{"id":13679,"date":"2020-12-19T20:29:37","date_gmt":"2020-12-20T01:29:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=13679"},"modified":"2021-12-16T09:04:21","modified_gmt":"2021-12-16T14:04:21","slug":"kittys-mix-tape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/13679","title":{"rendered":"Kitty’s Mix-Tape"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kitty’s Mix-Tape<\/a> <\/em> (2020) Carrie Vaughn<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Kittys<\/a>
\n\u201cKitty Walks On By, Calls Your Name\u201d (2020)
\n\u201cIt\u2019s Still the Same Old Story\u201d (2011) Down These Strange Streets<\/a><\/em>
\n\u201cThe Island of Beasts\u201d (2018) Nightmare<\/em>, December 2018.
\n\u201cThe Beaux Wilde\u201d (2014) Urban Fantasy Magazine<\/em>, December 2014.
\n\u201cUnternehmen Werwolf\u201d (2013) Halloween: Magic, Mystery, and the Macabre<\/em>
\n\u201cKitty and the Full Super Bloodmoon Thing\u201d (2015)
\n\u201cKitty and Cormac\u2019s Excellent Adventure\u201d (2020)
\n\u201cSealskin\u201d (2015) Operation Arcana<\/em>
\n\u201cThe Arcane Art of Misdirection\u201d (2012) Hex Appeal<\/a><\/em>
\n\u201cWhat Happened to Ben in Vegas\u201d (2020)
\n\u201cKitty and the Super Blue Blood or Whatever Moon Thing\u201d (2018)
\n\u201cDefining Shadows\u201d (2011) Those Who Fight Monsters<\/a><\/em>
\n\u201cBellum Romanum\u201d (2017) Urban Enemies<\/em>
\n\u201cKitty Learns the Ropes\u201d (2010) Full Moon City<\/a><\/em>
\n\u201cKitty Busts the Feds\u201d (2020)<\/p>\n

I have always liked Carrie Vaughn’s short stories, and in fact one of her short stories–that is actually in this volume–is one of my favorite fantasy-mystery short stories.<\/p>\n

The Kitty series was finished in 2015. The Immortal Conquistador<\/em>, which features on of my favorite characters from the series, came out this fall. This collection is stories that didn’t make the first anthology, Kitty\u2019s Greatest Hits<\/a><\/em> (2011).<\/p>\n

Surprisingly–or perhaps not given how much I read–there were several stories I had no memory of reading. Which is fine, because then I got to enjoy them again.<\/p>\n

“Kitty Walks on By, Calls Your Name” tells of Kitty’s 10th high school reunion. It was unusually over-the-top for a Kitty story.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s Still the Same Old Story” is a Rick story that I’d read before, set in the present with flashbacks to 60 years earlier. Despite his age, Rick has kept far more of his humanity than many other vampires in this would, and that might be in part because he continues to allow himself human friends.<\/p>\n

“The Island of Beasts” is a story that is NOT a kitty story and doesn’t seem to have any characters we’d met previously. It’s set in the early 1800s, and follows a young female werewolf who is exiled to (dumped on) an island that is home to werewolves who cannot follow the rules set by their master.<\/p>\n

“The Beaux Wilde” is another story that occurs outside of the Kitty timeline with none of the Kitty characters, sometimes in the 1800s, where a young woman is being encouraged by her family to get married, but because she can feel others thoughts, she’d rather be a spinster than marry someone who has no respect for her.<\/p>\n

I liked this story quite a lot.<\/p>\n

“Unternehmen Werwolf” is set during WWII, and stems from the stories that Hitler used the supernatural. <\/p>\n

“Kitty and the Full Super Bloodmoon Thing” is more a silly excerpt than a full-fledged short story.<\/p>\n

“Kitty and Cormac\u2019s Excellent Adventure” is interesting in that it is essentially Kitty and Cormac playing a bit part in someone else’s story–a story that you will never learn.<\/p>\n

I love the idea of it and how it makes a perfect short story.<\/p>\n

“Sealskin” takes place a generation after “The Temptation of Robin Green”. I really like how this story ended.<\/p>\n

“The Arcane Art of Misdirection” is an Odysseus Grant story, set in Vegas. I feel like Odysseus got short shrift in this series, in that he’s a fascinating character, but we never really learn much about it.<\/p>\n

“What Happened to Ben in Vegas” is more of an outtake from Kitty and the Dead Man\u2019s Hand<\/em> that is precisely what the title says. <\/p>\n

I don’t love how insecure Ben is here.<\/p>\n

“Kitty and the Super Blue Blood or Whatever Moon Thing” is another silly bit.<\/p>\n

“Defining Shadows” is not just one of my favorite stories set in Kitty’s world, it’s one of my favorite supernatural mystery stories. Detective Hardin get stuck with a murder where half a body (the lower half) is found standing upright in a shed–and they can’t figure out who or what killed her.<\/p>\n

Particularly fascinating is how Hardin decides to deal with the culprit she discovers. <\/p>\n

“Bellum Romanum” here we see one of the Big Bads of the series, and how he got his power to attempt to destroy the world. I’m not quite sure how I feel about this story.<\/p>\n

“Kitty Learns the Ropes” was a story I’d read previously and completely forgotten. It’s a story about someone being outed as a supernatural–to the detriment of his current career. It’s interesting to consider both the concept of outing someone against their will as well as whether they have an unfair advantage in things, being a supernatural.<\/p>\n

“Kitty Busts the Feds Story” is set after the series ends, and is essentially Kitty discovering that the government is developing an agency for dealing with supernatural creatures. Which really, it seemingly would have done earlier in the series.<\/p>\n

Although there are some excellent stories in this anthology, there are also some weak stories that felt more like asides rather than full-fledged stories. But I think it’s worth reading because the good stories are quite good.<\/p>\n

Tachyon Publications
\nRating: 7.5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kitty’s Mix-Tape (2020) Carrie Vaughn \u201cKitty Walks On By, Calls Your Name\u201d (2020) \u201cIt\u2019s Still the Same Old Story\u201d (2011) Down These Strange Streets \u201cThe Island of Beasts\u201d (2018) Nightmare, December 2018. \u201cThe Beaux Wilde\u201d (2014) Urban Fantasy Magazine, December 2014. \u201cUnternehmen Werwolf\u201d (2013) Halloween: Magic, Mystery, and the Macabre \u201cKitty and the Full Super […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[194,18,292,2,48,35,16],"tags":[83,313,525],"class_list":["post-13679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-7-5-10","category-anthology","category-ebook","category-fantasy","category-female","category-short-story","category-supernatural","tag-carrie-vaughn","tag-vampires","tag-werewolves"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-3yD","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":932,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/932","url_meta":{"origin":13679,"position":0},"title":"Kitty and the Dead Man’s Hand","author":"Michelle","date":"January 28, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand (2009) Carrie Vaughn Kitty and Ben are trying to plan for their wedding, and when they decide on a Vegas wedding, Kitty's producer decides that would be a great opportunity for Kitty to try her hand at a live TV show. I'm still not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fantasy"","block_context":{"text":"Fantasy","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/fantasy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/Kitty-Dead-Mans-Hand.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2500,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/2500","url_meta":{"origin":13679,"position":1},"title":"Kitty’s Greatest Hits","author":"Michelle","date":"August 28, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Kitty's Greatest Hits (2011) Carrie Vaughn Kitty's Greatest Hits is a short story anthology, so its timeline is interwoven between the various Kitty books. There are also several stories that don't have Kitty in them at all, although most of those stories contain peripheral characters, and all are set within\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Anthology"","block_context":{"text":"Anthology","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/anthology"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Kittys-Greatest-Hits.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4817,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/4817","url_meta":{"origin":13679,"position":2},"title":"Kitty’s Greatest Hits","author":"Michelle","date":"August 29, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Kitty's Greatest Hits (2011) Carrie Vaughn Il Est Ne (Wolfsbane and Mistletoe (2008)) A Princess of Spain (The Secret History of Vampires (2007)) Conquistador de la Noche (Subterranean Online (2009)) The Book of Daniel (Talebones #39 (2009)) The Temptation of Robin Green (The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance (2009)) Looking\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Kittys-Greatest-Hits","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Kittys-Greatest-Hits.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2442,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/2442","url_meta":{"origin":13679,"position":3},"title":"Kitty’s Big Trouble","author":"Michelle","date":"July 7, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Kitty's Big Trouble (2011) Carrie Vaughn Kitty's latest interest is finding historical figures that may have been supernatural creatures. Someone sends her some indirect evidence that General Sherman may have been a were, but Kitty's attempts to have his body exhumed and tested are adamantly denied (and rightfully so). Then\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fantasy"","block_context":{"text":"Fantasy","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/fantasy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Kitty-Big-Trouble.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8907,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/8907","url_meta":{"origin":13679,"position":4},"title":"Kitty’s Big Trouble","author":"Michelle","date":"March 12, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Kitty's Big Trouble (2011) Carrie Vaughn After finding an old interview with a Civil War soldier claiming that General Sherman was a werewolf, Kitty goes looking for a way to prove it one way or another. She's also get some other historical figures who may or may not have been\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Kitty-Big-Trouble.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8865,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/8865","url_meta":{"origin":13679,"position":5},"title":"Kitty’s Greatest Hits","author":"Michelle","date":"March 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Kitty's Greatest Hits (2011) Carrie Vaughn Il Est Ne - Wolfsbane and Mistletoe (2008) A Princess of Spain - The Secret History of Vampires (2007) Conquistador de la Noche - Subterranean Online (2009) The Book of Daniel - Talebones #39 (2009) The Temptation of Robin Green - The Mammoth Book\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Anthology"","block_context":{"text":"Anthology","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/anthology"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Kittys-Greatest-Hits.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13679"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13679\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}