Scan barcode
A review by songwind
Mean Streets by Jim Butcher
4.0
This is a collection of four novellas, all about supernatural detectives. I quite enjoyed the book. I knew two of the authors before hand, and found two new ones to like. Over all, I gave the book 4 stars, but the work was not completely even across the board.
"The Warrior" by [a:Jim Butcher|10746|Jim Butcher|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1205261964p2/10746.jpg] - 4.5 stars. If Butcher had a more inspired hand with the language itself, this one would be a 5 star story. We got to learn more about the Carpenters in this story, and about the Knights of the Cross. We see parts of Michael Carpenter that have been missing. Dresden himself, though the POV character, is really a secondary character in this story. It works well, and we do get a very good picture of Harry's feelings for the Carpenters, and about the things that happen around him.
"What a Difference a Day Makes" by [a:Simon R. Green|1240|Jack London|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1183236326p2/1240.jpg] - 3 stars. I have only read one John Taylor novel, [b:Something from the Nightside|155421|Something from the Nightside (Nightside, #1)|Simon R. Green|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172260131s/155421.jpg|150023]. Taylor is like most of Green's characters - a larger than life (anti-)hero in an equally large and dangerous situation. However, the story felt very disjointed, and the noir-esque monologues were poorly handled this time. It did remind me that I need to read another one of those novels, though.
"The Third Death of the Little Clay Dog" by [a:Kat Richardson|81017|Kat Richardson|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg] - 4 stars. I had never read anything by this author before, and I regret it. :) I liked this story a lot. The characters were engaging and believable. The story was complex without feeling contrived. There was a great deal of cultural information about Los Dias de los Muertos in Mexco. I am definitely getting some Greywalker books.
"Noah's Orphans" by [a:Thomas E. Sniegoski|5951|Jeff Smith|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg] - 3.5 stars. I tend to avoid most fiction with heavy Christian themes or symbolisms. It seems that most people writing it have an axe to grind or want to preach. Since I belong to several of the sorts of groups that the second group likes to preach against, and since I don't feel the need for reinforcement of my decision not to believe from the first group, they bore me. Sniegoski does neither. His world-building incorporates Biblical imagery and story, as well as apocryphal folklore, Enochian angel-lore, and a good dose of plain old imagination. His main character, a seraphim, is played for his struggling humanity rather than his angelic badassery. I'm not as excited about finding more Remy Chandler books as I am about Richardson's Harper Blaine, but he's definitely on the list.
"The Warrior" by [a:Jim Butcher|10746|Jim Butcher|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1205261964p2/10746.jpg] - 4.5 stars. If Butcher had a more inspired hand with the language itself, this one would be a 5 star story. We got to learn more about the Carpenters in this story, and about the Knights of the Cross. We see parts of Michael Carpenter that have been missing. Dresden himself, though the POV character, is really a secondary character in this story. It works well, and we do get a very good picture of Harry's feelings for the Carpenters, and about the things that happen around him.
"What a Difference a Day Makes" by [a:Simon R. Green|1240|Jack London|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1183236326p2/1240.jpg] - 3 stars. I have only read one John Taylor novel, [b:Something from the Nightside|155421|Something from the Nightside (Nightside, #1)|Simon R. Green|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172260131s/155421.jpg|150023]. Taylor is like most of Green's characters - a larger than life (anti-)hero in an equally large and dangerous situation. However, the story felt very disjointed, and the noir-esque monologues were poorly handled this time. It did remind me that I need to read another one of those novels, though.
"The Third Death of the Little Clay Dog" by [a:Kat Richardson|81017|Kat Richardson|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg] - 4 stars. I had never read anything by this author before, and I regret it. :) I liked this story a lot. The characters were engaging and believable. The story was complex without feeling contrived. There was a great deal of cultural information about Los Dias de los Muertos in Mexco. I am definitely getting some Greywalker books.
"Noah's Orphans" by [a:Thomas E. Sniegoski|5951|Jeff Smith|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg] - 3.5 stars. I tend to avoid most fiction with heavy Christian themes or symbolisms. It seems that most people writing it have an axe to grind or want to preach. Since I belong to several of the sorts of groups that the second group likes to preach against, and since I don't feel the need for reinforcement of my decision not to believe from the first group, they bore me. Sniegoski does neither. His world-building incorporates Biblical imagery and story, as well as apocryphal folklore, Enochian angel-lore, and a good dose of plain old imagination. His main character, a seraphim, is played for his struggling humanity rather than his angelic badassery. I'm not as excited about finding more Remy Chandler books as I am about Richardson's Harper Blaine, but he's definitely on the list.