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A review by cathepsut
Led Astray: The Best of Kelley Armstrong by Kelley Armstrong
3.0
Mostly very short stories, quite a few of them without a lot of tension. There are some good stories in between, but allover not a terribly exciting offer. Nice for fans of the author. Be aware that most of these stories (almost all?) have been published before.
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Rakshashi: Demons, Hindu mythology, likeable character, good plot, liked it well enough. 3/5 stars.
Kat, A Darkest Powers / Darkness Rising Universe story: Vampires, witches, action from the get go, excellent world building. Too bad that the main series is YA, because I wouldn't mind to continue this. 4/5 stars.
A Haunted House of Her Own: Ghosts, The Shining Lite, Psycho and Roald Dahl having a date... Ok, but not exactly a new idea. 3/5 stars.
Learning Curve, An Otherworld Universe story: Vampires. Too short to do much of anything, pretty pointless. 2/5 stars.
The Screams of Dragons, A Cainsville Universe story: creepy little story, in which all the grown-ups spectacularly fail a small boy. It leaves many open questions at the end and I am not sure what the point is supposed to be. 3/5 stars.
The Kitsune's Nine Tales, An Age of Legends Universe Story: Japanese mythology, feudal Japan. Nice idea, again too short to be much of anything, hardly more than plot bunny. 2/5 stars.
Last Stand: different take on zombies. Short as well, but a clever, little story. 3/5 stars.
Bamboozled, An Otherworld Universe Story: Werewolves in the Wild West. Good story, plot and characters. 4/5 stars.
Branded, A Darkness Powers / Darkness Rising Universe Story: Post-Apocalypse. Humans hide away from the outside in fortresses... The writing feels a little dry, but it is pretty plotty and twisted for a short story. Not bad, but I did not really like the overall tone of it. 3/5 stars.
The List, An Otherworld Universe Story: Humorous snippet with vampires. 3/5 stars.
Young Bloods, An Otherworld Universe Story: Vampires. Another super-short one. 2/5 stars.
The Door: Post-Apocalypse of a sort. Again disappointingly short. 2/5 stars.
Dead Flowers by a Roadside: Ghosts. Seriously? Too short, 2/5 stars.
Suffer the Children: A backwards village in the Canadian wilderness is visited by two mysterious strangers, offering them something they can't resist. Well plotted, unusual idea. But I didn't really like it. That's on me and not the fault of the story. I could see this developping into a full-length novel, telling the life stories of Eleazar and Rene. I would even read it, despite my two-star rating. 2/5 stars.
The Collector: based on an idea of another short story. I had to look it up, as it isn't obvious, if you don't know Clive Barker. Nifty. 4/5 stars.
Gabriel's Gargoyles, A Cainsville Universe Story: Another little boy and his life in and around Cainsville, nicely written, nice ending, not terribly exciting. 3/5 stars.
Harbinger: Heroine sees dead people. Nicely done. 3/5 stars.
V Plates, An Otherworld Universe Story: Werewolves and zombies. Liked the plot. Makes me want to pick up the original series again. 4/5 stars.
Life Sentence, An Otherworld Universe Story: Rich guy with a terminal illness, searching for a way out... Wicked! 5/5 stars.
Plan B: Nothing supernatural in this one. Murder, she wrote. 3/5 stars.
The Hunt, A Cainsville Universe Story: Hunting. Extremely short, but creepy nonetheless. 3/5 stars.
Dead to Me: Murder. Or not? I am actually not sure what I am supposed to think. 2/5 stars.
Devil May Care, A Cainsville Universe Story: Fae. Exellent story, could be a great start to a series that I would like to read. Good world building, Patrick is a great character. Best story of the collection. 5/5 stars.
*~*~*~*~*
Rakshashi: Demons, Hindu mythology, likeable character, good plot, liked it well enough. 3/5 stars.
Kat, A Darkest Powers / Darkness Rising Universe story: Vampires, witches, action from the get go, excellent world building. Too bad that the main series is YA, because I wouldn't mind to continue this. 4/5 stars.
A Haunted House of Her Own: Ghosts, The Shining Lite, Psycho and Roald Dahl having a date... Ok, but not exactly a new idea. 3/5 stars.
Learning Curve, An Otherworld Universe story: Vampires. Too short to do much of anything, pretty pointless. 2/5 stars.
The Screams of Dragons, A Cainsville Universe story: creepy little story, in which all the grown-ups spectacularly fail a small boy. It leaves many open questions at the end and I am not sure what the point is supposed to be. 3/5 stars.
The Kitsune's Nine Tales, An Age of Legends Universe Story: Japanese mythology, feudal Japan. Nice idea, again too short to be much of anything, hardly more than plot bunny. 2/5 stars.
Last Stand: different take on zombies. Short as well, but a clever, little story. 3/5 stars.
Bamboozled, An Otherworld Universe Story: Werewolves in the Wild West. Good story, plot and characters. 4/5 stars.
Branded, A Darkness Powers / Darkness Rising Universe Story: Post-Apocalypse. Humans hide away from the outside in fortresses... The writing feels a little dry, but it is pretty plotty and twisted for a short story. Not bad, but I did not really like the overall tone of it. 3/5 stars.
The List, An Otherworld Universe Story: Humorous snippet with vampires. 3/5 stars.
Young Bloods, An Otherworld Universe Story: Vampires. Another super-short one. 2/5 stars.
The Door: Post-Apocalypse of a sort. Again disappointingly short. 2/5 stars.
Dead Flowers by a Roadside: Ghosts. Seriously? Too short, 2/5 stars.
Suffer the Children: A backwards village in the Canadian wilderness is visited by two mysterious strangers, offering them something they can't resist. Well plotted, unusual idea. But I didn't really like it. That's on me and not the fault of the story. I could see this developping into a full-length novel, telling the life stories of Eleazar and Rene. I would even read it, despite my two-star rating. 2/5 stars.
The Collector: based on an idea of another short story. I had to look it up, as it isn't obvious, if you don't know Clive Barker. Nifty. 4/5 stars.
Gabriel's Gargoyles, A Cainsville Universe Story: Another little boy and his life in and around Cainsville, nicely written, nice ending, not terribly exciting. 3/5 stars.
Harbinger: Heroine sees dead people. Nicely done. 3/5 stars.
V Plates, An Otherworld Universe Story: Werewolves and zombies. Liked the plot. Makes me want to pick up the original series again. 4/5 stars.
Life Sentence, An Otherworld Universe Story: Rich guy with a terminal illness, searching for a way out... Wicked! 5/5 stars.
Plan B: Nothing supernatural in this one. Murder, she wrote. 3/5 stars.
The Hunt, A Cainsville Universe Story: Hunting. Extremely short, but creepy nonetheless. 3/5 stars.
Dead to Me: Murder. Or not? I am actually not sure what I am supposed to think. 2/5 stars.
Devil May Care, A Cainsville Universe Story: Fae. Exellent story, could be a great start to a series that I would like to read. Good world building, Patrick is a great character. Best story of the collection. 5/5 stars.