*This title will be released on July 20, 2010*
Book Description
It was a dark and stormy knight, and nine dark defenders embarked upon a most perilous quest….
They’re the ultimate defenders of humanity—modern day knights who do dark deeds for all the right reasons. In this all-star collection, nine of today’s hottest paranormal authors bring us thrilling, all-new stories of supernatural knights that are brimming with magic mystery and mayhem.
John Marcone sets aside his plans to kill Harry Dresden to go head-to-head with a cantrev lord in Jim Butcher’s Even Hand. Kate Daniels is called upon for bodyguard duty to protect Saimen, a shifter she trusts less than the enemy in Ilona Andrews’ A Questionable Client. Cormac must stop a killer werewolf before it attacks again on the next full moon in Carrie Vaughn’s God’s Creatures. And in Vicki Pettersson’s Shifting Star, Skamar gets more than she bargained for when she goes after a creature kidnapping young girls—and enlists the aid of her frustratingly sexy neighbor.
When everything’s on the line, will these knights complete their missions and live to fight again another day? Find out in Dark and Stormy Knights!
Includes stories from:
Ilona Andrews
Jim Butcher
Shannon K. Butcher
Rachel Caine
P.N. Elrod
Deidre Knight
Vicki Pettersson
Lilith Saintcrow
Carrie Vaughn
Review
A Questionable Client by Ilona Andrews (Kate Daniels prequel)
Review:
I would have bought the whole anthology for this story alone. We get an early glimpse at Kate’s life and find out how she met the shapeshifter Saiman. Sadly, no Curran, but we do get a fun bit of Russian mythology. If you haven’t tried this series yet, you get a great sense of the humor, characters, and world that Kate lives in all packed into 46 excellent pages….5/5 bats
Click HERE to read an excerpt from Ilona Andrews story
Even Hand by Jim Butcher (The Dresden Files #11.5)
Review:
I’ve only ready a couple Harry Dresden books so far, and wasn’t familiar with the character of Gentleman Johnnie Marcone who is the protagonist this time (Harry only gets a few mentions, mostly from Marcone wanting to kill him). This story had a Thumbelina quality for me in that Marcone protects a beautiful young woman who escaped after being abducted by a nasty froglike creature. I loved the character of Marcone with his harsh, stoic exterior that belies a more compassionate man than even he’s willing to acknowledge…4/5 bats
The Beacon by Shannon K. Butcher
Review:Possibly the weakest story in the bunch for me, but still good. A self-loathing man has killed dozens of men who, unbeknownst to them, are beacons for unstoppable killing monsters, before they can summon the creature…until he discovers the next beacon is a little girl with a beautiful single mother...3/5 bats
Even a Rabbit Will Bite by Rachel Caine
Review:
My second favorite after the Kate Daniels story. The last dragonslayer must train her replacement before she can retire. This one had a cool Buffy vibe with the idea of a watcher training a young woman who had no idea she had a destiny. The ending was a fantastic surprise…5/5 bats
Dark Lady by P.N. Elrod (The Vampire Files #?)
Review:
Vampire PI Jack Fleming helps a woman trying to clear her fiancés name and keep the mob from killing him in this 1930’s story. A fun supernatural mystery with temperamental ghost…3/5 bats
Click HERE to read an excerpt from P.N. Elrod’s story
Beknighted by Deidre Knight
Review:Another one of the weaker stories. A puzzle maker/painter must work alongside a dangerous man to free another who has been haunting her dreams. PNR fans will like the added romance of this story, but I found it slightly confusing and apart from a few references, it could have been a regency story…3/5
Shifting Star by Vicki Pettersson (Sign of the Zodiac #4.5)
Review:
I’m not a huge fan of this series, and it took me awhile to remember what was going on since the author didn’t ever really explain her complex world this time. I don’t recommend newbies to this world start here as there are lots of spoilers from the previous books. It focuses on the character Skamar as she continues her quest to destroy the Tulpa, this time with the help of her hot neighbor cop…3/5
Rookwood and Mrs. King by Lilith Saintcrow
Review:
I’m a fan of Lilith Saintcrow’s Dante Valentine series, so I was hopeful with this one, and I loved it. A dhampir vampire hunter helps a wife/widow stake her newly turned lawyer husband and imparts his vampire knowledge along the way. A little sexy, a little mysterious, and a lot of fun. I hope Lilith considers writing more about Rookwood in the future…4/5 bats
God's Creatures by Carrie Vaughn (Kitty Norville #2.5)
Review:This is the shortest story in the bunch (only 31 pages) and it feels it. Kitty is a no show. Instead this story focuses on werewolf hunter Cormac as he accepts a job to eliminate a rogue werewolf before it kills any humans at the local Catholic school. Not a lot going on in the story, but Cormac fans might enjoy it…3/5 bats
Sexual Content: Kissing. References to sex.
My Rating (out of 5):Excellent - Loved it! Buy it now & pre-order the sequel.
Product Details
Publisher: Saint Martin's Press Inc. *Disclosure: I received this book courtesy of LibrayThing’s Early Reviews
Disagree with my review? Contact me with your review for this or any other book I’ve reviewed and I might use it for 2nd Opinion Review.
Wow lots of great authors in one book. I love love the cover, so dark sexy and gloomy. Great reviews of them all =)
ReplyDeleteI loved this book as well! Great stories and introduced me to some new authors.
ReplyDeleteI hear you - I think I'll pick up this one for the Kate story alone ;)
ReplyDeleteYou've certainly convinced me. Sounds like a great collection.
ReplyDeleteYou big tease, this doesn't come out till next year! ;) I'm excited to see a Kate story. I can't get enough of that girl.
ReplyDeleteSparklybearsy - The cover is killer. And the stories inside deserve it.
ReplyDeleteAngela - I love that about anthologies. I get try try new authors without investing in a full book.
Michelle - The Kate story is soooo good. I seriously would have just bought it for the same price :)
Carolnotebook - You'll love it!
Tiah - Whoops. It comes out in a week. I meant to type 2010 :)
I was glad to see this review. I didn't realize there were so many of my fav authors in this anthology. I'm getting it, fo shur
ReplyDeleteI will probably get this book for the Jim Butcher story alone. It's a guy thing.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I found your blog, Roland
I'd seen the cover for this floating around but, was kind of on the fence about it. Thanks to your review I'll be picking up a copy.
ReplyDeleteMardel - I know what you mean. It is packed full of big hitters. And everyone brought their A game.
ReplyDeleteRoland - I think it's a good taste thing :) But if you like the guys, you should check back on July 23rd...
Jen D - Anthologies tend to be hit or miss, so I totally understand you reservations, but this one is a winner :)