Kiss Me, Kill Me

Kiss Me, Kill Me: A Paranormal Anthology (2011)

Definitely a mixed bag. But for 99 cents, it’s hard to complain too much.

“Impulse Control” by Susan Bischoff was very very good. It’s about teens with superheroes in a “school” for kids with “Talents”. Or more accurately, it’s little better than a prison for kids who did nothing more than happen to be born with special powers–a prison where they either tow the line or become medical experiments. What I found most interesting is that I can easily see how such a school might come to exists. People are scared of those that are different, and being different AND dangerous allows people to justify a whole lot of really awful stuff.

“A Fairytale Ending” by M.T. Murphy was another story I particularly liked, especially for the ending.

“Blind Sight” by Kait Nolan was good riiiiiight up until it abruptly ended in a manner that made it obvious you’re supposed to read the book to find out what happens. I despise stories like that. “If You Leave” by Stacey Wallace Benefiel did exactly the same thing, only worse. Essentially, it was little more than the first chapter of a book. Bleh.

Several other stories were just meh. Some because they were obviously part of a larger world and felt incompletely without that background, others because they just didn’t click for me.

Aside from “Blind Sight” and “If You Leave” whose endings pissed me off, I really did not like “The Sacrifice” by Toni LoTempio. Even for a short story, it was entirely too long, and I kept skimming, hoping to get to the end faster.

But I have to say that for the price, I really can’t complain that much.
Rating: 6/10

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