Review: Those Who Fight Monsters

THOSE WHO FIGHT MONSTERS:
Tales of Occult Detectives
Various authors
Urban Fantasy
240 pages
EDGE Science Fiction & Fantasy
Available Now
Received from editor for review

THE STORY
This anthology includes 14 individual stories from some of the most well known authors in the urban fantasy genre. Each tale features a character or characters from popular book series working cases where the paranormal is just another normal day at the office.

Authors featured:
Laura Anne Gilman, Julie Kenner, Simon R. Green, Lilith Saintcrow, Carrie Vaughn, Justin Gustainis, T.A. Pratt, Tanya Huff, Chris Marie Green, Caitlin Kittredge, C.T. Adams and Cathy Clamp, Jackie Kessler, C.J. Henderson, and Rachel Caine.

MY THOUGHTS
Those Who Fight Monsters is an entertaining collection of short stories featuring a strong combination of both male and female protagonists with a proclivity for fighting supernatural crime. As with any anthology, some stories are more intriguing than others with certain authors managing to create a complex and layered tale in just a few pages while others struggle a bit with the short length, leaving us wishing for an extra twenty pages to give us that added depth we're seeking. All of the fourteen individual tales feature characters from already-established paranormal series, and most do a beautiful job of quickly introducing us to the world should we be unfamiliar with it, giving us just enough information to be able to connect easily as we jump right into the action with little prelude.

This collection would be perfect for those on the hunt for some new urban fantasy series to try, each tale giving us a brief taste of the author's style and their characters. Some delight us with humor and wit, some shock us with paranormal twists to standard detective work, and some hint at a darkness and pain we know will affect us more profoundly should we pick up the full length novels. The only complaint would be the length of each story, on average about 15 pages–a challenge that forces us to absorb a lot of details and individuals in rapid succession and never allows us time to fully settle in. Reading this book is akin to ordering a sampler platter–a great variety of tasty morsels are presented but ultimately we find our favorites and try to savor them before moving on to nibble on the next.

MY PERSONAL FAVORITES:
Little Better Than a Beast by T.A. Pratt
Marla is a fun, take-no-nonsense chief sorcerer who approaches her monster of a problem with humor and isn't afraid to dispense some much-deserved violence on a man suffering rather impressively from sexism. Mr. Pratt gives us a complete tale that leaves us wanting numerous additional pages and much, much more time with Marla and her smart mouth.

Under the Hill and Far Away by Caitlin Kittredge
Ms. Kittredge is another on who does a spectacular job of illuminating the world from her Black London novels just enough to provide us a proper welcome and introduction to Pete Caldecott while spinning a mystery that, though easily solved, is enough of a taste of her style to spark a potential addiction.

Defining Shadows by Carrie Vaughn
Jessi Hardin is a detective in the world of Vaughn's Kitty Norville series, and she headlines perhaps the most unusual an fascinating story in the book. Focusing on an incredibly bizarre and exceedingly memorable supernatural being, Ms. Vaughn ensures her tale stands out as unique even amidst a plethora of talented writers. The case Hardin is called in to solve is grotesque but undeniably captivating, and Ms. Vaughn makes a spectacular use of every single one of her pages, making us feel like we've read a full novella instead of a short story.

Overall Rating: 3/5

In My Mailbox #25

In My Mailbox was created by Kristi over at The Story Siren and is a great way to see what other bloggers are reading and reviewing. I always love seeing what everyone else got for their week!



FOR REVIEW:

POSSESSION by Elana Johnson (from Goodreads):
Vi knows the Rule: Girls don't walk with boys, and they never even think about kissing them. But no one makes Vi want to break the Rules more than Zenn...and since the Thinkers have chosen him as Vi's future match, how much trouble can one kiss cause? The Thinkers may have brainwashed the rest of the population, but Vi is determined to think for herself.

But the Thinkers are unusually persuasive, and they're set on convincing Vi to become one of them...starting by brainwashing Zenn. Vi can't leave Zenn in the Thinkers' hands, but she's wary of joining the rebellion, especially since that means teaming up with Jag. Jag is egotistical, charismatic, and dangerous--everything Zenn's not. Vi can't quite trust Jag and can't quite resist him, but she also can't give up on Zenn.

This is a game of control or be controlled. And Vi has no choice but to play.

HUNTRESS by Melinda Lo (from Goodreads)
Nature is out of balance in the human world. The sun hasn't shone in years, and crops are failing. Worse yet, strange and hostile creatures have begun to appear. The people's survival hangs in the balance.

To solve the crisis, the oracle stones are cast, and Kaede and Taisin, two seventeen-year-old girls, are picked to go on a dangerous and unheard-of journey to Tanlili, the city of the Fairy Queen. Taisin is a sage, thrumming with magic, and Kaede is of the earth, without a speck of the otherworldly. And yet the two girls' destinies are drawn together during the mission. As members of their party succumb to unearthly attacks and fairy tricks, the two come to rely on each other and even begin to fall in love. But the Kingdom needs only one huntress to save it, and what it takes could tear Kaede and Taisin apart forever.

The exciting adventure prequel to Malinda Lo's highly acclaimed novel Ash is overflowing with lush Chinese influences and details inspired by the I Ching, and is filled with action and romance.

THOSE WHO FIGHT MONSTERS edited by Justin Gustainis
Those Who Fight Monsters: Tales of Occult Detectives, is your one-stop-shop for Urban Fantasy’s finest anthology of the supernatural. 14 sleuths are gathered together for the first time in all-original tales of unusual cases which require services that go far beyond mere deduction!

Meet the Detectives:

Danny Hendrickson - from Laura Anne Gilman's Cosa Nostradamus series.
Kate Connor - from Julie Kenner’s Demon Hunting Soccer Mom series.
John Taylor - from Simon R. Green’s Nightside series.
Jill Kismet - from Lilith Saintcrow’s Jill Kismet series.
Jessi Hardin - from Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty Norville series.
Quincey Morris - from Justin Gustainis’ Morris/Chastain Investigations series.
Marla Mason - from T. A. Pratt's Marla Mason series.
Tony Foster - from Tanya Huff’s Smoke and Shadows series.
Dawn Madison - from Chris Marie Green’s Vampire Babylon series.
Pete Caldecott - from Caitlin Kittredge’s Black London series.
Tony Giodone - from C. T. Adams and Cathy Clamp’s Tales of the Sazi series.
Jezebel - from Jackie Kessler’s Hell on Earth series.
Piers Knight - from C. J. Henderson’s Brooklyn Knight series.
Cassiel - from Rachel Caine’s Outcast Season series.

Thanks so much to Cornucopia of Dystopia, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, and Justin Gustainis for sending me books this week!