Thursday, July 29, 2010

Dark and Story Knights: Edited by P.N. Elrod

DARK AND STORMY KNIGHTS

SUMMARY

It was a dark and stormy knight, and nine dark defenders embarked upon a most perilous quest….

They’re the ultimate defenders of humanity—modern day knights who do dark deeds for all the right reasons. In this all-star collection, nine of today’s hottest paranormal authors bring us thrilling, all-new stories of supernatural knights that are brimming with magic mystery and mayhem.

John Marcone sets aside his plans to kill Harry Dresden to go head-to-head with a cantrev lord in Jim Butcher’s Even Hand. Kate Daniels is called upon for bodyguard duty to protect Saimen, a shifter she trusts less than the enemy in Ilona Andrews’ A Questionable Client. Cormac must stop a killer werewolf before it attacks again on the next full moon in Carrie Vaughn’s God’s Creatures. And in Vicki Pettersson’s Shifting Star, Skamar gets more than she bargained for when she goes after a creature kidnapping young girls—and enlists the aid of her frustratingly sexy neighbor.

When everything’s on the line, will these knights complete their missions and live to fight again another day? Find out in Dark and Stormy Knights!

Includes stories from:

Ilona Andrews

Jim Butcher

Shannon K. Butcher

Rachel Caine

P.N. Elrod

Deidre Knight

Vicki Pettersson

Lilith Saintcrow

Carrie Vaughn

REVIEW

Fans of Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresdan series expecting to get the short story that occurs right after Changes will be severely disappointed. As that story isn’t in Dark and Story Knights it’s in Side Jobs. But for everyone else who isn’t confused between the two books will enjoy Dark and Story Knights immensely.

Butcher’s short tells the story of the infamous mobster, John Marcone, as he defends his territory in the name of someone else. Butcher fans will love getting a glimpse into the mind of Chicago’s most notorious villain. Marcone is meticulous, cold, and dead set against Dresdan, and yet Butcher is able to make even this monster of a man seem human. The story isn’t long and fans and first time readers alike will be disappointed with its brevity, but it is a creative intriguing story that will entertain and delight all who read it.

Rachel Caine’s story was a surprise to me as well. It didn’t involve her Weather Warden series, her Morganville Vampire series, or her Outcast series. In fact it didn’t even involve her previous books Devil’s Bargain or Devil’s Due, it was a fresh new short story.

And it was great.

Rachel Caine really demonstrates her creativity and strength as a writer with Even a Rabbit Will Bite. It is captivating and exciting as it reads like the final chapter in a twelve book series, spanning hundreds of years. Caine is able to effectively capture the pain and loss each character feels and is able to express the imperfection in each character, reversing the roles of both characters and leaving the reader in awe of the talent for this story.

Dark and Story Knights is a fantastic collection of short stories from many talented writers, including Ilona Andrews, Carrie Vaughn, Vicki Pettersson, P.N. Elrod, Deidre Knight, Lilith Saintcrow, Shannon Butcher, and the before mentioned Rachel Caine and Jim Butcher. Fans of any of these authors will enjoy reading their stories as they are introduced to new and exciting writers that they will certainly love. Making Dark and Story Knights a great place to learn about new and talented writers as well as a great stopping ground between books of your favorite authors’ series.

RATING
7.5 out of 10

INFO

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Published: July 20, 2010

Price: $14.99

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