A review by felinity
Pets in Space by Veronica Scott, S.E. Smith, Susan Grant, Carysa Locke, Cara Bristol, Lea Kirk, Pauline Baird Jones, Laurie A. Green, Alexis Glynn Latner
3.0
2.5 stars
A mixture of stories, some (like the first) falling more definitely on the side of romance-set-in-space while a couple were more like SF with a dash of romance. Most of the pets were some type of K9 (robotic dog, or police/army dog), and one wasn't even a pet. Luckily the second half had some variety.
Unfortunately the first story did not grab me. It was weak, with too many convenient plot holes. In fact, most didn't grab me. A couple were okay, but the first I actively enjoyed was The Real Dragon by [a:Pauline Baird Jones|247227|Pauline Baird Jones|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1450025097p2/247227.jpg] - a unique story with a nice twist of humor. Stardog by [Laurie A. Green] was a nice balance of SF and romance and had a new kind of pet, a nice change after all the other dogs, while Escape Run by [a:Carysa Lock] gave a stronger finish.
I wasn't wild about the layout either. I'm used to anthologies with a short intro of the author (not a summary of the story) with a little listing of the contributing authors' works at the end; each short story was like a self-contained individual publication. And some of them were pretty long for supposed short stories. I don't think I've seen as many chapterized stories, or stories with prologues, in any other anthology, nor did I expect 2 that started fairly similarly.
All in all, I'd consider this as an airport book (read on the plane and leave at the next airport) but wouldn't reread. I might look out the three authors I actually enjoyed though.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
A mixture of stories, some (like the first) falling more definitely on the side of romance-set-in-space while a couple were more like SF with a dash of romance. Most of the pets were some type of K9 (robotic dog, or police/army dog), and one wasn't even a pet. Luckily the second half had some variety.
Unfortunately the first story did not grab me. It was weak, with too many convenient plot holes. In fact, most didn't grab me. A couple were okay, but the first I actively enjoyed was The Real Dragon by [a:Pauline Baird Jones|247227|Pauline Baird Jones|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1450025097p2/247227.jpg] - a unique story with a nice twist of humor. Stardog by [Laurie A. Green] was a nice balance of SF and romance and had a new kind of pet, a nice change after all the other dogs, while Escape Run by [a:Carysa Lock] gave a stronger finish.
I wasn't wild about the layout either. I'm used to anthologies with a short intro of the author (not a summary of the story) with a little listing of the contributing authors' works at the end; each short story was like a self-contained individual publication. And some of them were pretty long for supposed short stories. I don't think I've seen as many chapterized stories, or stories with prologues, in any other anthology, nor did I expect 2 that started fairly similarly.
All in all, I'd consider this as an airport book (read on the plane and leave at the next airport) but wouldn't reread. I might look out the three authors I actually enjoyed though.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.