A review by toeffy
Rogues, by Gardner Dozois, George R.R. Martin
4.0
A really good anthology! I've reviewed each story individually below, but the book itself deserves a couple words as well.
On the positive side, the overall theme was great, just as the introduction says "Who doesn't love a rogue?" The stories selected were all high in writing quality and of several genres (incl. fantasy, thriller, detective stories, etc.)
On the negative side, fantasy dominated heavily and I'd really wished for more genre diversity. Also, the authors' introductions were mostly long lists of awards and nominations, naming pretty much every book and story they've ever published. I'd really have preferred a short selection of best known works (especially since most of the author's were new to me) and maybe a few personal words by the authors themselves.
Overall, I really recommend this book, although people who don't like fantasy will have a hard time with most of the stories.
Below are short and highly subjective (!) individual reviews for each story (spoiler free).
***
Joe Abercrombie - Tough Times All Over
I was very excited for this one, because I've heard a lot about Joe Abercrombie and wanted to read him for a while now. Unfortunately, his story didn't grip me. Technically it was flawless - the POV shifts, the excellent characterizations, the atmosphere and intrigue. I felt that the story had everything to be great, but... wasn't. Personally, I blame it on too many "gritty fantasy" tropes: the friendly debt-collector with hidden talents, the sleazy child molester without redeeming qualities, the physically strong and sexual demanding woman, the mandatory lesbian couple,...
3/5
***
Gillian Flynn - What Do You Do?
Came in without any expectations and was deeply impressed. Awesome narrative, specks of humour and sarcasm, great characterizations - the author got me hooked. Then it got suspenseful and creepy, and I found that I couldn't put it down despite of being pretty unnerved (I'm a wuss, objectively it's really not that scary). It was over pretty quick, the ending twisted and twisted again - in retrospect, if you've seen/read Gone Girl you'll probably know what to expect. Still, for me it was a nice surprise and a great read altogether.
5/5
***
Matthew Hughes - Inn of the seven blessings
A nice and entertaining story with well-developed characters and a twist. I would've given it 4 stars, but I absolutely hate the "brutal fairytale à la Jack Vance" writing style. Not as bad as Vance himself, but still very annoying for my taste.
3/5
***
Joe R. Lansdale - Bent Twig
A gritty and very American detective story with a touch of noir. A bit drawn out at times, but really nice overall.
3/5
***
Michael Swanwick - Tawny Petticoats
I loved it! The world was refreshingly original, the tone delightfully humorous, and the characters charmingly wicked. It has been a very entertaining and pleasant read. I should check out the author's other works some day.
5/5
***
David W. Ball - Provenance
Quite the surprise of a story! For the first quarter of it I was rather bored and occasionally drifting off while reading. The style reminded me of Dan Brown's works and I fully expected some religious conspiracies to be uncovered by a quirky art and/or history enthusiast - which is not an inherently bad genre, but somewhat predictable. But the historical flashbacks along with a bit of art history pulled me in and halfway through the story I was fully engaged and genuinely interested in the final twist (because there's always a twist in these stories.)
4/5
***
Carrie Vaughn - Roaring Twenties
Mixed feelings about this one. The world, the characters, and the atmosphere were convincing and intriguing. I loved the touch of magic in an otherwise real-world setting. But overall it felt lacking something. Maybe the pacing was off, I can't really put a finger on it. The story felt out of context, like a slow, vague chapter of a longer novel. If there was a longer novel, I'd love to read it, but on it's own this story didn't quite deliver.
3/5
***
Scott Lynch - A Year and a Day in Old Theradane
Ooh, I loved this one! A great piece of fantasy with an interesting world, fleshed-out characters, and the overall light and humorous tone. I really enjoyed the writing style and that the story doesn't take itself too seriously. I guess, I now understand the hype around the Gentleman Bastard series and will have to check it out some day.
5/5
***
Bradley Denton - Bad Brass
Another great one! It started off rather grim and hinted at drug deals gone awry, but then took a twist towards weird comedy (which is a huge improvement in my eyes). The story was an easy and entertaining read. I especially loved the protagonist, who had a mostly narrating and observing role for many things that happened, and overall acted very human and relatable.
5/5
***
Cherie Priest - Heavy Metal
Somehow, I just couldn't connect with this one. I've found the writing style lacking, it was not a smooth read, I was constantly distracted by minor details. Also, the protagonist's modus operandi appeared superficial and generic, mainly because his thought process was not described and the whole finale felt like a lucky guess with a touch of deus ex machina.
2/5
***
Daniel Abraham - Meaning of Love
Another one I didn't like, although with this story it wasn't the writing (which was decent). I guess, I'm just really really tired of dark and gritty fantasy with its vivid descriptions of dirt, gore, and violence. Also, the characters annoyed me - one of them for being a spoiled whiny brat and the other for tolerating that behaviour.
3/5
***
Paul Cornell - A Better Way to Die
Nope, not my cup of tea. While the idea of 19th century Britain with advanced technologies and parallel worlds was fresh and exciting, I absolutely couldn't handle the writing style. It has been an exasperating and exhausting read with too long sentences, far too many pompous words, and a stream-of-consciousness-like inner monologue of the protagonist. The action did fortunately pick up towards the end, otherwise this really would have been just 1 star.
2/5
***
Steven Saylor - Ill Seen in Tyre
A nice one. The historical digressions were interesting, the characters well written. About halfway through it was pretty obvious where the story was going, but still overall it has been an entertaining read. I can imagine, that history enthusiasts and/or Fafhrd and Gray Mouser fans could enjoy it more than I did ('cause I'm neither).
3/5
***
Garth Nix - A Cargo of Ivories
Once again, a nice and entertaining piece of fantasy with well-written action scenes, an interesting magic system, and a curious world. Something lacked though, but I can't put a finger on it. Maybe the characters were a tad generic, maybe the overall plot somewhat simple - overall still quite nice, though.
3/5
***
Walter Jon Williams - Diamonds from Tequila
I loved the first two thirds of the story with its great narrative, interesting movie-making details, a charismatic jerk of a protagonist, the promising build-up. But in the end it kinda didn't deliver. The protagonist's solution of walking up to the bad guy and telling him to stop seemed too idealistic - especially since he pulled it off twice. Also the running joke of the protagonist looking 'intimidating' got quite repetitive by the end.
4/5
***
Phyllis Eisenstein - The Caravan to Nowhere
A beautiful tale! I loved everything about it: the believably used superpower, the charismatic characters (the protagonist is not a rogue though), the bittersweet ending. A truly beautiful piece of fantasy. I hope I'll get around to read the other Alaric novels some day.
5/5
***
Lisa Tuttle - The Curious Affair of the Dead Wives
Although a great mystery tale altogether, the ending was somewhat disappointing in its vagueness. The suspense, the slow build-up, the supernatural allusions - all to end up being a criticism on patriarchal polygamy? Meh.. The rest was really great though.
4/5
***
Neil Gaiman - How the Marquis Got His Coat Back
Well... There is this genre I call "grotesque fairytale", best example of which would be pretty much any Tim Burton movie, and this short story fits that style quite well. Unfortunately I absolutely hate the genre, I find it as repulsive and disgusting as a medieval circus with its grotesque freakshows. Therefore, while no doubt of very high writing quality (and this is the only reason for the 2nd star), this story was not my cup of tea at all. Too bad, I was really looking forward to it. I hope I'll like Gaiman's other works better.
2/5
***
Connie Willis - Now Showing
A brilliant piece! It's set in a not-so-distant and creepily believable future, has lots and lots of cinematic references, a charmingly stubborn protagonist, a nice romantic plot, and a how-do-you-think-it-really-was-type ending (which can be frustrating, but in this story it felt natural to leave some things open for the reader). I loved it and I'm definitely checking out the author's other works!
5/5
***
Patrick Rothfuss - The Lightning Tree
I haven't read Kingkiller Chronicles (because I want ASOIAF to be my only mistake of reading an unfinished series EVER), so I was very excited to get a glimpse of Rothfuss' much acclaimed writing. It was great, really. It's one of the longer stories in the book and not even packed with action, but so very full of life. A day in the life of a village, with its inhabitants and rumours and little secrets and children... So sweet and positive, in contrast to all the gritty, brutal fantasy out there (guess I really need to switch genres for a while). I loved it. I really hope the series will be completed some day.
5/5
***
George R. R. Martin - The Rogue Prince, or, A King's Brother
Hmm, not really what I expected and rather disappointing. It didn't feel like a story, even, more like a Wikipedia article on some medieval dynasty. Names and more names, dates and titles, a war here, a betrayal there, and lots and lots of court intrigue. Even though I am familiar with ASOIAF and usually able to follow complex plot lines, keeping track of by the end about 9 similar Targaryen children's names was a bit much. And the rather dry and matter-of-fact narrative, overall just a tad more emotional than a history book, didn't make it any better. I can't even say I didn't like it, it just didn't feel like a story at all. If I wanted to read up some ASOIAF lore, I'd have done so on a designated wiki page. And now I'm confused about how to rate it, because a bad rating feels just as unjustified as a good one. Therefore no rating from me, since it was not a short story to begin with.
-/-
On the positive side, the overall theme was great, just as the introduction says "Who doesn't love a rogue?" The stories selected were all high in writing quality and of several genres (incl. fantasy, thriller, detective stories, etc.)
On the negative side, fantasy dominated heavily and I'd really wished for more genre diversity. Also, the authors' introductions were mostly long lists of awards and nominations, naming pretty much every book and story they've ever published. I'd really have preferred a short selection of best known works (especially since most of the author's were new to me) and maybe a few personal words by the authors themselves.
Overall, I really recommend this book, although people who don't like fantasy will have a hard time with most of the stories.
Below are short and highly subjective (!) individual reviews for each story (spoiler free).
***
Joe Abercrombie - Tough Times All Over
I was very excited for this one, because I've heard a lot about Joe Abercrombie and wanted to read him for a while now. Unfortunately, his story didn't grip me. Technically it was flawless - the POV shifts, the excellent characterizations, the atmosphere and intrigue. I felt that the story had everything to be great, but... wasn't. Personally, I blame it on too many "gritty fantasy" tropes: the friendly debt-collector with hidden talents, the sleazy child molester without redeeming qualities, the physically strong and sexual demanding woman, the mandatory lesbian couple,...
3/5
***
Gillian Flynn - What Do You Do?
Came in without any expectations and was deeply impressed. Awesome narrative, specks of humour and sarcasm, great characterizations - the author got me hooked. Then it got suspenseful and creepy, and I found that I couldn't put it down despite of being pretty unnerved (I'm a wuss, objectively it's really not that scary). It was over pretty quick, the ending twisted and twisted again - in retrospect, if you've seen/read Gone Girl you'll probably know what to expect. Still, for me it was a nice surprise and a great read altogether.
5/5
***
Matthew Hughes - Inn of the seven blessings
A nice and entertaining story with well-developed characters and a twist. I would've given it 4 stars, but I absolutely hate the "brutal fairytale à la Jack Vance" writing style. Not as bad as Vance himself, but still very annoying for my taste.
3/5
***
Joe R. Lansdale - Bent Twig
A gritty and very American detective story with a touch of noir. A bit drawn out at times, but really nice overall.
3/5
***
Michael Swanwick - Tawny Petticoats
I loved it! The world was refreshingly original, the tone delightfully humorous, and the characters charmingly wicked. It has been a very entertaining and pleasant read. I should check out the author's other works some day.
5/5
***
David W. Ball - Provenance
Quite the surprise of a story! For the first quarter of it I was rather bored and occasionally drifting off while reading. The style reminded me of Dan Brown's works and I fully expected some religious conspiracies to be uncovered by a quirky art and/or history enthusiast - which is not an inherently bad genre, but somewhat predictable. But the historical flashbacks along with a bit of art history pulled me in and halfway through the story I was fully engaged and genuinely interested in the final twist (because there's always a twist in these stories.)
4/5
***
Carrie Vaughn - Roaring Twenties
Mixed feelings about this one. The world, the characters, and the atmosphere were convincing and intriguing. I loved the touch of magic in an otherwise real-world setting. But overall it felt lacking something. Maybe the pacing was off, I can't really put a finger on it. The story felt out of context, like a slow, vague chapter of a longer novel. If there was a longer novel, I'd love to read it, but on it's own this story didn't quite deliver.
3/5
***
Scott Lynch - A Year and a Day in Old Theradane
Ooh, I loved this one! A great piece of fantasy with an interesting world, fleshed-out characters, and the overall light and humorous tone. I really enjoyed the writing style and that the story doesn't take itself too seriously. I guess, I now understand the hype around the Gentleman Bastard series and will have to check it out some day.
5/5
***
Bradley Denton - Bad Brass
Another great one! It started off rather grim and hinted at drug deals gone awry, but then took a twist towards weird comedy (which is a huge improvement in my eyes). The story was an easy and entertaining read. I especially loved the protagonist, who had a mostly narrating and observing role for many things that happened, and overall acted very human and relatable.
5/5
***
Cherie Priest - Heavy Metal
Somehow, I just couldn't connect with this one. I've found the writing style lacking, it was not a smooth read, I was constantly distracted by minor details. Also, the protagonist's modus operandi appeared superficial and generic, mainly because his thought process was not described and the whole finale felt like a lucky guess with a touch of deus ex machina.
2/5
***
Daniel Abraham - Meaning of Love
Another one I didn't like, although with this story it wasn't the writing (which was decent). I guess, I'm just really really tired of dark and gritty fantasy with its vivid descriptions of dirt, gore, and violence. Also, the characters annoyed me - one of them for being a spoiled whiny brat and the other for tolerating that behaviour.
3/5
***
Paul Cornell - A Better Way to Die
Nope, not my cup of tea. While the idea of 19th century Britain with advanced technologies and parallel worlds was fresh and exciting, I absolutely couldn't handle the writing style. It has been an exasperating and exhausting read with too long sentences, far too many pompous words, and a stream-of-consciousness-like inner monologue of the protagonist. The action did fortunately pick up towards the end, otherwise this really would have been just 1 star.
2/5
***
Steven Saylor - Ill Seen in Tyre
A nice one. The historical digressions were interesting, the characters well written. About halfway through it was pretty obvious where the story was going, but still overall it has been an entertaining read. I can imagine, that history enthusiasts and/or Fafhrd and Gray Mouser fans could enjoy it more than I did ('cause I'm neither).
3/5
***
Garth Nix - A Cargo of Ivories
Once again, a nice and entertaining piece of fantasy with well-written action scenes, an interesting magic system, and a curious world. Something lacked though, but I can't put a finger on it. Maybe the characters were a tad generic, maybe the overall plot somewhat simple - overall still quite nice, though.
3/5
***
Walter Jon Williams - Diamonds from Tequila
I loved the first two thirds of the story with its great narrative, interesting movie-making details, a charismatic jerk of a protagonist, the promising build-up. But in the end it kinda didn't deliver. The protagonist's solution of walking up to the bad guy and telling him to stop seemed too idealistic - especially since he pulled it off twice. Also the running joke of the protagonist looking 'intimidating' got quite repetitive by the end.
4/5
***
Phyllis Eisenstein - The Caravan to Nowhere
A beautiful tale! I loved everything about it: the believably used superpower, the charismatic characters (the protagonist is not a rogue though), the bittersweet ending. A truly beautiful piece of fantasy. I hope I'll get around to read the other Alaric novels some day.
5/5
***
Lisa Tuttle - The Curious Affair of the Dead Wives
Although a great mystery tale altogether, the ending was somewhat disappointing in its vagueness. The suspense, the slow build-up, the supernatural allusions - all to end up being a criticism on patriarchal polygamy? Meh.. The rest was really great though.
4/5
***
Neil Gaiman - How the Marquis Got His Coat Back
Well... There is this genre I call "grotesque fairytale", best example of which would be pretty much any Tim Burton movie, and this short story fits that style quite well. Unfortunately I absolutely hate the genre, I find it as repulsive and disgusting as a medieval circus with its grotesque freakshows. Therefore, while no doubt of very high writing quality (and this is the only reason for the 2nd star), this story was not my cup of tea at all. Too bad, I was really looking forward to it. I hope I'll like Gaiman's other works better.
2/5
***
Connie Willis - Now Showing
A brilliant piece! It's set in a not-so-distant and creepily believable future, has lots and lots of cinematic references, a charmingly stubborn protagonist, a nice romantic plot, and a how-do-you-think-it-really-was-type ending (which can be frustrating, but in this story it felt natural to leave some things open for the reader). I loved it and I'm definitely checking out the author's other works!
5/5
***
Patrick Rothfuss - The Lightning Tree
I haven't read Kingkiller Chronicles (because I want ASOIAF to be my only mistake of reading an unfinished series EVER), so I was very excited to get a glimpse of Rothfuss' much acclaimed writing. It was great, really. It's one of the longer stories in the book and not even packed with action, but so very full of life. A day in the life of a village, with its inhabitants and rumours and little secrets and children... So sweet and positive, in contrast to all the gritty, brutal fantasy out there (guess I really need to switch genres for a while). I loved it. I really hope the series will be completed some day.
5/5
***
George R. R. Martin - The Rogue Prince, or, A King's Brother
Hmm, not really what I expected and rather disappointing. It didn't feel like a story, even, more like a Wikipedia article on some medieval dynasty. Names and more names, dates and titles, a war here, a betrayal there, and lots and lots of court intrigue. Even though I am familiar with ASOIAF and usually able to follow complex plot lines, keeping track of by the end about 9 similar Targaryen children's names was a bit much. And the rather dry and matter-of-fact narrative, overall just a tad more emotional than a history book, didn't make it any better. I can't even say I didn't like it, it just didn't feel like a story at all. If I wanted to read up some ASOIAF lore, I'd have done so on a designated wiki page. And now I'm confused about how to rate it, because a bad rating feels just as unjustified as a good one. Therefore no rating from me, since it was not a short story to begin with.
-/-