Customer Reviews

Songs of Love and Death: All Original Tales of Star Crossed Love

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This anthology holds stories about star-crossed lovers. The authors included in the book are: Jim Butcher, Jo Beverly, Carrie Vaughn, M.L.N. Hanover, Cecelia Holland, Melinda M. Snodgrass, Robin Hobb, Neil Gaiman, Marjorie M. Liu, Jacqueline Carey, Lisa Tuttle, Linnea Sinclair, Mary Jo Putney, Tanith Lee Peter S. Beagle, Yasmine Galenorn & Diana Gabaldon.

There were a few stories I didn't care for - but all in all it was a good read. A well put together anthology. Whether your a fan of Science Fiction or Fantasy, your gonna find something you love in the pages of this book. Here are a few of my favorite stories...

Love Hurts by Jim Butcher- Fun read! Very much classic Dresden. Harry realizes something about himself that most fans have known for a while.

The Thing About Cassandra by Neil Gaiman- This was my first time reading anything by Gaiman. I have to say this story was freaky, but absolutely brilliant.

You, and You Alone by Jacqueline Carey- As heart wrenching as this story was - I loved it! Fans of the Kushiel's Legacy will eat this one up. Especially since it's narrated by Anafiel Delaunay, a much beloved character.

If there were ever a more star-cast book in the SF/Fantasy romance genre, I have never seen it. This anthology is full of big names and connections to big stories.

"Love Hurts" by Jim Butcher takes place in the Dresden world, and for anyone who is a fan of Harry/Murphy, this will be a great addition to the series.

Neil Gaiman's "The Thing About Cassandra" is suitably bizzare from the King of Dreams. I think here a true fan will love this while those who aren't much into Gaiman's works will find it a little too odd.

For Kushiel fans, Jacqueline Carey's story is the long awaited tale of Anafiel and Rolande. THE story everyone has been waiting for since book one. And it doesn't disappoint.

"Kaskia" by Peter S. Beagle has that polish that one would expect from the man who brought us "The Last Unicorn."

Finally, "Man in the Mirror" was for me the surprise, having never read any of Yasmine Galenorn's works before. This was a touching tale, well worth the read.

Other stories were good, some better than others, all fitting the theme of star-crossed lovers. This is a nice addition to my "keeper" shelf!

This is an anthology of Fantasy/Romance and SciFi/Romance. I guess it turns out I don't like the genre of Romance. Too many of these stories were singularly Romance without enough element of the Fantastic; to me they were mostly just non-memorable fluff, with five exceptions...

Best of the bunch:
5 stars: "KASKIA" by Peter S Beagle.
4+ stars: "LOVE HURTS" by Jim Butcher.
4 stars: "MAN in the MIRROR" by Yasmine Galenorn.
4- stars: "AFTER THE BLOOD" by Marjorie M Liu.

"THE THING ABOUT CASSANDRA" by Neil Gaiman was very well written (he is a genius of course), but overly reminiscent of Jeffrey Ford's 2006 "THE EMPIRE OF ICE CREAM".

I enjoyed the main characters in the Diana Gabaldon story, but didn't appreciate the teaser appearance of 2 rescuers we didn't hear enough about. We were invited, however, at the end of the story to read a particular novel to learn more - Kitsch!

I did like the fact that each of these was a new story written in 2010 for this anthology.

George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois have collected a nice batch of all-new stories from an all-star cast in Songs of Love and Death. The theme is "star-crossed lovers," and as you might guess from the title, each tale is a love story, and many are death stories, too. Some are sad, some are sexy, and one or two are slightly sappy. Overall, I enjoyed the collection. Here's what you'll find in Songs of Love and Death:

-- "Love Hurts" by Jim Butcher may be the story Harry Dresden's fans have been waiting for because it looks like Harry and Murphy will finally get together... or will they?
-- In "The Marrying Maid," historical romance author Jo Beverley provides a Regency romance in which a court fop tries to seduce a practical spinster, but this time there's a fairy legend that's spurring him on.
-- In "Rooftops" by Carrie Vaughn, a young playwright who's nervous about her opening night is rescued by a mysterious masked superhero. She has a boyfriend, but she just can't get that masked stranger off her mind.
-- "Hurt Me" by M.L.N. Hanover is an excellently eerie haunted house story. One of the best in this collection.
-- "Demon Lover" by historical fiction writer Cecelia Holland is an erotic fairy tale. Though it was obvious where this one was going, it was still entertaining.
-- In "The Wayfarer's Advice" by Melinda M. Snodgrass, the captain of an illicit spaceship rescues the heiress of an empire.
-- I'm always a fan of Robin Hobb, so it's not surprising that "Blue Boots" was one of my favorites in this collection. It takes place in Buck Town and tells the story of a kitchen maid who falls in love with a wandering minstrel.
-- "The Thing About Cassandra" by Neil Gaiman is a strange story about a man who meets his imaginary girlfriend. This one was kind of mind-blowing, which means I liked it.
-- "After the Blood" by Marjorie M. Liu involves a vampire trying to survive in a zombie-infested backwater Amish farm community. I couldn't finish it.
-- Jacqueline Carey fans will not want to miss "You, and You Alone" which takes place during that tragic scene in Kushiel's Dart when Anafiel Delaunay is assassinated. As he lies dying, he reminisces about Edmée, Rolande, Isabel, and Alcuin and gives us a lot of backstory that has only been hinted at until now.
-- In "His Wolf" by Lisa Tuttle, a new college professor falls in love with a drug dealer and his pet wolf. I had a hard time believing in that romance.
-- Linnea Sinclair's "Courting Trouble" is a fun space romp. The sweet romance in this story particularly touched me, but if I told you why, I'd be spoiling the plot.
-- "The Demon Dancer" by Mary Jo Putney is about a Guardian who needs to stop a succubus who's running wild in New York City. I didn't like this one. The romance was icky, and some parts of the plot required a degree of suspension of disbelief that I couldn't muster.
-- "Under/Above the Water" by Tanith Lee is a beautiful mysterious legend about an ancient king's unfaithful wife and their underwater kingdom.
-- In "Kaskia" by Peter S. Beagle, an unhappy middle-aged man makes first contact with a beautiful alien on his new laptop computer. This story was fascinating and excellently written and reminds me why I keep thinking "I must read more Peter S. Beagle!"
-- "Man in the Mirror" by Yasmine Galenorn is another haunted house story. I liked the premise, but the romance was hard to swallow.
-- "A Leaf in the Wind of All Hallows" by Diana Gabaldon is a heart-wrenching story that her fans are sure to love since it's linked to her popular OUTLANDER series. I really can't wait to read that.

Brilliance Audio has a very good production of Songs of Love and Death which is read by a small cast of narrators. My only complaint is that Phil Gigante has only one female voice and it's not suitable for the wide variety of women he portrays. He does a great job with male voices, though.

There were a few weak stories in Songs of Love and Death, but some excellent ones, too. Don't miss the stories by M.L.N. Hanover, Robin Hobb, Neil Gaiman, Jacqueline Carey, Tanith Lee, Peter S. Beagle, and Diana Gabaldon. Fans of the DRESDEN FILES should not miss Butcher's story.

This was a nice variety of stories, from many well known authors. Stories starring everything from superheroes to faeries to wizards to haunted houses, and even a zombiefied post-apocalyptic setting. A little something for everyone!

My favorites include Neil Gaiman's The Thing About Cassandra, Jo Beverley's The Marrying Maid, and Marjorie M. Liu's After the Blood. All of the authors were new to me with the exception of Neil Gaiman. Gaiman's story is reason enough to pick this one up, and the reason this made it onto my to be read pile in the first place. He is such an amazing writer. Jim Butcher's story was also very good. Fans of Harry Dresden will love it. I can't believe I haven't started that series yet, but maybe this story will be the push I need.

A few were a little dark and twisty. M. L. N. Hanover's Hurt Me gave me chills. Super creepy and super awesome! A couple were a little bit too sci-fi for me, and I wasn't as into them as I would have liked. Still a nice variety of solid short stories. I'd definitely recommend it especially if you're a fan of the authors featured.

For those of us who are huge Gab fans I would have appreciated her short story as a Kindle Single. The Outlander series is totally addictive and I believe her fans would buy this as a kindle single. Is there any possibility this can happen?

I bought this book strictly because it had Jacqueline Carey's exploration of Anafiel Delauney in it, as well as a story from Neil Gaiman, who I also love. A month later, and these are still the only two stories in it I've read; HOWEVER, I bought it second hand knowing this would likely be the case, and it is a very satisfying buy!! The cover is beautiful, and looks great on a bedside table if you want to exude that air of "I read DARK romance" without looking like a teenage Twilight fan. So if, like me, you are wondering if it's worth it just to know a bit more about two guys we only met in one book, YES it is, the story IS good. Very Carey, so a bit repetitive and "golly-gosh", but if you love Terre d'Ange, it's worth it. I would have loved it solely for Anafiel's disdain of the foreign prostitutes alone.

I purchased this book mostly to read the Diana Gabaldon story. Love her work as she is my favorite author. Her story made you think, and ask questions as they always do! Many other great stories here. The Jim Butcher story was great,I have read his work also. Also George R Martin's story was a standout. Would recommend if you like a story before bed, like sci-fi elements to your reads, or as a gift purchase if you know someone who is a fan of one of the authors in the book.

3.5 stars

Songs of Love and Death has a unique collection of short stories from some well know authors like Neil Gaiman, Carrie Vaughn, Diana Gabaldon and many other authors. Here's some of my thoughts on a few of the short stories you'll find this collection-

The Marrying Maid by Jo Beverly is one that blends together Faery lore and Victorian times. It's a beautiful story that weaves together legend, love and fables that bring together a strong willed maid and a man with ties to the faery world who must marry her or else his life and the lives of his family will parish. This curse was set by Titiania and Oberon from A Mid-Summer's Night Dream. I really enjoyed how Jo put her own spin on play and the legend of Robin Hood, and made it work for her story. I really enjoyed Jo's setting, her characters and the romance between the two. If you like Faery lore, you may enjoy Cecelia Holland's Demon Lover, which is centered around love and an invitation like no other that takes the characters into the faery world.

Rooftops by Carrie Vaughn is a quick, engaging read that will have you wanting to unmask the hero in this story. The story's love triangle is one that will having you wondering who the young, aspiring playwright will choose. Her DA boyfriend, or the masked hero who saved her from a hostage situation. Both man have similar characteristics, which will leave you wondering just how real the hero is in this well written short story.

Blue Boots by Robin Hobb is a fabulous star crossed short story, set in time I love. Her main character is one who knows all about heartache and now finds herself working in an inn when she meets a minstrel. Will it be a happily ever after for this couple? Speaking of couples, Neil Gaiman's The Thing About Cassandra threw me for a loop. I'll just say I didn't see that one coming at all, as his twist in Stewards love life was one I didn't except at all.

Lisa Tuttle's His Wolf is a great adult short story that of course has my favorite, wolves. One of her characters isn't the "typical" werewolf, but one that is some what similar to the wolves of Mercy Falls. It's a story of love and loss and having love there on the brink of your touch, but not being able to control what the thing that happens next. Diana Gabaldon's A Leaf On The Winds of All Hollows, weaves together a story of War, love and heartache and what might have been. It's a story that plays out like a movie and leaves you wanting more.

Songs of Love and Death is full of short stories that offers a little bit of everything for readers. Whether your a fan of love, mythology, lore, historical settings, or paranormal characters. The stories are as diverse of the authors and the readers who will enjoy them This is a book I'd recommend more to adults looking for YA cross overs. There is mild language and sexual content in some of the stories.

I enjoyed every single story in this book. Truth be told, I liked some better than others, but I did find each story to be unique and fun, in it's own way. My favorites were written by Neil Gaiman, Carrie Vaugan and Jacqueline Carey. I love anthologies because then I get to sample an author's writing and see what I like and what author's don't really appeal to me. I've added a few new names to my "must have" list of authors thanks to this anthology. I would give this book five stars.