Powers of Detection: Stories of Mystery and Fantasy [Paperback]

Dana Stabenow (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 5, 2004

This one-of-a-kind collection features stories from some of the biggest names in mystery and fantasy-blending the genres into a unique hybrid where PIs may wear wizard's robes and criminals may really be monsters.

Sit in on a modern-day witch's trial, visit the halls of a magical boarding school with murder on the curriculum, spend some time with Sookie Stackhouse, visit London's hidden world of the Nightside, and become spellbound with eight more tales of magical mystery.

Contributors include:

Michael Armstrong
Donna Andrews
Anne Bishop
Jay Caselberg
Mike Doogan
Laura Anne Gilman
Simon R. Green
Charlaine Harris
Anne Perry
Sharon Shinn
Dana Stabenow
John Straley

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This uneven all-original story anthology, edited by Edgar-winner Stabenow, showcases 12 authors from both the mystery and fantasy fields. Highly original tales include Anne Perry's "The Judgment," which presents a trial for murder by witchcraft in a stunning new moral light; Alaska-based Michael Armstrong's "The Boy Who Chased Seagulls," which sensitively reworks an Aleut legend of crime and punishment; and Anne Bishop's "The Price," which offers gender-reversal with a vengeance. Deft irony pervades Laura Anne Gilman's ESP-ridden "Palimpsest," but other attempts at shape-shifting hard-boiled detectives and cunning criminals into fantasy realms are less successful. Simon R. Green's gloomy "The Nightside, Needless to Say" and Jay Caselberg's "Cairene Dawn" seem forced, though Caselberg has a whopper of a closing line, while John Straley's stomach-wrenching raven story, "Lovely," has a lot of gore and little saving grace. Mike Doogan's "The Death of Clickclickwhistle," an interstellar romp, has its Star Trek roots showing, and both Donna Andrews's "Cold Spell" and Sharon Shinn's "The Sorcerer's Assassin" suggest Harry Potter's Hogwarts without the special effects. Stabenow's own "Justice Is a Two-Edged Sword," her first sally into sword and sorcery, treads ground already familiar from a multitude of feminist quest trilogies.
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Review

Enjoyable-truly worth checking out for fans of fantasy mysteries. (Locus) --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Ace Trade (October 5, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441011977
• ISBN-13: 978-0441011971
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,010,807 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dana Stabenow was born in Anchorage and raised on 75-foot fish tender in the Gulf of Alaska.  She knew there was a warmer, drier job out there somewhere and found it in writing. 

Her first science fiction novel, Second Star, sank without a trace (but has since been resurrected as an e-book), her first crime fiction novel, A Cold Day for Murder, won an Edgar award, her first thriller, Blindfold Game, hit the New York Times bestseller list, and her twenty-eighth novel and nineteenth Kate Shugak novel, Restless in the Grave, comes out February 14, 2012.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Deliciously Dastardly Fantasy, January 20, 2007

By 

Madelyn Pryor "Goblyn Queen" (Mesa, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Powers of Detection: Stories of Mystery & Fantasy (Mass Market Paperback)

Powers of Detection collects 12 short stories that are an innovative blend of fantasy and mystery. Using a fantasy backgrounds for who-done-its not only makes for a fun read, it is also quite practical as this anthology should appeal to both mystery fans and fantasy fans. My mother is the former, I am the later and we both liked this book.

Many brilliant authors lend delicious stories to this work. My favorite, without question, was the Simon R Green story "The Nightside, Needless to Say". Of course, I'm prejudiced, I love Green's Nightside series. With this story he leaves Taylor behind, and instead introduces a new (and just as dysfunctional) PI. Though only slightly familiar by Anne Bishop's previous work, I found her story "The Price" to be intriguing and quite well done. "The Death of ClickClickWhistle" by Mike Doogan was so well written and funny that I am seeking out other works of his just because of this tale.

Only one of the stories failed to truly captivate me, and that was "The Boy Who Chased Seagulls" by Michael Armstrong. It also isn't really a mystery, so I'm not sure how/why it was included in this anthology. It is much more a modern fable and a mystery story.

The other eight stories are "Cold Spell" by Donna Andrews, "Lovely" by John Straley, "Fairy Dust" by Charlaine Harris, "The Judgment" by Anne Perry, "The Sorcerer's Assassin" by Sharon Shinn, "Palimpsest" by Laura Anne Gilman, "Cairene Dawn" by Jay Caselberg, and "Justice is a Two-edged Sword" by Dana Stabenow.

Though one of the stories is less than excellent, the rest of the volume is spectacular. Though small at only twelve stories, this anthology is still well worth the price because the quality is superb. If you like anthologies or mystery or fantasy, then treat yourself to this wonderful work.

Highly Recommended.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What a fun hodge-podge, March 7, 2005

By 

bhr "birdwoman" (Bryn Mawr, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Powers of Detection: Stories of Mystery and Fantasy (Paperback)

These tales range from series continuations, like Simon R Green's Nightside and Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire series to what seem to be standalone stories - I am not sure, but if they are continuations of series, they are done quite well. I don't believe that you need to have read any of the above mentioned series to understand these stories.

There is only one Sci Fi story in the bunch - all the rest are fantasy mysteries. Lots of murder, lots of dun-da-dun-dun logic, solving the mysteries. In fact, though I'm not a serious fan of the mystery genre, I found most of the stories in this book to be quite enjoyable.

Overall, since it's easy to put down - there are 12 separate stories under 220 or so pages - I recommend this book for those who love to read fantasy but don't have time for the epics these days.

(*)>

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great short stories centered on fantasy and mystery!, October 14, 2004

By 

CoffeeGurl - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Powers of Detection: Stories of Mystery and Fantasy (Paperback)

I loved this short-story collection full of writers that mix mystery with fantasy. The twelve stories in Powers of Detection are fresh, imaginative and original. You will read about vampires, werewolves, fairies and other supernatural creatures with just the right touch of suspense without overloading the stories with too much plotline. My favorites are Anne Bishop's "The Price," Donna Andrews's "Cold Spell," John Staley's "Lovely" (the goriest in the book), Michael Armstrong's "The Boy Who Chased Seagulls," and my favorite one, Charlaine Harris's "Fairy Dust," which is taken from the Sookie Stackhouse series.

There are stories that focus on the fantasy/paranormal aspects while others lean more toward mystery. There are also those that come across as too Harry Potter-like for my taste while others have a lot of gore. But my favorite of all, as said earlier, is Charlaine Harris's effort. I love the Sookie Stackhouse series and Harris didn't let me down with her contribution to this book. All in all, this is a great short-story collection. Perfect for Halloween! If you like mysteries with fantasy as the subgenre (or vice versa), then don't hesitate to pick up Powers of Detection.