Friday, December 4, 2009

Review-Strange Brew ed by PN Elrod


Publishers Weekly

Anthologist Elrod (My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding) taps into the urban fantasy craze with a mixed bag of wizardry, mystery and glamour. The best include Patricia Briggs's wistful "Seeing Eye," wherein blind witch Wendy Moira Keller helps werewolf Tom Franklin search for his missing brother, and Jim Butcher's funny "Last Call," which finds wizard Harry Dresden hot on the tail of Meditrina Bassarid, a wicked wine-loving maenad who wreaks havoc in a Chicago bar. In Rachel Caine's romantic "Death Warmed Over," Holly Anne Caldwell, a resurrection witch, falls in love with Andrew Toland, a corpse from 1875, while Elrod's "Hecate's Golden Eye" tells of a 1937 hunt for a curious family gem. Though not particularly groundbreaking, these tales will easily keep paranormal mystery fans entertained. (July)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

If you are looking for a book to get someone who has never read urban fantasy, this is the book. It's a great trial run at books about vampires, werewolves, magic, and other things that go bump in the night. Patricia Brigg's "Seeing Eye" was definitely my favorite. I'll be looking for her other books in the future. Tai's read some of the Dresden series and likes it. After reading "Last Call", I see why. Dresden is funny and his adventures are action packed. The stories were short, quick reads but engaging. Highly recommended. 
Others who read Strange Brew and reviewed it on their blogs: Kellen's Book Blog, I Read Good, and The Farmer's Daughter's Bookshelf.

3 comments:

  1. Nice review
    I tend to have problems with anthologies, since they are so short, though sometimes I do fall for authors

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  2. Maybe this is what I need, a collection of short stories. Since they're short, I will know I can finish the story somewhat quickly!
    They definitely sound interesting!

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  3. Great review...I know the perfect person to recommend this too!!!

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