A review by shelleyrae
Games Creatures Play by Jan Burke, Caitlin Kittredge, Charlaine Harris, Brandon Sanderson, Mercedes Lackey, William Kent Krueger, Toni L.P. Kelner, Dana Cameron, Brendan DuBois, Ellen Kushner, Seanan McGuire, Joe R. Lansdale, Adam-Troy Castro, Scott Sigler, Laura Lippman

3.0

Games Creatures Play is an entertaining anthology from fifteen contributors, with each short story featuring the unusual combination of the paranormal and sports.

Some of the authors didn't venture too far from their comfort zone. 'Into the Blue Hereafter' by Charlaine Harris is set at a softball game in Bon Temps, where Sookie Stackhouse and Manfred Bernado meet for the first time. Similarly Seanan McGuire doesn't stray far from the familiarity of her InCryptid series, 'Jammed,' in which a chimera is on the rampage during a Roller Derby, features Antimony Price. I enjoyed both stories in part at least because of my familiarity with the characters and their worlds.

My favourites included Scott Sigler's 'The Case of the Haunted Safeway', a ghostly tale of love and baseball which managed to be funny, sweet and a little bit spooky all at the same time, Jan Burke's 'Stepping into the Dead Zone' which portrays dodgeball as a test of loyalty and friendship, and 'Bell, Book and Candlepin' by Toni L. P. Kelner in which more than just the bowling balls are returned.

In Games Creatures Play you will find witches, monster stompers, faeries, Gods, ghosts and more, all playing to win and even though I have very little interest in sport in general, I really enjoyed this anthology. Get ready, get set and go... pick up a copy to read.