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jonjee's review against another edition
4.0
A collection of short stories with carnivals as a central theme. The stories were well written; not a bad one in the bunch. Some were definitely creepier than others.
ms_wilson_33's review against another edition
2.0
More misses than hits in this book and only 2 or 3 memorable stories in the bunch.
exquisite_ashes's review against another edition
3.0
Dear Kevin Hearne,
Having your character say "wee" a lot in his internal monologue does not automatically make him sound Irish. It kind of just makes him sound like he wanted to be a leprechaun in his past life but failed miserably.
Dear Mark Henry,
You wrote this story on a dare. I know you wrote this story on a dare.
Dear Seanan McGuire,
...
I love you so much.
Now that that's out of the way...
I actually full on skipped almost half the stories, just because the first few pages either bored me or completely put me off (Re: Dear Mark), but the ones I did read ranged from passable to enjoyable to excellent. The first one ("Painted Love"), the last one ("The Daughter of the Mermaid, the Midway, and the Open Sea"), and the almost mid-point one ("The Cold Girl") are the only ones that I found absolutely excellent (especially Seanan's, of course), but it wasn't a bad read. It's definitely a pick-and-choose one though.
Having your character say "wee" a lot in his internal monologue does not automatically make him sound Irish. It kind of just makes him sound like he wanted to be a leprechaun in his past life but failed miserably.
Dear Mark Henry,
You wrote this story on a dare. I know you wrote this story on a dare.
Dear Seanan McGuire,
...
I love you so much.
Now that that's out of the way...
I actually full on skipped almost half the stories, just because the first few pages either bored me or completely put me off (Re: Dear Mark), but the ones I did read ranged from passable to enjoyable to excellent. The first one ("Painted Love"), the last one ("The Daughter of the Mermaid, the Midway, and the Open Sea"), and the almost mid-point one ("The Cold Girl") are the only ones that I found absolutely excellent (especially Seanan's, of course), but it wasn't a bad read. It's definitely a pick-and-choose one though.
devannm's review against another edition
3.0
i think this is actually the first anthology i've ever read in its entirety and i'm finding it particularly difficult to rate because some of the stories were great and some were awful, so i just settled in the middle with 3 stars
one thing i will say is that the worst stories are probably towards the beginning. i found thurman's story's twist ending particularly eyeroll-worthy and 'the werewife' was the epitome of 'it's so obvious a man wrote this and i want to throw it across the room'. the first 3 or so stories also all had the classic 'twist ending' that writers seem to feel they need to hook readers on short stories, but which i find incredibly annoying. the middle was full of stories that were pretty good but all kind of blended together in the same kind of 'standard urban fantasy' story and i think almost half of them featured demons in the carnivals. the best story - and the reason i picked up the anthology in the first place - was definitely mcguire's piece at the very end, so at least it went out on a high note.
one thing i will say is that the worst stories are probably towards the beginning. i found thurman's story's twist ending particularly eyeroll-worthy and 'the werewife' was the epitome of 'it's so obvious a man wrote this and i want to throw it across the room'. the first 3 or so stories also all had the classic 'twist ending' that writers seem to feel they need to hook readers on short stories, but which i find incredibly annoying. the middle was full of stories that were pretty good but all kind of blended together in the same kind of 'standard urban fantasy' story and i think almost half of them featured demons in the carnivals. the best story - and the reason i picked up the anthology in the first place - was definitely mcguire's piece at the very end, so at least it went out on a high note.
earthfae's review against another edition
4.0
I originally bought the book for the Kevin Hearne stories and was not disappointed in the least with the adventures of Atticus, Granuaile and Oberon. I did read all the other short stories as well and i have to be honest, some I liked more than others. A few of the stories were very very dark and disturbing while others I thought were extremely well done. I will be looking up some of the authors featured and checking out their other works in the near future.
vyoletkyss's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty nice collection of stories all based in a Carnival. I think my favourite was "Cold Girl".
highvoltagegrrl's review against another edition
3.0
This anthology deals with the weird and wicked ways of carnivals in the fantasy world. There is very often something sinister hiding behind the tent flaps, on top of the ferris wheel, or even below the big top. And those sinister tales were my favorites of the bunch. There are two reasons I love reading anthologies – I get an introduction to an author I’ve yet to read and I get a little something-something extra from those I’m already fans of. I’ve always had Rob Thurman’s books on my “to-read” list and now they have moved to my “must-read” list instead. Her story was my absolute favorite of them all and now I must have more.
There really weren’t any stories I didn’t get, didn’t feel, didn’t like, but at the same time there wasn’t an overabundance of stories I loved and adored. I find it rare that an anthology can deliver in each and every story, after all they are short stories and to me they seem like the hardest stories to write and draw a reader into. Therefore, for those authors that are able to do so in very few words, I’ll be picking up more from their works.
Reviewed by Jessica for Book Sake
Book received for free from publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.
There really weren’t any stories I didn’t get, didn’t feel, didn’t like, but at the same time there wasn’t an overabundance of stories I loved and adored. I find it rare that an anthology can deliver in each and every story, after all they are short stories and to me they seem like the hardest stories to write and draw a reader into. Therefore, for those authors that are able to do so in very few words, I’ll be picking up more from their works.
Reviewed by Jessica for Book Sake
Book received for free from publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.
rlbrock's review against another edition
4.0
Bought primarily for Hearne's Iron Druid story, I enjoyed most of the collection. I especially liked Kessler's "A Chance in Hell" (not a fan of her YA novels, however,so color me surprised), Rob Thurman's "Painted Love" and Medding's "Freak House." On the other hand, there were two stories I didn't even bother to finish. In the end, as with most anthologies of short fiction, I suspect I'll forget them all and its primary use will be to suggest authors whose novels I might want to check out.
Oh, and the "Punk" of the title -- beats the heck out of me. *shrug*
Oh, and the "Punk" of the title -- beats the heck out of me. *shrug*
fyrekatz's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed reading Rachel Caine, Rob Thurman, and Kevin Hearne's stoies in this analogy... I think I need to reread this for a proper review but I wanted to make something short here for NG also this I'm way behind and forget to write something for them before it was published! EEKKK!