tanyagold's review
Read this to get brought back to the Borderland stories of the eighties and nineties, to the beginnings of urban fantasy. Read this for Catherynne Valente's "A Voice Like a Hole," Nalo Hopkinson's "Ours Is the Prettiest," and Charles de Lint's "A Tangle of Green Men."
deirdrekoala's review
4.0
I'm still enjoying my forays into Bordertown. This newer collection posits that the way to the Borderlands has been closed for the past 13 years, during which time only 13 days passed within the Borderlands (kind of a Rip Van Winkle thing). As with any collection, I found some of the stories more absorbing than others, but I genuinely enjoyed all of them. "Shannon's Law" by [a:Cory Doctorow|12581|Cory Doctorow|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1212526024p2/12581.jpg] is very clever--it goes into great detail about an elaborate scheme to get the Elflands online (put simply), without any human being able to cross that border. "The Rowan Gentlemen" by [a:Holly Black|25422|Holly Black|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1261867163p2/25422.jpg] and [a:Cassandra Clare|150038|Cassandra Clare|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1270502031p2/150038.jpg] is a short, fast-paced mystery whose main action takes place in a theatre. "A Tangle of Green Men" by [a:Charles de Lint|8456|Charles de Lint|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1269735259p2/8456.jpg] is a beautifully put together story about love and grief. These stories are my personal favorites, but the anthology as a whole was a well-balanced collection with an intriguing cast of intertwining characters--some of whom are familiar from other stories of the Borderlands, and many of whom are people I'd really like to know.
sdramsey's review
3.0
This book was my first introduction to Bordertown, and I think I might have enjoyed it more had I been familiar with previous stories set there. The stories were enjoyable (although in an anthology of course it's always a mixed bag--some you love, some are less engaging) but I always felt like maybe I'd be enjoying them more if I had some Bordertown experience. I love the concept though, of a place where our world and other realms meet, neither one nor the other, familiar but strange. Recommended for fans of urban fantasy, for sure!
sxcpixie's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
cj_jones's review
4.0
My thanks to Rose who gave me this to read it when I needed to.
If you're familiar with the other Bordertown anthologies, you know what to expect here--even after a 13 year hiatus (if the book is to be trusted), it's still a place you go to start over, to make yourself from scratch. And that can be a dangerous game, or at least a powerful one. A lot of familiar faces show up, and a lot more new ones--both characters and authors. There's still magic, there are still elves, there's still music, and there are still people being people to each other. When I got this book, I was excited and delighted, and when I started to read I was more so. That emotion lasted me through the whole book.
There's a lot more activity in The World in this book, which was a bit surprising to me. A new book after a long break is propitious, and our last story ends with a beginning. So I don't know why this book feels like good bye.
If you're familiar with the other Bordertown anthologies, you know what to expect here--even after a 13 year hiatus (if the book is to be trusted), it's still a place you go to start over, to make yourself from scratch. And that can be a dangerous game, or at least a powerful one. A lot of familiar faces show up, and a lot more new ones--both characters and authors. There's still magic, there are still elves, there's still music, and there are still people being people to each other. When I got this book, I was excited and delighted, and when I started to read I was more so. That emotion lasted me through the whole book.
There's a lot more activity in The World in this book, which was a bit surprising to me. A new book after a long break is propitious, and our last story ends with a beginning. So I don't know why this book feels like good bye.
hollyfromthebigsky's review
4.0
as a collection of stories, I was understandably in love with a few while others left me cold. Altogether, a great world and interesting creations. I would have loved to see a visual flowchart of the characters!
brandaluna's review
5.0
Like most anthologies, this one has stories I loved, stories that were ok, and then stories (poems really in this case) that didn't interest me at all. I'm rating this a 5 because the stories I loved were ones I really loved and because Bordertown is one of my favorite settings ever. I was so excited to see new stories from Bordertown, and I was particularly pleased to see stories from Kushner, Windling, Bull, and de Lint.
The story from de Lint closes out the anthology and was my favorite overall even though I think it's the story that spends the least amount of time in Bordertown. It was perfectly bittersweet with characters I loved getting to know. I was surprised at the end of it to realize how much Joey had grown in such a small set of words without any of it feeling rushed or neglected. Joey is a guy I'd love to hear more about in the future.
Several of the stories felt more like interesting character vignettes rather than stories. That didn't bother me at all, but it might be an issue for people who prefer action and plot over characterization. I like being introduced to people and how they work, so the character studies were enjoyable for me. I wouldn't call myself a poetry lover though I do hold some poets and poems quite dear, but the particular poems in this collection all fell a bit off the mark for me.
The collaboration between Holly Black and Cassandra Clare was a fun romp through The Magic Lantern and filled with little details that really brought Bordertown to life. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this one though I'm not sure why since I also enjoy each author's solo work. The other story that I want to particularly mention is by Annette Curtis Klause. This was the first time I'd read anything by her, but it won't be the last. Lizzie was a striking character and not one I'll soon forget, and I'd love to see more of her adventures with her new guy who seems to have a mystery of his own.
The story from de Lint closes out the anthology and was my favorite overall even though I think it's the story that spends the least amount of time in Bordertown. It was perfectly bittersweet with characters I loved getting to know. I was surprised at the end of it to realize how much Joey had grown in such a small set of words without any of it feeling rushed or neglected. Joey is a guy I'd love to hear more about in the future.
Several of the stories felt more like interesting character vignettes rather than stories. That didn't bother me at all, but it might be an issue for people who prefer action and plot over characterization. I like being introduced to people and how they work, so the character studies were enjoyable for me. I wouldn't call myself a poetry lover though I do hold some poets and poems quite dear, but the particular poems in this collection all fell a bit off the mark for me.
The collaboration between Holly Black and Cassandra Clare was a fun romp through The Magic Lantern and filled with little details that really brought Bordertown to life. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this one though I'm not sure why since I also enjoy each author's solo work. The other story that I want to particularly mention is by Annette Curtis Klause. This was the first time I'd read anything by her, but it won't be the last. Lizzie was a striking character and not one I'll soon forget, and I'd love to see more of her adventures with her new guy who seems to have a mystery of his own.