A review by vsbedford
Behind the Mask: An Anthology of Heroic Proportions by Carrie Vaughn, Kelly Link, Cat Rambo

3.0

The collection is uneven, as per usual with anthologies, but swings a bit too far in the "meh" direction for me. There seems to be a literary subgenre that embraces vague and favors narrators who lack the ability to express themselves clearly; for me this engenders some very mediocre writing as it gives the writer an easy out. Can't figure out how to express a discontent from reality? Literally have your main character/narrator forget their name! It's that easy! This anthology indulges this writing tic far too much - a strong red pen and some pointed words would have benefited everyone involved enormously. All in all, the only story I can recommend is "Miss Liberty Gets a Haircut," which has been wisely placed as the first piece, and the rest are just okay.

I received an ecopy from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.