Tag: rogues
-
Stories in Rogues – “A Better Way to Die” by Paul Cornell
The intro of accolades for Paul Cornell was jaw-dropping. I remember thinking, “holy shit, this guy has got some serious writing chops!” Then I learned it’d be a little story about a famous spy character he’d been writing about for a long time. It was billed as strange, fast-paced, where he’d be pitted against a…
-
Stories in Rogues – “The Meaning of Love” by Daniel Abraham
The Meaning of Love is a sappy title, and one you have to immediately presume is sarcastic in an anthology like this one. I won’t spoil how this presumption plays out though, you may have to find out for yourself, because I do recommend reading this little story about a sprawling town run only by…
-
Stories in Rogues – “Bad Brass” by Bradley Denton
I think I’m starting to find that I enjoy stories set in the modern world more than I thought. I guess maybe I just haven’t read that much in that setting–that setting, or, our setting? Hmm. I don’t know. Either way, I’m off topic. Would you believe me if I said that Denton is able…
-
Stories in Rogues – “A Year and a Day in Old Theradane” by Scott Lynch
High fantasy, feuding wizards, and the classic why-did-I-drink-so-much plot device, and you’ve got the recipe for “A Year and a Day.” I don’t read a ton of high fantasy, so I was interested to see how this would go.
-
Stories in Rogues – “The Roaring Twenties” by Carrie Vaughn
The roaring twenties setting, a speakeasy, some magic, two brooding female leads, werewolves, and Federal officers. Hmm. Okay, let’s go. But then the narrator started talking and–*shudders*–yeah, it’s not good. Soft spoken, weird accent, and not enough character in the voices makes this story a tough “read.” But I finished it and was pretty disappointed.
-
Stories in Rogues – “Provenance” by David W. Ball
I enjoyed David W. Ball’s introduction more than I did this story. I got the impression that this story was going to be rich with details, maybe in a historical-narrative style, and thoroughly researched. Indeed, this tale about an old art dealer is exactly all of those things.
-
Stories in Rogues – “Tawny Petticoats” by Michael Swanwick
Lots and lots of zombies, really? I remember wondering if this was going to be a gory zombie tale, something more dramatic, like The Walking Dead, or something else entirely etc … turns out it’s an elaborate con-job set in an absurdly surreal dystopic future New Orleans. Very shortly into this one, I had to…
-
Stories in Rogues – “Bent Twig” by Joe R. Lansdale
If I haven’t mentioned this yet, I’m listening to the audio book Rogues. There is a different reader for each story, and if you don’t have much experience with audio books, let me tell you this: the reader can break the book, or elevate it to heights even beyond your own imagination. It’s a really…
-
Stories in Rogues – “The Inn of the Seven Blessings” by Matt Hughes
I’d not heard of Matt Hughes before, but his list of accolades and titles was supremely impressive. So, I dove into this tale rather excited. This medieval fantasy story starts with a thief recovering an interesting object. This object leads him on a quick quest, naturally, and there is a weird little payoff at the…