Customer Reviews

Dark and Stormy Knights

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Review courtesy of [...].

A Questionable Client by Ilona Andrews (Kate Daniels prequel)

Review:

I would have bought the whole anthology for this story alone. We get an early glimpse at Kate's life and find out how she met the shapeshifter Saiman. Sadly, no Curran, but we do get a fun bit of Russian mythology. If you haven't tried this series yet, you get a great sense of the humor, characters, and world that Kate lives in all packed into 46 excellent pages....5/5 bats

Even Hand by Jim Butcher (The Dresden Files #11.5)

Review:

I've only ready a couple Harry Dresden books so far, and wasn't familiar with the character of Gentleman Johnnie Marcone who is the protagonist this time (Harry only gets a few mentions, mostly from Marcone wanting to kill him). This story had a Thumbelina quality for me in that Marcone protects a beautiful young woman who escaped after being abducted by a nasty froglike creature. I loved the character of Marcone with his harsh, stoic exterior that belies a more compassionate man than even he's willing to acknowledge...4/5 bats

The Beacon by Shannon K. Butcher

Review:

Possibly the weakest story in the bunch for me, but still good. A self-loathing man has killed dozens of men who, unbeknownst to them, are beacons for unstoppable killing monsters, before they can summon the creature...until he discovers the next beacon is a little girl with a beautiful single mother...3/5 bats

Even a Rabbit Will Bite by Rachel Caine

Review:

My second favorite after the Kate Daniels story. The last dragonslayer must train her replacement before she can retire. This one had a cool Buffy vibe with the idea of a watcher training a young woman who had no idea she had a destiny. The ending was a fantastic surprise...5/5 bats

Dark Lady by P.N. Elrod (The Vampire Files #?)

Review:

Vampire PI Jack Fleming helps a woman trying to clear her fiancés name and keep the mob from killing him in this 1930's story. A fun supernatural mystery with temperamental ghost...3/5 bats

Beknighted by Deidre Knight

Review:

Another one of the weaker stories. A puzzle maker/painter must work alongside a dangerous man to free another who has been haunting her dreams. PNR fans will like the added romance of this story, but I found it slightly confusing and apart from a few references, it could have been a regency story...3/5

Shifting Star by Vicki Pettersson (Sign of the Zodiac #4.5)

Review:

I'm not a huge fan of this series, and it took me awhile to remember what was going on since the author didn't ever really explain her complex world this time. I don't recommend newbies to this world start here as there are lots of spoilers from the previous books. It focuses on the character Skamar as she continues her quest to destroy the Tulpa, this time with the help of her hot neighbor cop...3/5

Rookwood and Mrs. King by Lilith Saintcrow

Review:

I'm a fan of Lilith Saintcrow's Dante Valentine series, so I was hopeful with this one, and I loved it. A dhampir vampire hunter helps a wife/widow stake her newly turned lawyer husband and imparts his vampire knowledge along the way. A little sexy, a little mysterious, and a lot of fun. I hope Lilith considers writing more about Rookwood in the future...4/5 bats

God's Creatures by Carrie Vaughn (Kitty Norville #2.5)

Review:

This is the shortest story in the bunch (only 31 pages) and it feels it. Kitty is a no show. Instead this story focuses on werewolf hunter Cormac as he accepts a job to eliminate a rogue werewolf before it kills any humans at the local Catholic school. Not a lot going on in the story, but Cormac fans might enjoy it...3/5 bats

Sexual Content: Kissing. References to sex.

Ok, I know many Jim Butcher fans are going to be interested in the short story here, hoping it has a hint about what the heck happened to Our Hero (I am being a little vague in case some of you haven't read "Changes" Book 12). No, sorry, no news here, this story is told from the viewpoint of Gentleman Johnnie Marcone. Not a bad story at all, but not Jim's best, either. Note that "Side Jobs: Stories From the Dresden Files" ("This title will be released on October 26, 2010") will include a story titled "Aftermath" , which is set right after the end of "Changes". I already have mine pre-ordered!

There's a Kate Daniels tale by the husband & wife writing team known as "Ilona Andrews", which is very "Kate Daniels" in tone- fans of that series will love it, new readers can see if the series is their cup of tea, so this is a good choice for either.

"The Beacon" by Shannon K. Butcher reads a great deal like a Twilight Zone episode, one of the better ones, but not one of the "top ten" if you know what I mean. It starts with the twist. Interesting.

Rachel Caine comes at us with a new character, and the story is quite interesting with a few twists and turns. Reminds me a bit of "Buffy", you'll see why.

PN Elrod supplies us with a new short about her Vampire Noir Detective, Jack Fleming, set in 1930's gangland Chicago. Good intro for new readers, nice tidbit for her fans. I found her series interesting, and the first couple of books I enjoyed very much. This has prodded me into looking for the next couple of these books.

Deidre Knight, a writer of paranormal romance novels, has a short story set in an very different world. I think I needed to know more about that world's backstory before I could enjoy this, but I have never read any of her stuff before, so it went over my head. Confusing if read by itself. I am not sure if her other novels tread into this world.

Vicki Pettersson's short is set in her world, and it's also a bit hard to get into or grok unless you have read more of her stuff. Good for her fans, not very useful if you haven't read that series.

Lilith Saintcrow has a nice little Dhampir/half-vampire detective story. I think it's a stand-alone, certainly it's not based upon her two well-known series protagonists. I enjoyed it.

Carrie Vaughn has a nice but very short character piece on what it's like to be a werewolf hunter.

Overall a mixed bag. If you are a fan of two or more of these authors or series, this would be a good choice.

I enjoy anthologies very much. You get a story or two from authors you know and love (Jim Butcher, you rock and so does Marcone! Loved the story from his POV and PN Elrod, I love Myrna and was thrilled to read a story that featured her more!). And, you get a chance to sample other authors of that genre. As far as I'm concerned, those two stories in particular made this book worth the purchase. However, this book also gave me the chance to try out several other authors without investing in their books right away and I love that opportunity. Pick this book up. You may discover your new favorite author.

Ilona Andrews "A Questionable Client" I really enjoyed this novella. It reads like a prequel as Kate's first encounter with Saiman. It was interesting creative and action-packed. I am a huge Kate Daniel's fan; however this novella just didn't feel the same without Curran. 4.5/5

Jim Butcher "Evenhand" Mr. Marcone, a crime lord assists a desperate woman n the run whose plight is not as it seems. I haven't enjoyed many of Jim Butcher's novellas but I did enjoy this short story. The novella was interesting, felt hard-boilish and was full of action. 3/5

Shannon K. Butcher "The Beacon" Ryder is a hunter walking a fine line between villain and hero. This was my first experience reading any of Shannon's work and I enjoyed this novella. It was entertaining and fast moving. 3.5/5

Rachel Caine "Even a Rabbit Will Bite" This story really grabbed my attention in the beginning but after a quarter of the way through, the story just seem to drag on and on. Nothing exciting seemed to happen and the story became more about a dragon slayer's long and grueling training, than the exciting and dangerous profession of being a dragon slayer. I am not a fan of Rachel's Weather Warden series. I stopped reading it simply because there were too many convenient coincidences and it was becoming completely unbelievable, even for fantasy. 2/5

P.N. Elrod "Dark Lady" I've never clicked with P.N. Elrod's novellas in the past and this short story is no different. Even though this novella had a nice 1930s detective feel to it, the plot was completely predictable and boring. 1/5

Deidre Knight "Beknighted" This short story was way too bad paranormal romance for me and I just couldn't get into it. 0/5

Vicki Pettersson " Shifting Star" Skamar learns what it means to be human, with human frailties. This story was well done and extremely interesting. I am a huge Joanna Archer fan and this tease of a story made me salivate for the next book in the Sign of the Zodiac series The Neon Graveyard. 4/5

Lilith Saintcrow "Rockwood & Mrs. King" Rookwood, a vampire PI finds himself in a bind when a mysterious widow shows up with deep pockets and trouble. 3.5/5

Carrie Vaughn "God's Creatures" I just couldn't get into this short story, it was so boring. 0/5

Authors rarely seem to impress me these days and as far as anthologies go, this was ok. The only exceptions were Ilona Andrews and Vicki Pettersson's short stories. Without those novellas this anthology would have been a bust.

I recommend:

Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, Book 1)

Cheat the Grave (Sign of the Zodiac, Book 5)

Must Love Hellhounds

Strange Brew

First Drop of Crimson (Night Huntress World, Book 1)

Dark and Stormy Knights is a collection of short stories by some great authors of paranormal and fantasy fiction. The book includes stories by Ilona Andrews, Jim Butcher, Shannon K. Butcher, Rachel Caine, P. N. Elrod, Deidre Knight, Vicki Pettersson, Lilith Saintcrow, and Carrie Vaughn. I had read books by a couple of these authors before but many of them were new to me.

I really loved the majority of stories in this collection. I think short stories are incredibly difficult to write because there is not as much time to develop characters and do world building. The writing has to be very tight to fit all the information in that the reader needs to understand what is going on during this brief episode in the character's journey. All of the authors did a wonderful job with this. The stories that I enjoyed less were still very good and well written, they were just not to my reading taste as much as the others.

Another thing that I find difficult with short stories is when they are written about a character who is also a main or supporting character in a series of novels. Sometimes I feel like I need to have read the other books to have the background to understand the story. This was not the case with the stories I read in this book. I've been wanting to read Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels' series anyway and now that I've read "A Questionable Client" I'm moving those books up on the list. Although I've read Jim Butcher's books, I think I would have been able to follow "Even Hand" just as easily if I hadn't known Harry Dresden's story. "Dark Lady" by P. N. Elrod made me want to read more of The Vampire Files that my husband has sitting on the shelf.

I think Dark and Stormy Knights is a fantastic collection of stories for paranormal and fantasy lovers. It introduced me to some new authors and now I want to read more!

This is the fourth P.N. Elrod-edited urban fantasy anthology I've picked up. Honestly, the deciding factor to purchase each lay in the fact that each includes a story / novella of The Dresden Files written by Jim Butcher. I also have to be honest and say I haven't really finished any of the other anthologies. Over time, I've picked out a story or two to try out but have never really had the urge to read the anthologies cover to cover. I didn't have that urge with this anthology at first, either, but I kept finding first lines / first paragraphs that interested me, and after the third time that happened I decided I needed to just read the whole thing.

I'm glad I did. The contents of any anthology can be described as "hit or miss," but I can say this collection actually had more hits than misses for me. According to the back cover text, the characters in these stories are "the shadow defenders of humanity -- modern-day knights committing the darkest of deeds for all the right reasons." Most of the main characters fit that description well, both in the stories that are part of an already existing larger fictional world and the stories that introduce us to new settings.

As I've already reviewed each story individually on the 365shortstories community on livejournal, I won't retread those thoughts here in any detail. Of the nine stories in this collection, five are definitely part of existing fictional worlds: Jim Butcher's Dresden Files, Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels books, Carrie Vaughn's "Kitty" books, Vicki Pettersson's "Sings of the Zodiac" series, and editor P.N. Elrod's Jack Fleming mysteries. I was already very familiar with the Dresden books and have a decent familiarity with the Fleming stories; the other three were new to me. Of those, I thought Ilona Andrews and Carrie Vaughn did the best at making a new reader feel comfortable. Pettersson's story was interesting (especially in terms of the question "what makes us human?") but I felt like I was being penalized for not having read the novels -- too much of Pettersson's story seemed to rely on knowing exactly where in the novel series the characters were, while Andrews and Vaughn gave me enough world and character background to enjoy the story as a stand-alone piece. As for the two worlds with which I was already familiar, I'm probably not in a good position to judge whether the Dresden story (which does not feature Harry Dresden himself, but rather gangster "Gentleman" John Marcone) is easily accessible without knowledge of the novels. I think it is, but readers new to Dresden can judge better than I. The Fleming story, as with the others I've read, is a decent little mystery, serviceable towards the anthology's theme, and I think ultimately accessible to new readers; Elrod gives you everything you need to know about Jack to get you through the story.

The remaining four stories in the anthology appear to be truly stand-alone tales. Shannon K. Butcher's "The Beacon" reads like an introduction to a series. I have no idea if she plans to continue with the Ryder Ward character, but I think she certainly could and could build up an interesting world around him. Rachel Caine is always a favorite of mine in these anthologies, and this time she gives a tale of dragon-hunting in the modern day that is both funny and heart-breaking. The Lilith Saintcrow story also felt like it might be an introduction to a new series (or perhaps it is part of something that already exists -- it didn't seem so from the author's notes, though). And the Diedre Knight story felt so complete that I can't imagine where she would go if it was part of a series.

This is 9 short to longish shorts. There are a couple of 3 1/2 stars (much better than average for the genre), a couple of 4 stars (great but not home runs) and some 5 star truly excellent stories.

One by Ilona Andrews tells about how Kate met Saiman and why he as sch a case of the hots for her. The Jim Butcher is a surprise as is about John Marcone not Harry Dresden but it adds depth to the character and has a nice twist. The Carry Vaughn is about Cormac when he is starting out and has a nice but linear plot and a kind of bitter sweet ending. A nicely done vampire slayer who inadvertently teaches his client to hunt vampires.

Very rare to have this many high quality stories together.

As usual with my anthology reviews, I'm going to do a quick breakdown of each story and grade them all individually before grading the collection as a whole. Note: I didn't want to read a couple of the stories, so I'm not passing judgement on those.

"A Questionable Client" by Ilona Andrews (Page Count: 45)

In this short prequel to Magic Bites, Kate Daniels is working for the Mercenary Guild and is too poor to buy new boots. But then she's offered a high paying gig as a bodyguard for Saiman, an important client she knows nothing about. This story is especially fun for fans of Kate's series because by the time me meet Saiman in the books, Kate is completely used to his freakiness. It's cool to see her first introduction to this fan-favorite psychopath who is even more bizarre in this prequel than he is in the series itself, which is saying something. I'm surprised at how nicely magic-ridden post-apocalyptic Atlanta is employed as a setting, even in this short story. Kate's world is weird and wonderful, and the mix of tech and magic is compelling. This story references some delightfully obscure Russian mythology, and it has action and even a bit of humor. Disclaimer: I'm not objective when it comes to Ilona's writing, anymore. I'll nitpick every writer in the universe, but she and Gordon are untouchable. If they were to write Sonic the Hedgehog fanfiction, I would read it and love it. Grade: A

"Even Hand" by Jim Butcher (Page Count: 33)

John Marcone is the main crime boss in Chicago. He knows about all the supernatural and mythological creatures in his world (including wizard Harry Dresden) and he makes them dance to his tune, just like he would do with normal mortals (excluding wizard Harry Dresden). A young woman called Justine come to Marcone begging for protection from the fomors, some nasty creatures who want her dead. This story has several "aww" moments. Sure, Marcone opens the story by personally executing two low-level thugs, but he's killing them because they're preying on young girls. Yeah, he only protects Justine reluctantly, but he has a heart that worries just a tad for her and the kid she rescued. I love gangster characters, especially when they have a little positive moral ambiguity. Total monsters are boring, and Marcone is not one, though he's one cold man. I don't like Harry Dresden or the stories about him, but I have a fondness for Gentleman Johnny Marcone. Grade: B+

"The Beacon" by Shannon K. Butcher (Page Count: 38)

Confession: I didn't really read this one. It's about a guy named Ryder Ward who must assassinate people called "Beacons" who are magnets for supernatural trouble. He shoots them and moves on, confident in having eradicated a menace, but he's starting to regret killing his targets, some of whom have had families. I didn't want to read the whole thing because it sounded like Ryder was going to angst a lot over his kills, and I don't really care for angst, justified or not. Grade: DNF

"Even a Rabbit Will Bite" by Rachel Caine (Page Count: 34)

Lisel gets a letter from the Pope, thanking her for her years of service to the world and the Church. Lisel's a 700-year-old Dragonslayer, and she's ready for retirement, mainly because there's only one dragon left in the world, and he's tired and arthritic. Lisel now has to train Ellie, her super-young, super-enthusiastic successor to the Dragonslayer title. I love seeing Lisel's grumpiness and sass. She makes it clear that dragon slaying isn't glorious work, nor do you do it with a shiny sword and armor. It's nasty business that little Ellie can barely wrap her mind around. The training scenes are awesome. And Ellie really makes Lisel question her whole past and her identity as a dragon killer. The story is too sad for me, overall, but the twist at the end? Unfathomable. Blew my mind. Grade: A-

"Dark Lady" by P.N. Elrod (Page Count: 46)

Jack Fleming is a vampire detective and his story is set in 1938 Chicago. Damsel-in-distress Emma comes to him for help when her thug of a fiance gets in trouble. The story has a nice old-timey patter to its dialogue, and fans of supernatural fiction and detective noir may like the combo, but I wasn't intrigued enough to read the whole thing. Grade: DNF

"Benighted" by Deirdre Knight (Page Count: 39)

Anna is trying to free a knight from his magical bonds inside a puzzlebox, in a story that's more paranormal romance-like than the previous ones in this anthology. The language used in Benighted is very beautiful and fluid, but it took me awhile to even figure out what was going on. I was filled with too many questions. Anna's trying to get who out of where for what reason and using what method? Anna needs a patron to get her some Templar gold so she can complete her task and stop her nightmares? I was confused by the exposition and by the worldbuilding, which seems to be modern day setting-meets-Renaissance-meets-paranormal. Then there's the fact that Anna's name isn't mentioned until page 6, leaving the reader with a lot of references to "she" without explaining who she is. Grade: C+

"Shifting Star" by Vivki Pettersson (Page Count: 37)

Skamar looks like a woman, but she's really a tulpa, a thought-creation made by the heroic Zoe Archer. Skamar's barely staying under the radar because she has trouble behaving like a human, especially when her neighbor Vaughn shows his romantic interest in her--she's deeply annoyed by his overtures because she has work to do. Skamar battles the evil Tulpa (he's like her, only more powerful) and answers Zoe's summons to help save her granddaughter Ashlyn from being raised as a Shadow warrior. I'm not a fan of the Signs of the Zodiac series from which this story comes, but the story itself is intriguing and actiony. Grade: B

"Rookwood and Mrs. King" by Lilith Saintcrow (Page Count: 39)

Mrs. King wants to kill her husband, and she thinks Detective Rookwood can help. Rookwood's a vampire, and he's uniquely qualified to help Mrs. King with her scary undead husband and her potential problem with becoming a vampire herself. The writing is good, but people turning into vampires isn't really a very compelling concept to me any longer, and the story doesn't quite create that "wow" factor that's necessary to make basic vampire hunting exciting. Grade: B

"God's Creatures" by Carrie Vaughn (Page Count: 31)

Protagonist Cormac is called in to investigate a problem going on at Joe Harrison's ranch. His cattle are being violently ripped to shreds, but not eaten, and Harrison wants to know what's up. Cormac knows it's a crazed werewolf gone on a rampage, and he's super-concerned when he learns that the werewolf may be hiding at the local Catholic church--or worse, the local Catholic school. Another perfectly good urban fantasy story. Grade: B

Conclusion: For me, Dark and Stormy Knights is the standard mixed bag anthology. There are some confusing stories, some dull ones, some good ones, and a couple of excellent ones. The only stories I can 100% recommend are by Ilona Andrews and Rachel Caine, but of course, fans of Jim Butcher, Carrie Vaughn, Vicki Pettersson and Lilith Saintcrow will be eager to check out short stories from their favorite authors, even if those stories don't quite work for a non-fan.

(No Spoilers) Dark and Stormy Knights is an anthology of short stories by heavyweight writers in the urban fantasy genre. Every name on the table of contents (Jim Butcher, Ilona Andrews, Rachel Caine, Carrie Vaughn, etc.) was one I recognized. And being a Jim Butcher super-fangirl, there was no way I could stop myself from reading Dark and Stormy Knights.

I have one word for you: badass.

Starting with "A Questionable Client" by Andrews and ending with Vaughn's "God's Creatures," I couldn't put the book down. It's a fast read, full of action and hard-hitting hero/ines. The characters are gritty, flawed, and full of ass-whoopery, and the plotting is well done.

Despite being a gun-and-magic romp through the contemporary world, Dark and Stormy Knights also contains stories that made me pause to reflect, something I rarely see in urban fantasy shorts. For this reason, Rachel Caine's "Even a Rabbit Will Bite" is my favorite of the anthology (Sorry Jim, though I adored "Even Hand" too!). In Caine's story, our protagonist is an ancient, curmudgeonly dragon slayer, training a new apprentice for the task of defeating the last remaining dragon--also ancient and curmudgeonly. The ending made the story, and I found myself thinking back on it days after the reading. It was wonderful to experience a fresh take on an old fantasy trope. I love me some dragons!

I give this book high marks for entertaining, thoughtful, and well-paced adventures. Nothing like a little fire-bombing-the-baddie to make my day!

Content Warning: PG-13 (mild language, violence)

Rating: 4 Stars

While it's true that the quality of the stories varies from the excellent to the so-so, most of them are quite enjoyable if you like the genre. It's a great book to have on the night table so you can read a story before going to sleep, which is the way I generally read short-story anthologies.

All of the stories tend toward the unexpected, which I particularly found enjoyable, and although I am a huge fan of the Harry Dresden novels of Jim Butcher, I was not familiar with the fiction of Elrod and the others.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED