Bubba Ho-Tep (2012) Joe R. Lansdale Amusing, and well done, but not particularly my cup of tea. Published by Gere Donovan Press

The Heavenly Fox (2011) Richard Parks A fox who reaches the age of fifty gains the ability to transform into a human woman. A fox who reaches the age of one hundred can transform into either a beautiful young girl or a handsome young man at will and can sense the world around them to […]

Return (2010) Peter S. Beagle Return takes us back to the world of The Innkeeper’s Song. Soukyan is still being chased by Hunters–trained assassins who have been after him since he escaped from that place–a place that seems to be a monastary, and where Soukyan had fled to as a child. Finally, Soukyan is tired […]

Magic Dreams (2011) Ilona Andrews Huh. This is a reread, but I can’t find my original review. Apparently, I didn’t read all the stories in the anthology this was originally in, and so I never wrote a review. So, this first appeared in the anthology, Hexed, which I have but seemingly only read one story […]

Bullets and Fire (2009) Joe R. Lansdale I swear I’ve read a story almost exactly like this before. Details I didn’t know, but I knew precisely where it was going. But part of the following quote was familiar: Dad told me once, that if people don’t care about where they live, the way they act, […]

A Dream of Stone and Shadow (2006) Marjorie M. Liu Charlie is a gargoyle, being held captive by a witch who enjoys taking advantage of some of his more… unusual properties. Emma is an abused child who Charlie’s spirit stumbles upon in its wanderings. Aggie is a member of Dirk & Steele who can catch […]

Strange Days in Old Yandrissa (2012) John R. Fultz This initially had the feel of a folktale, but then it swerved, went back to the folktale lane and then went all apocalyptic. I enjoyed the bits with the folktale feel, but the wanton destruction–just not my thing. Rating: 5/10 Published by Orbit

A Glass of Shadow (2011) Liz Williams Liz Williams writes stories that fall into a variety of genres at once: science fiction, fantasy, mystery. I read–and fell in love with–her Detective Inspector Chen series, and so buy her anthologies, hoping that means she’ll then be able to write more Chen stories. This volume is an […]

Of Swine and Roses (2011) Ilona Andrews Alena’s family is forcing her to go on a date with Chad Thurman, a thug, but a member of a family in a position to do Alena’s family a favor. Things go worse than anyone could have expected. This is a short story by Ilona Andrews–I have to […]

Brook Street: Thief (2012) Ava March Oh. Oh my. This is a boinking book. And I mean A BOINKING book. Guess that’s a major problem with Kindle books, is that when I “pick one up” to read, I don’t see the cover. I… I’m not quite sure what I was thinking when I got this […]

Kate Shugak Short Stories Dana Stabenow There are four short Kate Shugak stories originally published in different anthologies, but available for $0.99 from Amazon. Well worth reading, and it’s always good to support authors you enjoy. Conspiracy (2011) A brief history of the Grosdider brothers and how Something Was Done about them. Nooses Give (2011) […]

First Frost (2011) Jennifer Estep Gwen Frost has a Gypsy gift–when she touches things she learns about the people who held those items. In addition to that skill, she has a good dose of curiosity, that eventually shows her things she never wanted to learn. This is a short story, and an introduction to Touch […]

The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland–for a Little While (2011) Catherynne M. Valente Mallow is content to live with her cast iron ducks doing the occasional magic for those in need, but mostly she prefers to be left alone. But then the King of Fairy calls a for a Foul in the capital of Pandemonium and […]

A Clean Sweep With All the Trimmings (2011) James Alan Gardner Cleaners help clean things up. Sometimes that includes messes when wiseguys with green blood and black wires come in and shoot up Madame Rosa’s place. Cute. But then I’ve always been a sucker for noir. Rating: 7/10 Published by Tor

Rules for Virgins (2011) Amy Tan This is a short story by Amy Tan, set in Shanghai in 1912. Violet is a new courtesan and Magic Gourd is the older courtesan who is to both train Violet and prepare for for the life she has chosen. The story is comprised entirely of the advice that […]

Turned at Dark: A Bonus Shadow Falls Short Story (2011) C. C. Hunter Free story that’s an intro to the Shadow Falls series. It obviously worked, since I then got the first book, Born at Midnight. Della Tsang doesn’t believe in ghosts, but she has to wonder, when one night she sees her dead cousin. […]

Uncle Flower’s Homecoming Waltz (2012) Marissa K. Lingen This is the first of a spate of short stories I read. Because I like short stories. Zal is a century dreamer–she dreams far into the future, a skill that is quite rare, and one to which she is adjusting, as it only recently came upon her. […]

Ghost Hedgehog (2011) Nina Kiriki Hoffman Jack is in fifth grade and can see ghosts. Unfortunately for him, when his fifth-grade teacher dies, he discovers that ghosts can also see him, and attach themselves to him. I love Nina Kiriki Hoffman’s writing and stories. I love even better that eBooks can make these stories available […]

The Crazy Old Lady in the Attic (2011) Kathleen Valentine Mattie’s grandmother has died. As Mattie and her husband pack up the brownstone in Boston to sell, Mattie begins to discover that all was not right in the world in which she grew up. This was an interesting short story. It’s labelled as horror, but […]

Cat Tales: Four Stories from the World of Jane Yellowrock (2011) Faith Hunter These are (as the title suggests) four stories in Jane Yellowrock’s world.Three of the four stories feature Jane–the is Rick’s story of how he got his tats and came to work for the vampires. The first story, “The Early Years” is very […]

The Fearless Mrs. Goodwin (2011) Elizabeth Mitchell This had the potential to be a fabulous story: Mrs Goodwin was the first woman to become an official New York City police detective. She worked undercover helping to take down not just fake spiritualists and others who preyed on women, but also dangerous criminals. Instead, the writing […]

Silent Blade (2009) Ilona Andrews Meli is an assassin who has inherited gifts from her family that make her an excellent assassin. However, after years of killing for her family, she has decided to retire. And she enjoys her retirement until her family asks her for one last death–the death of the very man who […]

Nightside (1989) Mercedes Lackey Diana Tregarde and Andre are investigating a terrible something that is eating the souls of it’s victims. Another disappointment. Rating: 5/10

Satanic, Versus (1990) Mercedes Lackey As with the previous Diana Tregarde short story I got, it was ultimately disappointing. Diana and Andre go to a romance convention masquerade and trouble happens. I think that the root of the story would have been interesting if it hadn’t been wrapped in the romance convention package. That simply […]

Killer Byte: A Diana Tregarde Short Story (1994) Mercedes Lackey A really long time ago–a lifetime ago it sometimes feels like–I read the Diana Tregarde books. And was quite disappointed when Mercedes Lackey stopped writing them. But as I didn’t have ready access to MZB’s Fantasy Magazine, I missed all the short stories. So when […]

Necromancer: A Novella (2011) Lish McBride One of the things I’m coming to adore about the Kindle (and there are many) is authors can put up short stories and novellas–for free!–to give you an introduction to their work. Which is how I ended up downloading “Necromancer: A Novella” because who is opposed to a free […]