense of place.
The other criticism is the lack of diversity among the cities featured. Of twenty stories, twelve were set in the USA, with half of these being set in New York City. Of the remaining eight, half were set in secondary world cities. Leaving just four stories set in real cities outside of the US. This was particularly disappointing because these latter stories were often highlights of the anthology. Lavie Tidhar's story The Projected Girl was a beautifully evocative story set in Haifa, Israel, in which a young teenage boy discovers a mystery that sends him delving into the past. Pat Cadagan's story Picking Up the Pieces also sends the reader delving into the past, back to the fall of the Berlin Wall as a woman travels to the city to rescue her flighty sister.
Despite these criticisms, the stories remain reasonably solid. Being Ellen Datlow, the tone tends towards the dark, veering into outright horror in a few cases. However, there remains a decent balance. Following up Peter S. Beagle's Underbridge (yet another tale from Beagle about a self-absorbed, middle-aged male academic who crosses ethical boundaries) with Naomi Novik's somewhat manic Priced to Sell (a charming tale about selling real estate in Manhattan to supernatural clients) was an especially nice touch.
I also enjoyed the inclusion of a few stories that looked at cities from a slightly different angle. The Bricks of Gelecek by Matthew Kressel was an interesting meditation on creation and destruction through the viewpoint of a being whose nature is to annihilate cities. And Nathan Ballingrud pairs the concept of being haunted by a city with a poignant portrayal of post-Katrina New Orleans in The Way Station.
All in all, Naked City was a competent anthology but ultimately forgettable.
This review first appeared on Earl Grey Editing.
I had two major criticisms of the anthology. The first was that some of the stories were merely set in a city, rather than engaging with the city as a character in its own right. While perfectly readable, and often decent stories, they do nothing to give the reader a sense of place.
The other criticism is the lack of diversity among the cities featured. Of twenty stories, twelve were set in the USA, with half of these being set in New York City. Of the remaining eight, half were set in secondary world cities. Leaving just four stories set in real cities outside of the US. This was particularly disappointing because these latter stories were often highlights of the anthology. Lavie Tidhar's story The Projected Girl was a beautifully evocative story set in Haifa, Israel, in which a young teenage boy discovers a mystery that sends him delving into the past. Pat Cadagan's story Picking Up the Pieces also sends the reader delving into the past, back to the fall of the Berlin Wall as a woman travels to the city to rescue her flighty sister.
Despite these criticisms, the stories remain reasonably solid. Being Ellen Datlow, the tone tends towards the dark, veering into outright horror in a few cases. However, there remains a decent balance. Following up Peter S. Beagle's Underbridge (yet another tale from Beagle about a self-absorbed, middle-aged male academic who crosses ethical boundaries) with Naomi Novik's somewhat manic Priced to Sell (a charming tale about selling real estate in Manhattan to supernatural clients) was an especially nice touch.
I also enjoyed the inclusion of a few stories that looked at cities from a slightly different angle. The Bricks of Gelecek by Matthew Kressel was an interesting meditation on creation and destruction through the viewpoint of a being whose nature is to annihilate cities. And Nathan Ballingrud pairs the concept of being haunted by a city with a poignant portrayal of post-Katrina New Orleans in The Way Station.
All in all, Naked City was a competent anthology but ultimately forgettable.
This review first appeared on Earl Grey Editing.