Unique Collection of Shorts!
356986
Some were a real hoot!  Others were fortunate to have been included. Overall a decent way to pass the time.
2555712
Love this collection, especially for the price!! If you like "chick flicks" and haven't seen these movies, you should definitely splurge a little bit.
4243864
This is a collection of five short stories, all featuring various characters from Jim Hines' Goblin books [Goblin Quest, Goblin Hero, Goblin War] that help fill in some interesting background. While all of the stories have been previously published in various collections and magazines, it was wonderfully convenient to have them all assembled in one place
In general, I'm a big fan of writers who fill in bits and pieces around a series with short fiction-it's like going to the movies and running into an old friend in the ticket line. You not only enjoy the film, but you have someone to chat about it over coffee afterward.
The stories are basically in chronological order. They start at the very beginning of our interest in goblins with Jig as a not-so-adorable baby goblin in "Goblin Lullaby," which focuses on another goblin with a lot of ingenuity: Grell. In some ways it reminded me of the fight scene in Hellboy involving a large monster and a box of kittens.
Next up is "The Haunting of Jig's Ear," showing Jig as a young goblin, already being picked on for his small stature, and already refusing to just go along to get along. So we see the beginnings of him using his mind to overcome his size disadvantage. But never forget he is a goblin.
"Goblin Hunter" is the important introduction of Smudge, Jig's fire-spider "pet" and staunch companion. Smudge is my favorite character from the series, and it's nice to know how he and Jig got together.
"School Spirit" moves out of the Goblin caves with an episode from the the life of Veda (from Goblin Hero). She has made it to a magician's school, but is facing the inevitable prejudice because she is a goblin.
My favorite story in the collection is the last one, "Mightier Than the Sword." This one introduces the concept of the libriomancer, someone who can breech the barriers between our reality and the world of various books. Smudge even has a cameo in the story. There will be an upcoming trilogy featuring the world of the libriomancer-I know I'm looking forward to it!
2791936
I love the concept of this collection - short stories inspired by famous works of art - and found most of the stories quite imaginative and satisfying.  The collection is diverse and fairly even.  In some cases, the historical piece of art itself is an element of the story, while in others the subject matter of the piece serves as a springboard for the story.  It all comes together as an enjoyable and creative collection that will appeal to art aficionados and literary aficionados at the same time.  A fine collection of modern short fiction assembled around a fascinating theme.
3190323
My, my ... what an ANTHOLOGY!!!

On the whole, there seemed to be many more fantasy stories than SF, but that is not really a complaint; I loved the stories selected for inclusion.

Some of my very favorites?

Bacigalupi's Mika Model gave an awesome execution to an idea we have seen before. I loved how he made it so new again! The man is a master at short works.

Novik's Spinning Silver was ephemeral. It actually felt like 2 stories, rather than 1. I love her lyrical style!

Larson's You Make Pattaya was so much fun! It's about a grifter working in Thailand, and an opportunity of a lifetime that presents itself. One of the best of the best, this one.

Alyssa Wong had a wonderful western short story, about witches of all things! A snapshot of the human condition, I suppose, in a most brilliant sense. Only, with a very unusual backdrop.

I'll pick one more to highlight: Seth Dickinson's Laws of Night and Silk. If I could give this one story ten stars, I would. The book more than pays for itself, with the inclusion of this precious, MOST precious blue diamond, atop an already gorgeous corona.

As an anthology, it's the best one I have read since Dozois's 2016 Best Of annual collection (and I admit, I'm completely biased when it comes to Mr Gardner Dozois).

Wonderful. A great balance, even though I'd have been a tad bit happier with a couple more fantasy stories. Still, a PERFECT anthology. Not one complaint. That fantasy comment? A mere QUIBBLE. IF that!

Thank you to the publisher for the review eARC!
4241704
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is in no way reflected in my opinion of this story.

I Can Taste The Blood is an interesting anthology of novellas. A lot of anthologies have a theme to connect the stories but this was one of the most unique ones I've come across. All of the stories share the same title. The five novellas in this book are each very different in both style and content, ranging from horror to a stream of conscience type story straight out of a fever dream. My two favorite stories in this collection are John F.D. Taff's story, a phenomenal body horror nightmare with hints of The Old Ones. And Josh Malerman's story which is reminiscent of a fantastic folktale told around a campfire as a warning about strangers. This anthology is both entertaining and thought provoking. I highly recommend this 4 star collection.
3061601
Some of the shorts are better than others however none of them are bad reads! Couldnt stop reading it and plan on giving it another go soon to see if I missed any little connections. But right now a few stories are stuck in my brain and have no way to get out!

Really awesome read. I signed up for the free advance copy but plan on actually buying it to support the authors, it is that good.
1664017
As is true in any short story collection, there were stories that I really liked and others not so much. Overall, however, I really enjoyed this collection. Don't expect many happy endings, after all these are war stories! These stories are by all means something different!
3862054
In this eclectic volume of materials culled from digital and print publications, you will find short snippets of prose and poetry, as well as full blown journalistic articles, fiction pieces, and graphic novellas.

The subject matters range from musings about life's silliness (for example, reportings on fast-food-related crimes and an adult woman who sued her alma mater for not giving her an education that could land her a job), to reflections on the costs of war, capitalism, oppression, and poverty, to questions about the meaning of identity and freedom, and poignant accounts of children coming to grips with the passing of a parent.

The featured authors range from up-and-coming ones like Lille Carre and Rana Dasgupta to well-known writers like Kurt Vonnegut.

The jumble of themes and the slight preponderance of entries dealing with "serious" subject matters such as war, death, oppression, and poverty may not make for a relaxed reading for some readers, but if you're willing to venture out of your comfort zone a little bit, you'll find that there are some real gems in this collection worth discovering, for they'll make you sit up and take notice of their authors' fresh or offbeat takes on and reactions to an event or human condition.

My favorite gem from this anthology, for example, is Bryan Furuness' "Man of Steel", a poignant account of a boy's attempt to reimagining how different things might have been if only he'd been able to use his "super powers" to "save" his mother, and how his father tried to help him come to grips with their loss.
4824222
An enjoyable collection of short stories, all revolving around the theme of creepy things you might find below the surface of the water. Oceans seem to be a common location, but rivers and even aquariums make an appearance as well!

The international cast of authors brings a variety of cultural viewpoints to this collection of stories. While there were similar types of sea monsters appearing in each of the stories (mermaids, for instance), the differences were great enough that each story was genuinely unique and enjoyable in its own right. Japanese and Australian sea creatures made an appearance, and I LOVED reading these stories.

My personal favorite story was "A Senseless Eating Machine" by Jef Rouner. It reminded me of Jaws. But not the movie. More like, the ride from Disney World. Possessed by demons or something. Not at all what I was expecting, but totally original and creepy.
1908233
A thoughtfully conceived collections of stories by an interesting variety of writers. Definitely worth a look!
1148513
This is such a cool series.  If you aren't familiar with it yet, do something about it!  I have a subscription and just received issue 6... oh my goodness!  The graphics are so amazing... i can't believe that every issue this thing looks better and better.  If you are a shorts lover, don't miss it.  If you aren't, I bet you'll become one.  FilmFest has some great selections of shorts and interviews... check it out!
1575278
Fantastic collection of horror stories! They're often quite short, so there's a lot here, and with a surprising amount of variety. There's a grubbiness to a lot of the settings, so I'd recommend it to fans of Laird Barron or Nathan Ballingrud.
3126746
Lovers of Disney and Pixar should have this compilation. So interesting to see the evolution of these shorts, from their earliest ones to the more mainstream ones later on. I can't wait for more!
1382541
Wonderful collection of short stories some, new, some old, around the title theme of unusual creatures. Werewolves, unicorns, a dragon or two, and an answer to why you can never find a safety pun when you need one.
411838
I recently had the pleasure of reading Mark Lukens A Dark Collection: 12 Scary Stories. Its a great little Horror anthology, and when I finished it on the bus this morning I knew I had to give it a good review this afternoon. I came across A Dark Collection while just randomly searching for scary story anthologies on Amazon, (I don't recall the exact search terms) and buying (for Kindle) one with a good cover and good reviews. For $2.99, I definitely got my moneys worth.

Lukens collection is composed of 12 stories, one for each month, with a theme (usually loosely) connected to that month. The horrors of each story range from Navajo skinwalkers, to eccentric millionaire manhunters, to psychic cult leaders, to good-old-fashioned zombies (but with a major twist.) Each story is different, and vary considerably in length. They all felt the proper length for their content; the pacing was good.

I found myself engaged in each story from start to finish. Lukens does a good job of revealing information at a pace that intrigues me without leaving me bored. He has a good minimalist descriptive style; theres every adjective there needs to be, and not one more. The dialogue and thoughts of characters are for the most part quite natural and contribute to characterization and moving the story along. Lukens uses all the senses (where they make sense) in his great descriptions of action, unsettling environments, and disturbing gore. The stories don't lean on excessive gore to be scary, either!

I think my three favorite stories were: Crow Manor (January), Squish (March), and Skinwalkers (September). The first because it was intriguing and suspenseful from start to finish, the second because it was a wonderful kind of disturbing, and the third because it was a  creepy and unique portrayal of a non-Western monster, and used its period (the Wild West) well.

The next time I want a new Horror book, Ill look to Mark Lukens again. I hope he writes another anthology, because this ones great!
4033503
One of my goals for 2013 is to read more short fiction. This collection definitely fit the bill. I love short fiction, and I love well-done humor. This anthology is nicely balanced. The humor ranges from puns with elaborate set-ups that are a great deal of fun to more subtle humor that doesn't make you laugh out loud, but may make you chuckle. Evilly, even.

I think there's definitely something in this collection for everyone, no matter what your sense of humor. The comics are a nice addition I wasn't expecting, although my one complaint is that they're awfully hard to read on the Kindle edition. Luckily, I have a print edition, as well, so I can see them there.

I was just looking at the table of contents to see if I could pick a favorite. Harder than I thought.

"El and Al vs. Himmler's Horrendous Horde from Hell" by Mike Resnick is definitely in the top few. Resnick is one of the masters of short fiction, and this story kept me giggling throughout. Just imagine Albert Einstein as a wizard fighting Himmler...and you still don't really come close. You need to read it.

I also really enjoyed "The Alien Invasion As Seen In The Twitter Stream of @dweebless" by Jake Kerr. If you're on Twitter, you'll doubly appreciate the humor.

"The Velveteen Golem" by David Sklar also satisfied by providing an entirely hilarious story that surprised me at the end with a deplorable (meaning really good, in this case) word pun, that I should have seen coming but didn't.

I think of all of them, Jody Lynn Nye's "The Worm's Eye View" and Ferrett Steinmetz's "One-Hand Tantra" were my favorites. Nye's story is a good hard sci-fi story that manages to weave humor into it in a way that doesn't detract from the science fiction. Kudos to her for that.

Steinmetz's story...ah, what I can say about this that won't get me banned from Amazon? :) "Hilarious!" That works. I mean, who knew masturbation could be a magical power?

You'll definitely find something here to tickle your funny bone.