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adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
What an outstanding anthology!
This is a superb collection of fantasy and sci-fi short stories regarding assassin's and I would wholeheartedly recommend everyone to pick it up. The breath of variety is brilliant.
The stories that stood out for me were War Powers, Pearl's Price, Why I'm tired of Stones and Symphonies, A Simple Thing and finally Mission of Mercy
This is a superb collection of fantasy and sci-fi short stories regarding assassin's and I would wholeheartedly recommend everyone to pick it up. The breath of variety is brilliant.
The stories that stood out for me were War Powers, Pearl's Price, Why I'm tired of Stones and Symphonies, A Simple Thing and finally Mission of Mercy
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a great collection of short stories about assassins. Of course as with all anthologies there were some stories that resonated more than others but overall most of the stories were really fun and exciting to read.
I find that generally two things can go wrong with the stories in these type of books. First, we must acknowledge that these anthologies are both a way for authors to promote their writing and the worlds they created, as well as an opportunity for authors to experiment and do something that lies outside their regular series.
The former leads to authors overfeeding too much world building information about their main body of work into the short story. It means they will provide details, names etcetera that are not that relevant to the plot. Because it is a short story that does not work very well for the readers immersion.
The latter is just really hit or miss. If you try something new it can be awesome and it can be disappointing. And after an author's put quite some effort in the experiment I'm sure it is hard to evaluate for themselves whether this was the right one.
That being said, I think most experiments or showcases really worked in this book and I had a really good time reading each story. I would especially like to give some appreciation to the stories of [a:M.L. Wang|15735471|M.L. Wang|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1580713496p2/15735471.jpg], [a:JA Andrews|22459295|JA Andrews|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] and [a:Terry Mancour|4852257|Terry Mancour|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1678479941p2/4852257.jpg].
Wang somehow succeeded to tell a completely thematic story with sociological, ideological themes and interesting sci-fi world building, while still packing it with a bunch of action. Awesome work!
Andrews has written very compelling characters and moral discussion, while also adding an interesting story plot. I loved the flow of the story. Although it is one of the longer stories, it felt like the rush of wind that the story references.
Finally, Terry Mancour (and not this is not recency bias towards the last story), really subverts expectations, while also (I'm a sucker for this) adding the title of the anthology to his story. I loved reading the dialogue and seeing the plot unfold.
I find that generally two things can go wrong with the stories in these type of books. First, we must acknowledge that these anthologies are both a way for authors to promote their writing and the worlds they created, as well as an opportunity for authors to experiment and do something that lies outside their regular series.
The former leads to authors overfeeding too much world building information about their main body of work into the short story. It means they will provide details, names etcetera that are not that relevant to the plot. Because it is a short story that does not work very well for the readers immersion.
The latter is just really hit or miss. If you try something new it can be awesome and it can be disappointing. And after an author's put quite some effort in the experiment I'm sure it is hard to evaluate for themselves whether this was the right one.
That being said, I think most experiments or showcases really worked in this book and I had a really good time reading each story. I would especially like to give some appreciation to the stories of [a:M.L. Wang|15735471|M.L. Wang|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1580713496p2/15735471.jpg], [a:JA Andrews|22459295|JA Andrews|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] and [a:Terry Mancour|4852257|Terry Mancour|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1678479941p2/4852257.jpg].
Wang somehow succeeded to tell a completely thematic story with sociological, ideological themes and interesting sci-fi world building, while still packing it with a bunch of action. Awesome work!
Andrews has written very compelling characters and moral discussion, while also adding an interesting story plot. I loved the flow of the story. Although it is one of the longer stories, it felt like the rush of wind that the story references.
Finally, Terry Mancour (and not this is not recency bias towards the last story), really subverts expectations, while also (I'm a sucker for this) adding the title of the anthology to his story. I loved reading the dialogue and seeing the plot unfold.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A