64 of 67 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Most Excellent" mix of vacation themed shorts, August 4, 2010
This review is from: Death's Excellent Vacation (Hardcover)
Death's Excellent offers a variety of vacation themed shorts. I enjoyed the mix of stories - a few with a touch of romance and some with a touch of horror - and even found a couple of new authors on the way, but I have to say that some of these vacations make finding a new travel agent, or safer still, taking a 'staycation' at home seem like a really good idea.
1. Two Blondes - Charlaine Harris - A Sookie short - Sookie and Pam head off to the riverboat casinos to mix business with some fun - For fans of the books the way that the pair manages to hide in plain sight when the business part of the vacation goes bad is something completely different for Sookie (for fans of the show probably not so much).
2. The Boys Go Fishing - Sarah Smith - A crotchety old superhero's lonely exile is invaded - he longs for death, but may yet discover how to truly live - I really really liked this story, it had some powerful and poignant moments. I'll be keeping out an eye for more by this author.
3. One for the Money - Jeaniene Frost - Night Huntress short - Cat and Bones pull guard duty for a human heiress targeted by supernatural hit men - This is a nice little Night Huntress fix for fans (there's even a few steamy bits)
4. Meanwhile, Far Across the Caspian Sea... - Daniel Stashower - An author takes his job as researcher to a new level.
5. The Innsmouth Nook - A. Lee Martinez - Owners of a bed and breakfast rewrite their business plan to accommodate an unexpected demographic in their clientile.
6. Safe and Sound - Jeff Abbott - An ambitious and less than scrupulous TV reporter milks the investigation into a young man's disappearance for ratings - given the reporter's nature, I thought that the resolution was fitting.
7. Seeing is Believing - L A Banks - After 'seeing' that the cause of several local deaths is a supernatural predator, a young woman heads off to New Orleans to gather what she needs to fight the beasts and there she gains an ally in an unusual young man - a nice little story with appealing leads and a promise of romance.
8. The Perils of Eferjim - Katie MacAlister - A short starring Aisling Grey's demon newfie sidekick Jim - With Aisling on vacation, Jim's off to grab some R&R as well when he gets forced into human form and banished to Abaddon - If you love Jim there's lots of him here and some funny moments, I particularly liked how he dealt with the guards of the hellish demon dimension.
9. Thin Walls - Christopher Golden - A man is on a memorial tour honoring his dead wife, but an eye opening encounter with a seductive woman is what it takes to help him move on - This one was creepy, but since it was horrorish I guess that was the intent.
10. The Heart is Always Right - Lilith Saintcrow - A gargoyle's vacation in the sun is preempted when he discovers that the young woman he's been drawn to is the key to gaining his ultimate dreams if he's willing to pay the price - There is just something about gargoyles which appeals to me.
11. The Demon in the Dunes - Chris Grabenstein - A man remembers a long ago summer vacation from his youth and a ghostly encounter - The ending to this one surprised me.
12. Home from America - Sharan Newman - A man of Irish descent, has a chance to visit the old country when his family gets invited to a family reunion - I didn't particularly like the ending of this one.
13. Pirate Dave's Haunted Amusement Park - Toni L P Kelner - A recently turned werewolf returns to a childhood vacation spot to ponder her future. A visit to a favorite amusement park offers her the chance to pursue the pirate of her teenage fantasies and a chance to make use of her new abilities - Sexy pirates and supernatural creatures? What's not to like.
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15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Supernatural Smorgasbord! Yummy!, August 4, 2010
This review is from: Death's Excellent Vacation (Hardcover)
Love, love, love all things Sookie since I read Charlaine's first novel involving the sassy Louisana waitress a few years ago. Then Alan Ball teams up with Charlaine and HBO to bring my favorite little Lousiana town to life. BAM! It is a Sunday Supe Spectacular with Mr. Ball bringing his own brand of quirkiness to the mix. This book is dedicated to him with good reason.
This collection includes a terrific story about Sookie and Pam out on the town while doing an errand for Eric. Every Eric errand is bound to spiral out of control and this one is no exception. The dialogue is sharp and witty with the storyline delighting the dedicated Sookie fan. Especially when CH makes Sookie and Eric sizzle again.
With the exception of L.A. Banks I had not read anything from the other authors. I must say this book broadened my Urban Fantasy "to read in the future" list as I enjoyed the other stories immensely. As an avid reader I am always on the hunt for a new author/series so this collection was akin to a supernatural smorgasbord.
Thanks to the book editors, Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner, for picking such great stories for this urban fantasy anthology. Not a stinker in the bunch!
Bon Temps!
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21 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
half and half., August 10, 2010
This review is from: Death's Excellent Vacation (Hardcover)
Charlaine Harris' Sookie short story kinda made me mad. I loved that it was about Pam and Sookie, I like their friendship, but the things Sookie did in this book was NOT sookie at all. So I am pretending like I never read this story.
Jeaniene Frosts short story about Cat and Bones was just what I expected. I love The night huntress and Night huntress world series. It was good but I wanted it to be longer. overall I give it 4 stars. I think I prefer short stories that are not part of series I read. stand alone shorts work better for me. Although sometimes I enjoy reading shorts and finding out they are part of series and then picking up the series and loving them.
The other 5 1st shorts (basically 1st half of book) were terrible. I almost didnt keep reading the book. I did pay a lot of money so I figured I would keep going.
Good thing the second half of the book got better. I think the last 3 stories were my favorite (besides Jeaniene frosts story). I am def. going to look into Toni Kelners books.
I think they were lazy when they were picking authors to go into this book. Do I think this was worth 13 dollars? no. Would I have made the same purchase knowing this.. probably.
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