A review by brynebo
Rogues, by Gardner Dozois, George R.R. Martin
3.0
Overall I really only liked a few but I am excited to read more by the authors of the stories I did like. They are… Joe Ambercrombie, Matthew Hughes and Scott Lynch.
The stories by Gaiman and Rothfuss were, not surprisingly, well worth the read; they only reason they are not included in my statement above is that they are not new to me.
The Rogues anthology contains following stories:
- “Tough Times All Over” by Joe Abercrombie - A Red Country story
[Bryn] fantastic characters; the story was a bit overly cyclical - I would definitely try this author again
- “What Do You Do?” by Gillian Flynn
[Bryn] well written but as with Gone Girl I didn't like any of the characters, which means I can't love the story - it's just the way I'm wired. Also not a fan of horror, even in this PG form. I think its time to write Ms. Flynn out of my repertoire.
- “The Inn of the Seven Blessings” by Matthew Hughes
[Bryn] classic fairytale meets mythology - good character development and well written - this author deserves further exploration
- “Bent Twig” by Joe R. Lansdale - A Hap and Leonard story
[Bryn] dark subject and slow to start. Pass.
- “Tawny Petticoats” by Michael Swanwick
[Bryn] Zombies. A nonstarter. Pass again.
- “Provenance” by David Ball
[Bryn] got lost in the descriptives, perhaps unique to listening versus reading - but also not an art lover so this was not immediately engaging for me
- “The Roaring Twenties” by Carrie Vaughn
[Bryn] the narrator of this story had an this strange breathy but clipped voice - I persevered because the characters were interesting. But the story didn't do much for me. Probably not a repeat without further recommendation.
- “A Year and a Day in Old Theradane” by Scott Lynch
[Bryn] Hands down favorite so far! Smart, funny female lead with kick-ass friends. Loved it!
- “Bad Brass” by Bradley Denton
[Bryn] Not into it. Not likely a future avenue of exploration.
- “Heavy Metal” by Cherie Priest
[Bryn]. Too dark and slow. Skip.
- “The Meaning of Love” by Daniel Abraham
[Bryn] Asa has potential to be a good character but again too slow and medieval
- “A Better Way to Die” by Paul Cornell - A Jonathan Hamilton story
[Bryn]. Too old world. Skip.
- “Ill Seen in Tyre” by Steven Saylor
[Bryn] too slow and lacking in character development
- “A Cargo of Ivories” by Garth Nix - A Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz story
[Bryn] An animate puppet. Um, no.
- “Diamonds From Tequila” by Walter Jon Williams - A Dagmar story
[Bryn] Drugs. More drugs. I seem to be getting pickier, or perhaps the quality of this compendium is taking a dive.
- “The Caravan to Nowhere” by Phyllis Eisenstein - A Tales of Alaric the Minstrel story
[Bryn] Finally one I listened to all the way through. Not my favorite though. And the ending wasn't much of an ending.
- “The Curious Affair of the Dead Wives” by Lisa Tuttle
[Bryn] A dead but not dead girl. Just not into it.
- “How the Marquis Got His Coat Back” by Neil Gaiman - A Neverwhere story
[Bryn] Gaiman knows his stuff. His character development is awesome. Imagination fierce. Storytelling lyrical. I'm not always a fan of his choices - I like my stories a bit lighter - but I can appreciate why he is one of the best.
- “Now Showing” by Connie Willis
[Bryn] I almost dismissed this due to the teen drama, but the character development pulled me in.
- “The Lightning Tree” by Patrick Rothfuss - A Kingkiller Chronicle story
- “The Rogue Prince, or, A King’s Brother” by George R.R. Martin - A Song of Ice and Fire story
The stories by Gaiman and Rothfuss were, not surprisingly, well worth the read; they only reason they are not included in my statement above is that they are not new to me.
The Rogues anthology contains following stories:
- “Tough Times All Over” by Joe Abercrombie - A Red Country story
[Bryn] fantastic characters; the story was a bit overly cyclical - I would definitely try this author again
- “What Do You Do?” by Gillian Flynn
[Bryn] well written but as with Gone Girl I didn't like any of the characters, which means I can't love the story - it's just the way I'm wired. Also not a fan of horror, even in this PG form. I think its time to write Ms. Flynn out of my repertoire.
- “The Inn of the Seven Blessings” by Matthew Hughes
[Bryn] classic fairytale meets mythology - good character development and well written - this author deserves further exploration
- “Bent Twig” by Joe R. Lansdale - A Hap and Leonard story
[Bryn] dark subject and slow to start. Pass.
- “Tawny Petticoats” by Michael Swanwick
[Bryn] Zombies. A nonstarter. Pass again.
- “Provenance” by David Ball
[Bryn] got lost in the descriptives, perhaps unique to listening versus reading - but also not an art lover so this was not immediately engaging for me
- “The Roaring Twenties” by Carrie Vaughn
[Bryn] the narrator of this story had an this strange breathy but clipped voice - I persevered because the characters were interesting. But the story didn't do much for me. Probably not a repeat without further recommendation.
- “A Year and a Day in Old Theradane” by Scott Lynch
[Bryn] Hands down favorite so far! Smart, funny female lead with kick-ass friends. Loved it!
- “Bad Brass” by Bradley Denton
[Bryn] Not into it. Not likely a future avenue of exploration.
- “Heavy Metal” by Cherie Priest
[Bryn]. Too dark and slow. Skip.
- “The Meaning of Love” by Daniel Abraham
[Bryn] Asa has potential to be a good character but again too slow and medieval
- “A Better Way to Die” by Paul Cornell - A Jonathan Hamilton story
[Bryn]. Too old world. Skip.
- “Ill Seen in Tyre” by Steven Saylor
[Bryn] too slow and lacking in character development
- “A Cargo of Ivories” by Garth Nix - A Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz story
[Bryn] An animate puppet. Um, no.
- “Diamonds From Tequila” by Walter Jon Williams - A Dagmar story
[Bryn] Drugs. More drugs. I seem to be getting pickier, or perhaps the quality of this compendium is taking a dive.
- “The Caravan to Nowhere” by Phyllis Eisenstein - A Tales of Alaric the Minstrel story
[Bryn] Finally one I listened to all the way through. Not my favorite though. And the ending wasn't much of an ending.
- “The Curious Affair of the Dead Wives” by Lisa Tuttle
[Bryn] A dead but not dead girl. Just not into it.
- “How the Marquis Got His Coat Back” by Neil Gaiman - A Neverwhere story
[Bryn] Gaiman knows his stuff. His character development is awesome. Imagination fierce. Storytelling lyrical. I'm not always a fan of his choices - I like my stories a bit lighter - but I can appreciate why he is one of the best.
- “Now Showing” by Connie Willis
[Bryn] I almost dismissed this due to the teen drama, but the character development pulled me in.
- “The Lightning Tree” by Patrick Rothfuss - A Kingkiller Chronicle story
- “The Rogue Prince, or, A King’s Brother” by George R.R. Martin - A Song of Ice and Fire story