The Volume 1 anthology was fantastic, this was okay.
346405
Just didn't have the same impact.
A shame considering the first book was so well done.
Hoping volume 3 is better than this!
4863550
I liked this episodic volume, as the individual stories referenced all sorts on anime in-jokes. There's a lengthy cosplay adventure, as well as a few  digs at the cosplayers themselves.

As with the previous book, you'll probably like some stories more than others, and that's part of the charm with an anthology title like this.
2867298
Reviewing a collection of short stories is always tricky; more so if they are written by different authors. The chance of liking all the stories is slim, though not impossible. Theres probably 2 to 3 remarkable stories and a few mediocre ones, and the rest, forgettable.

I believe this one was done right.

Nonlocal Science Fiction Magazine Issue #1 is a 10-story strong collection thats perhaps the closest youll get to having that dream sci-fi short story anthology. Its evident that it had gone through a stringent selection process. The stories are a wonderful mix of hardcore sci-fi, old-school, offbeat, edgy, and weirdly good speculative fiction.

Though my personal favorite is Shoot The Devil by Nicholas Rossis, I enjoyed reading the other stories. Its one of those collections where the good stories outnumber the not-so-good ones. Its a fantastic start with a lot of  sci-fi promise.
4650163
Excellent anthology. Some Jeeves, one detective story, and a few other things. Not the best Wodehouse, but all Wodehouse is good.
3718011
This is a good choice because in most anthologies you never know the quality,yet here most are better than average. I'd purchase again,I have a couple of new authors I'd look out for.
4636284
Much like Vol. 2, the biggest complaint is that the art isn't Jae Lee all the way through. Unlike Vol. 2, there is another complaint related to its structure- the book is all over the place. There's a great short story by Jeff Lemire that feels totally outside what Greg Pak is doing and some other single issue stories as well as an issue from the Doomed story arc. None of these pieces are bad- in fact, they're fantastic and the Doomed story arc in its complete form is one of the best Superman stories of all time- but they make this volume whole in the same way as Vol. 1, nowhere close. As chaotic and piecemeal as the structure is, the book is still better than most trades as Greg Pak and guest writer Jeff Lemire write great stories and the artists working with them do great work- especially Jae Lee and June Chung who only do one issue in this collection together (though Chung colors a couple of issues with other pencillers that borrow a bit from Jae Lee's style).

Also, there's some naked Superman in this one if that's what you're looking for.
732779
Like any anthology some stories are better than others.  Overall the writing is good, the collection is certainly ambitious in scope (including a dramatic play in its line up), and being a small press it doesn't fall into the traps of pretentious on one side or silly incompetence on the other.  It is a worth while collection for the buck.
2307174
It has certainly been a long time since I've gotten to read a collection of horror shorts. And actually, this was more a collection of novellas, as a few of them are a bit longer, especially the opening tale which also happened to be my favorite. I won't comment too much on the plot since horror is easy to spoil, but I will comment on the writing. Most of it was really solid. The way the stories were crafted, especially as it pertains to perspective, was masterful. Some of the plots felt a little slow or a little too cerebral to be my taste, but they were all well executed. The problem with a lot of horror, at least in my opinion, is timing and pacing. This collection struggled with pacing sometimes, but it was actually pretty rare. Overall, the stories were organized and put together, and that made the collection really stand out from other anthologies. And the very first story was the best, a fine example of Jordan Anderson flexing his literary skills right up front.
1140290
It's HPL, so there is nothing that really needs to be said if you are already a fan.  I own all the stories in one form or another in various compilations, but it is nice to have them all in one setting.
2008383
My primary concern with the first volume of Rumble was that the characters were not terribly interesting. I found myself wondering why I should care about the two humans Bobby and Del who end up teaming up with the scarecrow Rathraq. This volume is a vast improvement on the first in that it gives us a glimpse or two into the personal lives of the characters, giving us more of an idea of what makes them tick. My personal favorite moment is Rathraq reminiscing about his mighty war hound to a stray three-legged dog he's adopted. Arcudi also has started to subvert the very bland "good vs evil" expectations of the action/fantasy genre, by making some of the weird monsters a bit more sympathetic. This was a slight twist that I was hoping for and I'm eager to see how it develops. If you are a fan of John Arcudi or James Harren... well, you've probably already read this book. But for those unfamiliar with their work on BPRD, I'd say this series is well worth checking out for anyone yearning for something that feels a bit like classic comic books, while still pushing the medium into bizarre new territory. For those who love sketchbook pages, it's always fun seeing the crazy stuff Harren comes up with that doesn't make the cut.
1058128
This collection is, in my opinion, better than volume 1(which I love by the way, buy it), in terms of it having more issues and also having it's fair share of interviews and "behind the scenes" stuff, it takes longer to read then vol. 1. I hadn't read Powers until this collected editions came out and I'm now hooked, if only vol. 2 hadn't taken so long to come out...
Definetly worth your buck, this one and vol. 1.
107353
Like all anthologies, this collection is a bit hit and miss.  There are truly enjoyable moments while others that are somewhat meh, but over all, there is more excellent than mediocre.

There is not a super obvious flow between these stories, and as such it took me quite a while to figure out why theyd been grouped together.  Yes, they are all vaguely xmas-y and kinky, but thats not really enough to tie six stories together into a cohesive whole.  Near the end I finally realized that while some are very d/s or bdsm heavy, and others have mere flavors of kink, they are all inherently about control.  When to hold onto it and when to let it go, when it needs asserting and when you can allow someone else to take the reins.

As this is a collection of previously available single titles, you might want to check your e-book archives to make sure you aren't purchasing works youve already acquired.  But honestly, at the bundled price its well worth it, even if you do already have one or two of the stories.

One final note unrelated to the actual review:  I have to say, I think potential readers of this collection could benefit from the addition of a trigger warning in the book blurb, as two of the six stories (All He Wants and One Gold Heart) deal with the aftermath of rape.

**For the sake of full disclosure it must be stated that I received this book, free of charge, from Netgalley.**
3111533
alright, I'd already owned every issue of this series in the monthly format, but when I saw how attractive the oversized pages were I knew that the re-readability factor was kicked up to TEN within the pages of this omnibus, so I caved and bought it...my only gripe is the lack of the second Annual issue and the inclusion of the 'director's cut' of the first issue of the second volume, but whatever.
3874289
Some of the stories were good, I wouldn't call them much better or worse then more other well edited and collected magical/fantasy collections. But there were a handful that were amazing, most specifically the story by Garth Nix. That one story was so good, I ended up buying the "Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz: Three Adventures".

I would recommend this one to people who like Writers of the Future/Years Best SF (or Fantasy). The stories feel the same good quality and variation.
305348
Realms of the Elves is the latest anthology released by Wizards of the Coast and is set in the Forgotten Realms. Like most of the other anthologies WotC releases there is a central theme to this one, and that is Elves. This anthology is supposed to drum up more interest for the final installment of Richard Baker's Last Mythal trilogy.

Instead of giving a full review for each short story, which would take entirely too long, I will try to say a few words about each story. I will do so in the order they are in the book.

#1- "Traitors" by Richard Lee Byers. This is an ok story. For whatever reason, Mr. Byers can't stay away from dragons right now. Everything has to have something to do with his The Year of the Rogue Dragon trilogy. See his last novel Queen of the Depths for what I mean there. I had a feeling dragons would appear and they did. I was disappointed by this story. Average at best.

#2- "The Staff of Valmaxian" by Philip Athans. Athans was the editor of this book, so I am a bit surprised he found time to write his own short story as well. Decent short story here. As with most short stories they either grab you quick and interest you, or you have to drudge through and finish it to move one. I enjoyed this story, but not to the extent I was hoping. Slightly above average for this one.

#3- "Necessary Sacrafices" by Lisa Smedman. This story, I think anyway, is the crown jewel of this anthology. It was a fantastic read. It has a small compact plot, interesting characters and a very, very good ending. In fact I gasped at the ending of this. This story grabbed me right away and didn't let go the whole time. Excellent read in my opinion.

#4- "The Greater Treasure" By Erik Scott de Bie. This story is the hardest to rate out of this anthology. There were some things I liked, the Character Twilight for example and some things I didn't like, the character Yldar for example. The actual story, plot etc, is pretty good. I still think Mr. de Bie's short story in the last Realms of the Dragons anthology was better. This story does have some good moments though. Above average for this one.

#5- "Comrades at Arms" by R.A. Salvatore. This story is probably the most anticipated short story in this anthology because it features Drizzt. However, some Salvatore fans may be a little disappointed in that it's not the classic hack and slash Drizzt we see here. This story is all character development for Drizzt. Saying that other Salvatore fans will absolutely love it. Myself, I would have like to see a mixture of both, but that is merely my opinion. Very good story none-the-less.

#6- "Tears so White" by Ed Greenwood. There are few books or stories by Greenwood that I have ever liked. This proves to be no exception. I did not finish this story because, to me, it had very little flow and even less purpose. I will withhold a rating on this one for fear personal bias would cloud that judgment.

#7 - "The Bladesinger's Lesson" by Richard Baker. Mr. Baker does a very good job in writing this short story. He captures the readers attention right away and keeps the plot moving at a pretty good pace. Not only is the plot good, but he made me care about the main character in just a few pages. While I don't think this story is as good as Ms. Smedman's, I think it is right up there with Salvatore's. Very good read.

In my opinion there are four good stories in this anthology. Most are fairly quick reads, so even if you don't like them you didn't waste too much time at all. I recommend this anthology to fans of the Realms, but if you have no connection to the Forgotten Realms there are probably betted books out there for you to buy.
3183673
I LOVED Volume #1, and Volume #2 didn't disappoint in the slightest!
71389
The Glassheart Chronicles is a collection of short stories. I believe this is the first anthology that I have read.

I enjoyed some of the stories more than others. A couple of the stories are part of series that I have read so was a bit more drawn towards those. There were some that I just couldn't get into.

These are a quick read with some fun stories. So if you have read books by any of these author or would like to discover a new author, this is a good anthology to start with. This e-arc was provided to me by one of the authors for review. This did not affect my review in any way.