A review by mlliu
Monstrous Affections: An Anthology of Beastly Tales by Kelly Link, Gavin J. Grant

4.0

I don't read many anthologies, but I decided to check this out after a friend recommended Alice Sola Kim's story, "Mothers, Lock Up Your Daughters Because They Are Terrifying." I ended up enjoying pretty much all the stories in this book. I'm amused by the fact that so many people apparently picked up the book because of Sarah Rees Brennan's "Wings in the Morning": it was a fun story but reminded me of so much of the YA fantasy I read years ago before getting burnt out on the genre.

I preferred the stories that were more speculative. My favorite was "Son of Abyss," by Nik Houser. I was fascinated by his take on the mythology of heaven and hell. His story also has this element of fantastic horror (reminiscent of Daryl Gregory's works). According to Houser's bio, he's working on expanding his story into a novel, which I'd gladly read.