Naked City ed. by Ellen Datlow
As far as anthologies go, this was an okay one. A couple of gems, a couple of stinkers, and mostly middle-of-the-road stuff. My rating and a brief take on each story is below.
"Curses" by Jim Butcher (Rating: 🍁🍁🍁🍁)
Well written, quick and not too complicated. A fun addition to the Dresden world.
*****************"How the Pooka Came to New York City" by Delia Sherman (Rating: 🍁🍁🍁)
Gritty and heart-warming. Bonus star for using a pooka!
*****************"On the Slide" by Richard Bowes (Rating: 🍁🍁)
Had a really hard time following what was going on. Might have been better if fleshed out a little more.
*****************"The Duke of Riverside" by Ellen Kushner (Rating: 🍁🍁🍁)
Fun. I think it's part of a larger series, in which case I may need to look it up.
*****************"Oblivion by Calvin Klein" by Christopher Fowler (Rating: 🍁🍁)
Meh. Kinda weird.
*****************"Fairy Gifts" by Patricia Briggs (Rating: 🍁🍁🍁🍁)
Dark. Awesome.
*****************"Picking Up the Pieces" by Pat Cadigan (Rating: 🍁🍁🍁)
Interesting take on the fall of the Berlin Wall.
*****************"Underbridge" by Peter S. Beagle (Rating: 🍁🍁🍁)
Sad.
*****************"Priced to Sell" by Naomi Novik (Rating: 🍁🍁🍁🍁)
This was one of my favourites in the book. Ever wonder how the supernatural real estate market works? Funny, well-written and enjoyable.
*****************"The Bricks of Gelecek" by Matthew Kressel (Rating: 🍁🍁🍁🍁)
Beautiful. Heart-wrenching and hopeful.
*****************"Weston Walks" by Kit Reed (Rating: 🍁)
Blah. Ended up skipping it after the first couple of pages.
*****************"The Projected Girl" by Lavie Tidhar (Rating: 🍁🍁🍁)
Cute. I liked the kid's perspective.
*****************"The Way Station" by Nathan Ballingrud (Rating: 🍁)
Another one I skipped. Not really enjoyable.
*****************"Guns for the Dead" by Melissa Marr (Rating: 🍁🍁🍁)
Fun, with likeable characters and a world I want to see more of.
*****************"And Go Like This" by John Crowley (Rating: 🍁)
Another skipped one. Too descriptive.
*****************"Noble Rot" by Holly Black (Rating: 🍁🍁🍁🍁)
Awesome! Beautiful look at death and decay from a unique perspective.
*****************"Daddy Longlegs of the Evening" by Jeffrey Ford (Rating: 🍁🍁🍁)
Ugh. I hate spiders. This totally creeped me out.
*****************"The Skinny Girl" by Lucius Shepard (Rating: 🍁🍁🍁)
Creepy as all get out. Morbid. And totally enjoyable.
*****************"The Colliers' Venus (1893)" by Caitlin R. Kiernan (Rating: 🍁)
Boring. Only got through the first few pages.
*****************"King Pole, Gallows Pole, Bottle Tree" by Elizabeth Bear (Rating: 🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁)
The best of the bunch. Loved everything about it.
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