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blodeuedd's review against another edition
3.0
Ok, a short words about every story...longer than that and it would be looooong.
In Egypt's land by Kim Newman
Just a short intro. Will be interesting to see how it turns out.
Our lady of death by Peter Tremayne
A ghost is haunting an inn. I liked this one as it was set long ago in Ireland, it had a nice smart heroine too.
The mummy's heart by Kim Newman
The ruby from the first story is now in England and causing deaths.
The horse of the invisible by William Hope Hodgson
A horse is haunting a woman. I still wonder what was real and not.
The magician and the matinee idol by Kim Newman
Ruby 3. 2 new peeps, 25 years later, 20s. Meh
The adventure of the crawler by Basil Cooper
Not one of my favorite detectives. I wanted more action.
The trouble with Barryman by Kim Newman
Ruby 4. 20 years later. I really hope they solve this in the end.
Rouse him not by John Thunston
I liked this one. Short and nice.
De Marigny's clock by Brian Lumley.
Those robber's sure made a mistake.
The Biafran bank manager by Kim Newman
Ruby 5. This almost seemed like the end, but more is coming it seems.
Someone is dead by R.Chetwynd-Hayes
A haunting. I liked the idea of time.slips.
Vultures gather Reuben Calloway by Roderick Shea
Totally creepy ending.
Last Souls by Cliver Barker
A bit too short
Mimsy by Kim Newman
Ruby 6. And it continues. My fav of the Newman's so far. And it's still not finished.
The man who shot the man who shot Liberty Valence by Jay Russell
Eh, wanted more.
The dog story by Kim Newman
Part 7. Ohh the future now, things are coming crashing down.
Bay Wolf by Neil Gaiman
But it was in prose! Eh
The duel of the Seven by Kim Newman
And it ends. With a bang, this should have been a book.
Some I enjoyed a lot, some I did not care for as much. Some were good, some ok, some weird, some brilliant. Just like every anthology. A good mix of things.
A detective here, a detective there, and lots of paranormal happenings. I read it over a weekend, but it would work better with maybe a story per day. Before bedtime ;)
In Egypt's land by Kim Newman
Just a short intro. Will be interesting to see how it turns out.
Our lady of death by Peter Tremayne
A ghost is haunting an inn. I liked this one as it was set long ago in Ireland, it had a nice smart heroine too.
The mummy's heart by Kim Newman
The ruby from the first story is now in England and causing deaths.
The horse of the invisible by William Hope Hodgson
A horse is haunting a woman. I still wonder what was real and not.
The magician and the matinee idol by Kim Newman
Ruby 3. 2 new peeps, 25 years later, 20s. Meh
The adventure of the crawler by Basil Cooper
Not one of my favorite detectives. I wanted more action.
The trouble with Barryman by Kim Newman
Ruby 4. 20 years later. I really hope they solve this in the end.
Rouse him not by John Thunston
I liked this one. Short and nice.
De Marigny's clock by Brian Lumley.
Those robber's sure made a mistake.
The Biafran bank manager by Kim Newman
Ruby 5. This almost seemed like the end, but more is coming it seems.
Someone is dead by R.Chetwynd-Hayes
A haunting. I liked the idea of time.slips.
Vultures gather Reuben Calloway by Roderick Shea
Totally creepy ending.
Last Souls by Cliver Barker
A bit too short
Mimsy by Kim Newman
Ruby 6. And it continues. My fav of the Newman's so far. And it's still not finished.
The man who shot the man who shot Liberty Valence by Jay Russell
Eh, wanted more.
The dog story by Kim Newman
Part 7. Ohh the future now, things are coming crashing down.
Bay Wolf by Neil Gaiman
But it was in prose! Eh
The duel of the Seven by Kim Newman
And it ends. With a bang, this should have been a book.
Some I enjoyed a lot, some I did not care for as much. Some were good, some ok, some weird, some brilliant. Just like every anthology. A good mix of things.
A detective here, a detective there, and lots of paranormal happenings. I read it over a weekend, but it would work better with maybe a story per day. Before bedtime ;)
mike_brough's review against another edition
4.0
A mixed bag. The Kim Newman novella twining around the stories by the likes of Barker, Lumley and Gaiman (not forgetting Basil Copper), isn't bad at all.
Warning: some of the detectives aren't dealing with the supernatural at all!
Warning: some of the detectives aren't dealing with the supernatural at all!
mr_dulac's review against another edition
3.0
Like most anthologies the quality varies from story to story. It has given me exposure to some new authors that I'm now interested in exploring their other works though, while generating little interest in others.
pat32's review against another edition
4.0
These are good stories some are not what I expected but still are good.
vanessakm's review against another edition
3.0
This was an B&N impulse buy. It's making me question impulse buys.
That's a bit harsh, but this collection was mostly just ok. 500 pages and not that many stories I really enjoyed. The editor, Stephen Jones, organized this collection chronologically, and suggests you read it that way. I say you can skip around, other than reading Kim Newman's novella segments in order. And despite the back cover description promising tales of supernatural investigators, there are too many stories in the front half that turn out to be variations on, "We thought it was The Curse of the Island Monster, but it was old Mr. Johnson in a Tiki God mask. Curse us meddling kids!"
Here is the content breakdown--prepare for an onslaught of fevered superlatives like "ok", "decent", "not the worst thing ever":
--Seven Stars by Kim Newman: This is easily the standout part of the book, and delivers on what it says on the tin. Seven stories plus a prologue set in Ancient Egypt detail various heroes and villains' tussles over a magical gem designed to bring about the end. of. the. world. I vaguely knew of Newman, but I definitely want to read more of him now. Oddly enough though, the stories get less good as they get closer to the present. The resolution of the series was a bit of a clunker, but I still liked this series. Also, one of the stories, "Dog Story", I had to skip because it had bad things happening to dogs. One of them was a Pekingese. My dog is a Pekingese. I love that little fart machine.
--"Our Lady of Death" by Peter Tremayne: An ok-ish mystery featuring Tremayne's Sister Fidelma, an official in the 7th century Celtic church. I liked the Irish history more than the story.
--"The Horse of the Invisible" by William Hope Hodgson: Something about a young couple being haunted by a horse ghost. Snore. DNF.
--"The Adventure of the Crawling Horror" by Basil Copper: More than any other story in this collection, this is Conan Doyle fan fiction. Copper apparently actually contacted Doyle after he quit writing about Holmes and asked if he could take over the series. Doyle said hell no, Copper started a series about a detective named Solar Pons who sounds an awful lot like Holmes. The story was too long but ok. I think if you've read all of the Sherlock Holmes stories and really want more, Basil Copper may be worth checking out.
--"Rouse Him Not" by Manly Wade Wellman: Something about a haunted patch of lawn. Boring. Anti-climactic.
--"De Marigney's Clock" by Brian Lumley: Man owns mysterious clock. Thieves try to steal it. Vanessa reads story, thinks it is, "Eh, ok."
--"Someone is Dead" by R. Chetwynd-Hayes: This one about a haunted house that is more than it appears was pretty good.
--"Vultures Gather" by Brian Mooney: Mostly a locked room mystery until the end. This was decent.
--"Lost Souls" by Clive Barker: This features Barker's Harry D'Amour PI character (featured in Lord of Illusions, which I'm sure everyone here has heard of and seen 100's of times. Right? Is this thing on?) This was too short (the only time I'll say that WRT this book), but I liked it.
--"The Man Who Shot The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence" by Marty Burns: This really has nothing to do with paranormal OR detectives (the bit with the ouija board doesn't count.) I'd mark this as ok, but I didn't like the faint thread of dumbass homophobia that ran through the story.
--"Bay Wolf" by Neil Gaiman: Say that 4 times fast and what do you get? Beowulf. This is a short, modernized verse retelling of Beowulf featuring Lawrence Talbot-as in THE Wolf Man. Gaiman was advertised on the cover and was one of the reasons I got this, but the story was oddly pointless.
Wow, I didn't think I could use the word "ok" so many times in one review. I think I've broken a Goodreads record here.
This book is going in my Half Price Books stack.
That's a bit harsh, but this collection was mostly just ok. 500 pages and not that many stories I really enjoyed. The editor, Stephen Jones, organized this collection chronologically, and suggests you read it that way. I say you can skip around, other than reading Kim Newman's novella segments in order. And despite the back cover description promising tales of supernatural investigators, there are too many stories in the front half that turn out to be variations on, "We thought it was The Curse of the Island Monster, but it was old Mr. Johnson in a Tiki God mask. Curse us meddling kids!"
Here is the content breakdown--prepare for an onslaught of fevered superlatives like "ok", "decent", "not the worst thing ever":
--Seven Stars by Kim Newman: This is easily the standout part of the book, and delivers on what it says on the tin. Seven stories plus a prologue set in Ancient Egypt detail various heroes and villains' tussles over a magical gem designed to bring about the end. of. the. world. I vaguely knew of Newman, but I definitely want to read more of him now. Oddly enough though, the stories get less good as they get closer to the present. The resolution of the series was a bit of a clunker, but I still liked this series. Also, one of the stories, "Dog Story", I had to skip because it had bad things happening to dogs. One of them was a Pekingese. My dog is a Pekingese. I love that little fart machine.
--"Our Lady of Death" by Peter Tremayne: An ok-ish mystery featuring Tremayne's Sister Fidelma, an official in the 7th century Celtic church. I liked the Irish history more than the story.
--"The Horse of the Invisible" by William Hope Hodgson: Something about a young couple being haunted by a horse ghost. Snore. DNF.
--"The Adventure of the Crawling Horror" by Basil Copper: More than any other story in this collection, this is Conan Doyle fan fiction. Copper apparently actually contacted Doyle after he quit writing about Holmes and asked if he could take over the series. Doyle said hell no, Copper started a series about a detective named Solar Pons who sounds an awful lot like Holmes. The story was too long but ok. I think if you've read all of the Sherlock Holmes stories and really want more, Basil Copper may be worth checking out.
--"Rouse Him Not" by Manly Wade Wellman: Something about a haunted patch of lawn. Boring. Anti-climactic.
--"De Marigney's Clock" by Brian Lumley: Man owns mysterious clock. Thieves try to steal it. Vanessa reads story, thinks it is, "Eh, ok."
--"Someone is Dead" by R. Chetwynd-Hayes: This one about a haunted house that is more than it appears was pretty good.
--"Vultures Gather" by Brian Mooney: Mostly a locked room mystery until the end. This was decent.
--"Lost Souls" by Clive Barker: This features Barker's Harry D'Amour PI character (featured in Lord of Illusions, which I'm sure everyone here has heard of and seen 100's of times. Right? Is this thing on?) This was too short (the only time I'll say that WRT this book), but I liked it.
--"The Man Who Shot The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence" by Marty Burns: This really has nothing to do with paranormal OR detectives (the bit with the ouija board doesn't count.) I'd mark this as ok, but I didn't like the faint thread of dumbass homophobia that ran through the story.
--"Bay Wolf" by Neil Gaiman: Say that 4 times fast and what do you get? Beowulf. This is a short, modernized verse retelling of Beowulf featuring Lawrence Talbot-as in THE Wolf Man. Gaiman was advertised on the cover and was one of the reasons I got this, but the story was oddly pointless.
Wow, I didn't think I could use the word "ok" so many times in one review. I think I've broken a Goodreads record here.
This book is going in my Half Price Books stack.
qheretic's review against another edition
1.0
I found all of the stories just weren't compelling. I have been reading Clive Barker's latest, and this short story of Harry D'Amour was really disappointing in comparison.
peterseanesq's review
5.0
Please give my review a helpful vote on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/review/R3P8RB4ER4UTYB/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
This is an extremely good collection of stories bound together by the theme of a detective dealing with something that appears to be supernatural. I particularly liked the historical angle to the collection. The editor, Stephen Jones, opens the collection with an overview of the history of stories dealing with the "detective and demons" or "detective and ghosts" trope. The essay starts with an acknowledgment of Edgar Allen Poe's detective C. Auguste Dupin and then proceeds to move into the supernatural detective stories of the nineteenth century and beyond, bringing us up to the current time.
I recommend reading this essay in order to appreciate the collection because many of the stories adopt the characters mentioned in the essay and one was written in 1913.
The stories are:
‘Introduction: The Serial Sleuths’ by Stephen Jones.
‘Seven Stars Prologue: In Egypt’s Land’ by Kim Newman - A nice feature of the book, which helps with the historical feel of the book, is the Kim Newman stories about the "Seven Stars Jewel." The jewel has some unusual properties. The Newman stories involve episodes set in the 1890s, 1920s, 1950s, 1970s and the 21st century as related characters deal with the threat posed by the jewel.
‘Our Lady of Death’ by Peter Tremayne - This is a "Sister Fidelma" story. Tremayne has written several books about this ninth century Celtic nun who solves crimes. This is a well-written mystery, but it has more of a "Scooby Doo" approach than a truly supernatural story.
‘Seven Stars Episode One: The Mummy’s Heart’ by Kim Newman.
‘The Horse of the Invisible’ by William Hope Hodgson. Originally published in Carnacki, The Ghost-Finder (1913) - This is well-written, but it is in an older, more formal writing style. Like the Sister Fidelma story, this is more "Scooby Doo" than supernatural.
‘Seven Stars Episode Two: The Magician and the Matinee Idol’ by Kim Newman.
‘The Adventure of the Crawling Horror’ by Basil Copper - This story features Solar Pons, a character that August Derleth created to totally rip-off Sherlock Holmes. After Derleth, Basil Copper apparently used the character. This is a decent mystery story, albeit more "Scooby Doo."
‘Seven Stars Episode Three: The Trouble With Barrymore’ by Kim Newman.
‘Rouse Him Not’ by Manly Wade Wellman - I love Manly Wade Wellman and was quite happy to get a taste of his John Thunstone character. Definitely not Scooby Doo.
‘De Marigny’s Clock’ by Brian Lumley- After the Wellman story, the collection moves into real supernatural territory. This story is well-done and introduces Titus Crow, a character that I am interested in reading more of.
‘Seven Stars Episode Four: The Biafran Bank Manager’ 1999 by Kim Newman.
‘Someone is Dead’ by R. Chetwynd-Hayes - This is actually a decent story, but I didn't particularly like the main characters. The story had a 1970s feel to it.
‘Vultures Gather’ by Brian Mooney - Like the Lumley story, I found myself attracted to the detective character, Reuben Calloway, in this one. The story is good and there is definitely a mystery to be solved. On reflection, it occurs to me that the character of the detective - whether he has tics and quirks that entertain - are essential to a mystery story, even the supernatural variety.
‘Lost Souls’ by Clive Barker. Henry D'amour is a detective who kills demons. Scott Bakula played the character in the movie "Lord of Illusions." I think I will check that movie out.
‘Seven Stars Episode Five: Mimsy’ by Kim Newman.
‘The Man Who Shot the Man Who Shot The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence’ by Jay Russell - This is the funniest story in the collection. It's lightweight but funny.
‘Seven Stars Episode Six: The Dog Story’ by Kim Newman.
‘Bay Wolf’ by Neil Gaiman - Gaiman does a short epic poem where the Wolfman meets the Creature from the Black Lagoon.
‘Seven Stars Episode Seven: The Duel of Seven Stars’ by Kim Newman.
I enjoyed all the stories. The stories had a nice variety. It was a nice introduction to characters that I have somehow missed in nearly 50 years of reading science fiction and fantasy.
This is an extremely good collection of stories bound together by the theme of a detective dealing with something that appears to be supernatural. I particularly liked the historical angle to the collection. The editor, Stephen Jones, opens the collection with an overview of the history of stories dealing with the "detective and demons" or "detective and ghosts" trope. The essay starts with an acknowledgment of Edgar Allen Poe's detective C. Auguste Dupin and then proceeds to move into the supernatural detective stories of the nineteenth century and beyond, bringing us up to the current time.
I recommend reading this essay in order to appreciate the collection because many of the stories adopt the characters mentioned in the essay and one was written in 1913.
The stories are:
‘Introduction: The Serial Sleuths’ by Stephen Jones.
‘Seven Stars Prologue: In Egypt’s Land’ by Kim Newman - A nice feature of the book, which helps with the historical feel of the book, is the Kim Newman stories about the "Seven Stars Jewel." The jewel has some unusual properties. The Newman stories involve episodes set in the 1890s, 1920s, 1950s, 1970s and the 21st century as related characters deal with the threat posed by the jewel.
‘Our Lady of Death’ by Peter Tremayne - This is a "Sister Fidelma" story. Tremayne has written several books about this ninth century Celtic nun who solves crimes. This is a well-written mystery, but it has more of a "Scooby Doo" approach than a truly supernatural story.
‘Seven Stars Episode One: The Mummy’s Heart’ by Kim Newman.
‘The Horse of the Invisible’ by William Hope Hodgson. Originally published in Carnacki, The Ghost-Finder (1913) - This is well-written, but it is in an older, more formal writing style. Like the Sister Fidelma story, this is more "Scooby Doo" than supernatural.
‘Seven Stars Episode Two: The Magician and the Matinee Idol’ by Kim Newman.
‘The Adventure of the Crawling Horror’ by Basil Copper - This story features Solar Pons, a character that August Derleth created to totally rip-off Sherlock Holmes. After Derleth, Basil Copper apparently used the character. This is a decent mystery story, albeit more "Scooby Doo."
‘Seven Stars Episode Three: The Trouble With Barrymore’ by Kim Newman.
‘Rouse Him Not’ by Manly Wade Wellman - I love Manly Wade Wellman and was quite happy to get a taste of his John Thunstone character. Definitely not Scooby Doo.
‘De Marigny’s Clock’ by Brian Lumley- After the Wellman story, the collection moves into real supernatural territory. This story is well-done and introduces Titus Crow, a character that I am interested in reading more of.
‘Seven Stars Episode Four: The Biafran Bank Manager’ 1999 by Kim Newman.
‘Someone is Dead’ by R. Chetwynd-Hayes - This is actually a decent story, but I didn't particularly like the main characters. The story had a 1970s feel to it.
‘Vultures Gather’ by Brian Mooney - Like the Lumley story, I found myself attracted to the detective character, Reuben Calloway, in this one. The story is good and there is definitely a mystery to be solved. On reflection, it occurs to me that the character of the detective - whether he has tics and quirks that entertain - are essential to a mystery story, even the supernatural variety.
‘Lost Souls’ by Clive Barker. Henry D'amour is a detective who kills demons. Scott Bakula played the character in the movie "Lord of Illusions." I think I will check that movie out.
‘Seven Stars Episode Five: Mimsy’ by Kim Newman.
‘The Man Who Shot the Man Who Shot The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence’ by Jay Russell - This is the funniest story in the collection. It's lightweight but funny.
‘Seven Stars Episode Six: The Dog Story’ by Kim Newman.
‘Bay Wolf’ by Neil Gaiman - Gaiman does a short epic poem where the Wolfman meets the Creature from the Black Lagoon.
‘Seven Stars Episode Seven: The Duel of Seven Stars’ by Kim Newman.
I enjoyed all the stories. The stories had a nice variety. It was a nice introduction to characters that I have somehow missed in nearly 50 years of reading science fiction and fantasy.
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