colinmeldrum's review
2.0
Thought this would be right up my alley, but I had a difficult time getting through this and only found one or two stories worthwhile.
hippoponymous's review
adventurous
medium-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
3.0
paigeguggemos's review
5.0
So many people trashed this book in the reviews that I put it off for a long time. Finally, many years after purchasing, I took it along on a camping trip and read it alone by the fire and found myself completely happy and entertained. Like any compilation, I connected with and enjoyed some stories more than others, but was overall completely pleased to have read it. My personal favorite included short is Catskin by Kelly Link.
crankyraconteur's review against another edition
2.0
This book plays it fast and loose with the word "Thrilling" in the title.
nwhyte's review against another edition
http://nhw.livejournal.com/882610.html[return][return]Decent collection of new stories in various genres; the editor's introduction makes it clear that he is trying to make some kind of point, but it is less clear what that point actually is. I particularly liked "Weaving the Dark" by Laurie King.
tylerteacher's review
2.0
With a title like “Thrilling Tales” I got this crazy notion that it might include tales that were thrilling. I was sadly disappointed. The title implies that we can fly as high as we want, this is what stories can offer us, but each story just came up with excuses on why we can’t get off to the ground. The better stories let us float an inch or so off the ground. The best was letting us get to a rooftop, but when we expected to fly and we are looking to the sky, anything else is disappointing.
On a commercial note, I was excited to read from a few authors I hadn’t read to get a feel for if I wanted to read more of their work. Based on this book, I do not. Having said that, based on the authors I had previously read that were included here, I can assume this is a poor representation of what they are capable of. I don’t recommend this book unless your idea of the wonders of imagination include you walking down the street on a sunny day and that’s it. Dream bigger and read something else.
On a commercial note, I was excited to read from a few authors I hadn’t read to get a feel for if I wanted to read more of their work. Based on this book, I do not. Having said that, based on the authors I had previously read that were included here, I can assume this is a poor representation of what they are capable of. I don’t recommend this book unless your idea of the wonders of imagination include you walking down the street on a sunny day and that’s it. Dream bigger and read something else.
greeneyedramaqueen's review
3.0
Some of the stories I really liked and others were just OK...I'm not that big into Science Fiction anyways so the ones that were more along THOSE lines didn't pull me into them as much but the thriller/suspense type ones I liked! There's 20 short stories so something for everyone!
nycsquirrel's review
3.0
Good mix of very McSweeney authors (Michael Chabon, Dave Eggers, Elmore Leonard, Sherman Alexie, etc. - even an odd Stephen King [but never been a fan]). Sometimes dense, usually odd, but always creative.