ruthailuj's review against another edition
4.0
I actually only read Kevin Hearn's story from this collection. Maybe more, but I'm not sure. I liked it. I'm not a big fan of short stories in general, actually in this case I would have liked a full novel. More of my favorite characters.
pygment's review against another edition
3.0
I mostly got it for the Kevin Hearne story that was part of the series I'm reading. I read the first 6-8 stories and then I lost interest.
the_wanlorn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
This book shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the -punk suffix. Also, and possibly more importantly, nearly every single story was actually a short story in a larger series of books, which is intensely annoying. I wish it had been clear before I bought it that that was what was going to happen.
trysarahtop's review against another edition
4.0
I did not read every short story in this anthology, but I did read the few that seemed interesting to me, and I will probably go back and give a few more a try since some are from authors I've never read before.
The one I did read and did not enjoy (it also happens to be an author I've never read before) is "Painted Love" by Rob Thurman. I enjoyed her writing style, and I think that she could have done something good, but the premise was all wrong. It didn't make sense to me, and even though I know there was supposed to be a twist and a surprise, it didn't wow me like I think it was supposed to.
Delilah S. Dawson, and Kevin Hearne were new authors to me and I loved those stories! I probably enjoyed "The Three Lives of Lydia" by Delilah S. Dawson more than the other but they were both well done. I have the first book in both or their series but I have not had a chance to get to them yet. Now I can't wait to get to them. Dawson's has intrigued me the most so I will probably get to that before Hearne's.
I enjoyed Rachel Caine's short "The Cold Girl". I am a big fan of Caine so it really wasn't a surprise that I enjoyed it.
I found Jaye Wells short "The Werewife" to be okay, but that's it. It was slightly creepy which I enjoyed, but it didn't sweep me off my feet. She is also an author I've read before.
Other than that I probably will go back and read a few more.
The one I did read and did not enjoy (it also happens to be an author I've never read before) is "Painted Love" by Rob Thurman. I enjoyed her writing style, and I think that she could have done something good, but the premise was all wrong. It didn't make sense to me, and even though I know there was supposed to be a twist and a surprise, it didn't wow me like I think it was supposed to.
Delilah S. Dawson, and Kevin Hearne were new authors to me and I loved those stories! I probably enjoyed "The Three Lives of Lydia" by Delilah S. Dawson more than the other but they were both well done. I have the first book in both or their series but I have not had a chance to get to them yet. Now I can't wait to get to them. Dawson's has intrigued me the most so I will probably get to that before Hearne's.
I enjoyed Rachel Caine's short "The Cold Girl". I am a big fan of Caine so it really wasn't a surprise that I enjoyed it.
I found Jaye Wells short "The Werewife" to be okay, but that's it. It was slightly creepy which I enjoyed, but it didn't sweep me off my feet. She is also an author I've read before.
Other than that I probably will go back and read a few more.
novelinsights's review against another edition
4.0
Overall Rating: 4.35
Story Breakdown:
"Painted Love" by Rob Thurman - 5
"The Three Lives of Lydia" by Delilah S. Dawson - 4
"The Demon Barker of Wheat Street" by Kevin Hearne - 5
"The Sweeter the Juice" by Mark Henry - 2
"The Werewife" by Jaye Wells - 4
"The Cold Girl" by Rachel Caine - 5
"A Duet with Darkness" by Allison Pang - 5
"Recession of the Divine" by Hillary Jacques - 4
"Parlor Tricks" by Jennifer Estep - 5
"Freak House" by Kelly Meding - 5
"The Inside Man" by Nicole Peeler - 4
"A Chance in Hell" by Jackie Kessler - 4
"Hell's Menagerie" by Kelly Gay - 4
"Daughter of the Midway, the Mermaid, and the Open, Lonely Sea" by Seanan McGuire - 5
This was a fairly good anthology of dark fantasy stories based in carnival settings. Only one of these stories stood out as particularly bad to me, and that was "The Sweeter the Juice" by Mark Henry, which was unforgivably transphobic. Even so, I still gave it a two because some of the non-transphobic parts were genuinely really funny or interesting. Regardless, I'd recommend skipping that story as a whole, and I don't plan on pursuing any more work from that author.
While some of the stories here were better than others, I will say that in general, they did tend to run together. I haven't read a lot of anthologies with themes like this before, but at least with this one, I will say that there were trends that kept coming back and sort of made the stories all feel the same by the time I was finished.
Another thing to note about this anthology is that a large number of the stories in it seemed to be connected to pre-existing fantasy worlds from novel series, so if you are looking for a sampler to introduce you to new urban fantasy series you might like, I recommend this for that. That said, none of those stories really grabbed me enough to compel me personally to pick up their associated full-length novels.
In general, this is a great place to go if you just feel like reading carnival stories, but I don't really expect anything from this book to stick with me in the long term.
Story Breakdown:
"Painted Love" by Rob Thurman - 5
"The Three Lives of Lydia" by Delilah S. Dawson - 4
"The Demon Barker of Wheat Street" by Kevin Hearne - 5
"The Sweeter the Juice" by Mark Henry - 2
"The Werewife" by Jaye Wells - 4
"The Cold Girl" by Rachel Caine - 5
"A Duet with Darkness" by Allison Pang - 5
"Recession of the Divine" by Hillary Jacques - 4
"Parlor Tricks" by Jennifer Estep - 5
"Freak House" by Kelly Meding - 5
"The Inside Man" by Nicole Peeler - 4
"A Chance in Hell" by Jackie Kessler - 4
"Hell's Menagerie" by Kelly Gay - 4
"Daughter of the Midway, the Mermaid, and the Open, Lonely Sea" by Seanan McGuire - 5
This was a fairly good anthology of dark fantasy stories based in carnival settings. Only one of these stories stood out as particularly bad to me, and that was "The Sweeter the Juice" by Mark Henry, which was unforgivably transphobic. Even so, I still gave it a two because some of the non-transphobic parts were genuinely really funny or interesting. Regardless, I'd recommend skipping that story as a whole, and I don't plan on pursuing any more work from that author.
While some of the stories here were better than others, I will say that in general, they did tend to run together. I haven't read a lot of anthologies with themes like this before, but at least with this one, I will say that there were trends that kept coming back and sort of made the stories all feel the same by the time I was finished.
Another thing to note about this anthology is that a large number of the stories in it seemed to be connected to pre-existing fantasy worlds from novel series, so if you are looking for a sampler to introduce you to new urban fantasy series you might like, I recommend this for that. That said, none of those stories really grabbed me enough to compel me personally to pick up their associated full-length novels.
In general, this is a great place to go if you just feel like reading carnival stories, but I don't really expect anything from this book to stick with me in the long term.
old_tim's review against another edition
4.0
When I think about it, I’m surprised that Circuses and Carnivals are used as settings more often in fantasy. It’s one real world place that gives us the same thrills that we get from reading. The acts really do amaze and delight. Through a combination of training and showmanship performers do things that your logical mind says can’t be done. But when the lights go up, there’s a seedy underbelly to the whole experience. Of course the old fashioned freak shows offered up images that I’ve not forgotten decades later. It’s the stuff of nightmares.
Carniepunk takes the logical step and offers up a collection of urban fantasy stories set in Carnivals. They’ve assembled a top level collection of talent. The contributing writers are some of the biggest names in the field. Contributing authors include Rachel Caine, Jennifer Estep, Seanan McGuire, Kevin Hearne, Rob Thurman, and many more. Most of these writers are using characters from best-selling series. These are the sort of stories that one day may end up in character specific collections, tying up odds & sods of material ancillary to the main books of the series.
Now I have not read most of the authors in this collection. While I’m sure that probably missed some nuances that regular series readers would have picked up, I found the stories perfectly enjoyable without any back story presented.
That being said, my favorite stories were the ones that weren’t involving characters from a long running series. Seanan McGuire’s contribution in particular was wonderful. Not only does it subvert the dominant “carnies are evil” trope that is used in the book, but it becomes a wonderful character study of a person trapped by their nonhuman heritage.
On the whole I found Carniepunk to be a very entertaining read. While relating thematically, the stories show enough variety to make for an intriguing collection. I enjoyed the opportunity to try out a few urban fantasy writers I was unfamiliar with, and in all probability will read more of in the future. While there are no real surprises here, sometimes doing what it says on the tin is success on its own.
Carniepunk takes the logical step and offers up a collection of urban fantasy stories set in Carnivals. They’ve assembled a top level collection of talent. The contributing writers are some of the biggest names in the field. Contributing authors include Rachel Caine, Jennifer Estep, Seanan McGuire, Kevin Hearne, Rob Thurman, and many more. Most of these writers are using characters from best-selling series. These are the sort of stories that one day may end up in character specific collections, tying up odds & sods of material ancillary to the main books of the series.
Now I have not read most of the authors in this collection. While I’m sure that probably missed some nuances that regular series readers would have picked up, I found the stories perfectly enjoyable without any back story presented.
That being said, my favorite stories were the ones that weren’t involving characters from a long running series. Seanan McGuire’s contribution in particular was wonderful. Not only does it subvert the dominant “carnies are evil” trope that is used in the book, but it becomes a wonderful character study of a person trapped by their nonhuman heritage.
On the whole I found Carniepunk to be a very entertaining read. While relating thematically, the stories show enough variety to make for an intriguing collection. I enjoyed the opportunity to try out a few urban fantasy writers I was unfamiliar with, and in all probability will read more of in the future. While there are no real surprises here, sometimes doing what it says on the tin is success on its own.
innowen's review against another edition
4.0
Disclaimer: I received a copy via netgalley.com for review.
This anthology was on my to get list before I received a copy via netgalley. With an all-star line up of authors, and the carnivale as a setting, it had me hooked at the name. If you were expecting something darker, however... look elsewhere. This anthology is made of mostly urban fantasy stories. There is bits of horror here and there but... it's more urban fantasy. I'd even go as far as to say that I'm not sure why they included the "punk" in the title. Sure, some of the stories do have a punkish attitude but more often than not, they just feel more urban and fantastic than what I've come to expect from anything with a -punk subheading. The stories revolve around main characters we know and love from pre-existing series. However, there are many stories that seem to fit into worlds of their own.
Some of the stories that I enjoyed the most included:
Delilah S. Dawson's "The Three Lives of Lydia" told the tale of a tattooed lady, stuck in a world not of her own making.
Mark Henry's "The Sweeter the Juice": which features transgendered ladies for protagonists and a horde of zombies. Totally laugh out loud-able.
Rachel Caine's "The Cold Girl": which portrays victims in a whole new light, as well as just how far love can go to prove itself.
Allison Pang's "A Duet with Darkness" is probably my favorite in this volume. This story reminds me of Charles de Lint's work in that the carnivale is not just the setting but does have a bite to it, and interacts in a huge way with her characters. The end of this story left me wondering if Pang has written more about this world and the characters in it (which she does and I will now investigate).
Overall, if you're like me and have an attraction to the mystique of a carnival, then you'll like this anthology of stories. All the attractions are in it, fun houses, ferris wheels, and fortune tellers... just waiting for you to pick it up and give it a read.
This anthology was on my to get list before I received a copy via netgalley. With an all-star line up of authors, and the carnivale as a setting, it had me hooked at the name. If you were expecting something darker, however... look elsewhere. This anthology is made of mostly urban fantasy stories. There is bits of horror here and there but... it's more urban fantasy. I'd even go as far as to say that I'm not sure why they included the "punk" in the title. Sure, some of the stories do have a punkish attitude but more often than not, they just feel more urban and fantastic than what I've come to expect from anything with a -punk subheading. The stories revolve around main characters we know and love from pre-existing series. However, there are many stories that seem to fit into worlds of their own.
Some of the stories that I enjoyed the most included:
Delilah S. Dawson's "The Three Lives of Lydia" told the tale of a tattooed lady, stuck in a world not of her own making.
Mark Henry's "The Sweeter the Juice": which features transgendered ladies for protagonists and a horde of zombies. Totally laugh out loud-able.
Rachel Caine's "The Cold Girl": which portrays victims in a whole new light, as well as just how far love can go to prove itself.
Allison Pang's "A Duet with Darkness" is probably my favorite in this volume. This story reminds me of Charles de Lint's work in that the carnivale is not just the setting but does have a bite to it, and interacts in a huge way with her characters. The end of this story left me wondering if Pang has written more about this world and the characters in it (which she does and I will now investigate).
Overall, if you're like me and have an attraction to the mystique of a carnival, then you'll like this anthology of stories. All the attractions are in it, fun houses, ferris wheels, and fortune tellers... just waiting for you to pick it up and give it a read.
amyiw's review against another edition
3.0
Mixed bag. Some I really dislike, some were pretty good. I really liked Caroline Cranes story. I just liked the Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid but I read the series and it is not really standalone.