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34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great Marketing Ploy, August 31, 2001
"Out of This World" is a series of four vignettes whose only connection is that they each have a futuristic theme. The four are very cleverly packaged by the publisher: J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts) guarantees instant sales, as Eve and Roarke fanatics like me are severely addicted and cannot pass up ANY new book that offers more of these characters. Therefore, hers is the first story in the book. "Interlude in Death" is a quick hit of Robb's futuristic world of murder, mystery, on-the-edge business dealings, and the always intriguing, always sensual marriage of hardboiled cop Eve Dallas and equally hardboiled (and gorgeous) billionaire businessman Roarke. There is method to the publisher's madness, and Robb's as well. For hard-core fans, Robb offers an intriguing, heretofore unmentioned secret from Roarke's past. For Eve-and-Roarke newbies, there is enough standard fare to lead them straight to Robb's "In-Death" series.
"Kinsman," by Susan Krinard, is an equally brief but interesting tale about telepaths in a very structured futuristic society. Because I do not read many novels in this genre, I was amazed by the attention to detail, and the author's ability to bring the reader easily and deeply into the world of Kinsmen, shaauri, and humans. The story itself, which involves a deception that threatens the entire society, was a bit slow, but the glimpse into the author's imagination was fascinating. "Kinsman" did not hook me into reading more Krinard, because the slowness of her style would not suit this impatient reader. Nevertheless, it was fun to sample her work. "Immortality," by Maggie Shayne, is a quick read with a pat and improbable ending, again, entertaining but not a grabber. It's the story of an ancient witch whose human form is that of a beautiful and sexy young woman. The story features a fire, a drowning, a hurricane and more--all in this brief novelette. One can hardly, therefore, call the story slow or boring, but--I didn't like the witch. When Nora Roberts writes about witches, I am completely absorbed into their worlds. I believe every word, every spell, every bit of magic. With Shayne, I was well aware that I was reading a creative piece of fluff. I was never engaged. That's OK, however, because OH MY the Laurell K. Hamilton vignette was worth the price of the book and then some. I had never heard of Ms. Hamilton before a few weeks ago. Now I am a fanatic. She drew me effortlessly into the world of vampire hunter Anita Blake. "Magic Like Heat Across My Skin" is a dark, dangerous, deeply erotic tale of vampires, werewolves, wereLEOPARDS (an idea of which I heartily approve)--and in this story, a werehyena or two. Reading this small Hamilton offering is like dressing in black velvet and drinking a smoky dark wine. It feels dangerous. It definitely stirs one's senses. And...it does exactly what it is supposed to do, it makes one want more. I gave "Out of This World" 3 stars because of the two middle stories; otherwise, I would have given Robb a 4 and Hamilton a 20! What? Only 5 starts maximum? That positively ruptures my aura, as Blake says.
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Worth the read!, January 15, 2002
I bought this book for "Interlude in Death," J.D. Robb's short story. It has a complete story, starting with murder at the Martian resort where the cops are gathering for a conference. Robb adds to the building of her characters with this short story and fills under a hundred pages to make the story complete. I was introduced to Laurell Hamilton. This was a little disappointing at first since it was obviously an excerpt from her new novel but it was so great I want to read all the Anita Blake novels Sue Krinard's story just might be the beginning of a romance series. This one was predictable, but very intriguing, not the best story but worth the read! Maggie Shayne's story was the weakest of the four stories. I was not impressed with her style and the story had no interest for me at all. All and all I enjoyed this book even through two were only excerpts. I never miss an Eve Dallas tale, short story of novel and I love to be introduced to new authors!
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24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Be warned, not for everyone, November 20, 2001
(...)I would like to add a huge WARNING though. For 3 out of the 4 books, if you have never read the books in the series preceding this anthology, you will probably not enjoy these stories. I have read all of the authors and thought this a pretty good book, thus the 4 stars, but if this is your first experience with Hamilton, Shayne or Robb, move ahead cautiously. J D Robb's (aka Nora Roberts) story was a good short story keeping in line with her ...In Death series. The characters are mostly all there and the plot is a good one. I suppose if you have never read her books, you could enjoy this story, but there is so much previous baggage from the relationships that it would seem to me that coming in on this story would be like watching the Return of the Jedi without watching Star Wars or The Empire Strikes Back first. I could not even begin to imagine following Maggie Shanye's novel if I had not read at least Destiny, and probably Infinity and Eternity as well. Puabi was so evil in Destiny that it was quite hard for me to get into this book. If I had no previous knowledge of her earlier history, this book would not make much sense. So much revolves on how utterly evil she was and the lengths and time she spent trying to get her way. I felt VERY cheated with Laurell Hamilton's portion of the book. As stated elsewhere, this is just a segment of Narcissus in Chains. I am a huge fan and would have bought her book anyway. I wanted something different, why pay for this if I am going to pay for the whole book anyway? VERY bad judgment call, whoever made it, the author or the publisher. If I had never read the Anita Blake series, this is not the way to be introduced into it. SO much has happened before this point (what 9 or 10 books worth?) that I do not think someone new to Ms. Hamilton would enjoy this story (or part of the story). The fact that this is just a few chapters with no beginning and no end, no real purpose besides sensual images, bothered me too. I liked Susan Krinard's book very, very much. Maybe not quite as sensual at the other stories, but the ONLY story that was a stand-alone. I like Ms. Krinard's older books, and the imagination in this story reminds me of the originality found in them. We had the development of both a relationship and a fictional world that was done without relying on previous books. Kudos Ms. Krinard!
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