Good Collection of Tales from Some Top Authors
581880
A good collection of tales here from some top-notch authors. Nicely edited as well. I've read several of these types of collections and some of them seemed like no one had taken the time to proof read them before publishing. They generally have lots misspellings and such. Not the case with this collection! It is really first rate and a good overall read to boot!
1751274
This is a collection of some 20 fantasy stories all written in 2008 (at least according to the copyright page).  I'd not seen them in any other collection prior to this so I'm thinking possibly they were written *for* this particular collection.

Overall I found this collection quite enjoyable, though I preferred the stories in the first half over those in the second half it seemed like.  There are some REAL winners here  Most of the ones I liked seemed like they were part of a larger world created by the author, either one that existed in other works or which was first-made for this one.  A couple I flat couldn't even understand but as with any such collection I just skipped them--that's always a blessing when you've got many stories to work with.

Recommended mostly for collectors of such fantasy story collections or if you just want something that will work out to be fairly light reading.
2389350
I am completely addicted to the O. Henry Award short story anthologies, which I have been collecting for decades. Some years have a better harvest of stories than others, but for the most part, the editor and the screening committee sift through hundreds of potential winners to offer the best of the best--according to their opinions--between two covers.

This year's collection is good but not outstanding. There were some VERY creative approaches but among them were stories that sounded like the final project for a writing seminar. "Something for a Young Woman," by Genevieve Plunkett, was one of these. Although it held my attention, it didn't give me anything new.

Kevin Berry's "A Cruelty" was one of the standouts, and it stuck with me for some time.

(I admit I have not yet read all of the stories because I like to save some for later in the year.)

I would recommend this series to anyone who loves the short story. Even if you come across some that don't really grab you, there are a lot of gems that you will appreciate. I can't give a full five stars only because I feel like the vision of the editors may be a little narrow, but who knows what next year will bring?

Happy reading !!!
4453480
An excellent collection of stories with a lot of diversity in content and writing styles. If you are someone like me without much free time. Collections like these of bite-sized stories are just right. In addition, it introduces you to new authors in which you might be interested in looking at some of their other work. This gives you that opportunity without a huge investment in time to get to know them.
3852071
Lots of good authors - shorter stories, great for beach or travel.
4752176
Though not a totally stellar collection, there are some stories that I consider real clunkers in this, it is a nice collection by an author not widely known to many people.
  The stories aren't sheer entertainment here, they are entertaining, generally, but of a higher caliber, thought-provoking and displaying a wide-breadth of subject matter and technique. As I mentioned, they can be somewhat cynical, sometimes whimsical,and always satirical.
  Tenn's afterwords to each story provide some interesting insights, and in a couple cases give good reason anyone would display some cynicism
  Overall it was good enough that I shall be trying to get the second volume. The good stories repaid the effort put into reading them and more than made up for the stories I personally did not like.
1378688
Terrific collection from one of the masters of the short story and a personal favorite.  Stand out stories include:

The Head Hunter - a tale of madness concerning an executioner in Berlin
The Weird Tailor - a tailor undertakes an unusual commission that proves tragic
The Pin - unbelievable power and responsibility is contained within a silver pin and woe to the person who welds it
The Cure - in Brazil, a thief learns firsthand the horror of what happens when something is lost in translation
Talent - Andrew Benson had talent; he could imitate anybody or anything
A Case of the Stubborns - it takes a visit to the Conjure Lady to convince Grandpa that he's dead
Nina - Nolan learns the folly of fornicating with one of the Snake people

Highly recommended.
4565349
I have a story in this anthology. Perhaps that means I shouldn't review it. But there are so many good tales here. You will shiver at some. Laugh with others. This is a good collection of entertaining stories. Spoil yourself and sit down for some fun . . . or fear. Whichever, this will not be wasted time. It'll bring moments of relaxing enjoyment.
2440344
This short story collection is a fun read, and had tales I hadn't expected from some authors I really like.  Like all short story collections, some don't quite fit the overall theme very well.  One story breaks one of the cardinal rules of mystery, that the mystery story was terribly incomplete, with no closure or capture.  That tale plainly is part of a longer novel and was not long enough to either make a good mystery or introduce the world to new readers.  Stories that combine the limitations of mysteries and fantasy are difficult to pull off, and the tale by Diane Duane and the homage by Lee and Miller are especially good.
3263412
I got a copy of this book to review through Librarythings Early Reviewer program.  This is Gaimans third short story collection and it was a good one that covered a wide breadth of genres.  I honestly don't have a ton to say about it, if you enjoy Gaimans writing style you will most likely enjoy this collection.  I am a huge fan and enjoyed it, although I had read some of the stories previously.

There are a broad range of stories in here as well as some poems.  Some stories are very short and some reach nearly novella length.  They cover a very broad variety of topics, although the majority of the stories have some sort of eerie or disconcerting thread through them.

For those who are huge Gaiman fans (like myself) you should be aware that many of these stories have been published elsewhere, so you may have already read them.  I own the individual books for both The Sleeper and the Spindle (incredibly well done fairy tale retelling) and The Truth is a Black Cave in the Mountains (another well done story).  I had also already listened to Click Clack the Rattlebag on Audible (this was a well done creepy Halloween story).

I think my favorite of the bunch was the one where Gaiman did a story for each month of the year; each stories was inspired by tweets from his fans.  I also really enjoyed And Weep, Like Alexander which was a funny little story about a man who un-invents annoying things.  Nothing OClock was another fun story that was set in the Doctor Who universe (I am a huge Doctor Who fan and Gaimans writing style works very well for a Doctor Who story).

I enjoyed many of the stories and believe Gaiman is exceptional at crafting short stories.  This is another of those books where I think the stories would have made a bigger and more long lasting impression on me if I had read one or two of them a night.  Since I was reading this for review I instead read many stories each night and it was a lot to digest.  There weren't really any that stood out as being spectacular, but they were all well done.

Overall a very solid collection of short stories by Gaiman.  They are all very well written and cover a wide breadth of topics.  Definitely pick this up if you are a Neil Gaiman fan; I would also recommend to fans of quirky and eerie short story collections.
4590693
While some may not like the violent nature of many of the stories, this is what most "fairy tales" were all about. If you haven't read the whole collection, you probably don't realize how this one author seems to have originated or at least penned most of our fairy tales and many of the themes found in stories often considered more modern.
1449233
These 11 novellas by big-name authors open doorways to 11 major fantasy universes that are known the world over.  A couple of the pieces herein qualify as short stories, but most are actually novellas.  Whether you like stories that are pure fantasy or mix fantasy and science fiction together, these novellas should hold something for you.  Some of these worlds you may be familiar with, and the stories herein are fresh approaches to well-known subjects.  Others may be new to you, and you can revel in the new worlds that are revealed.  I was familiar with about half the fantasy worlds included in this collection but enjoyed visiting them from these new angles, with these new tales that embroidered the fantasy worlds I already knew.  The other half were new to me, and it was exciting to make their acquaintance.  I've already started sampling other works by the authors in this book, turned on to their work as I was by this collection.

The stories herein are all very well written and read smoothly and easily.  Don't let the collection's large 715 pages put you off; you can read this book in a week if you work at it a little bit.  I read it at the rate of one story a day so the stories wouldn't get all jumbled up in my mind, as sometimes happens when you gobble down short stories or novellas too fast.  Of the whole collection I think I liked Ursula LeGuin's "Dragonfly" best, though I have to say I'm a sucker for Earthsea.  Because there are so many selections herein you should find a few pieces here that you really enjoy, if not at least half the collection.  If you like this book, check out the books that are listed at the beginning of each individual story, for more of the same!
4541920
There are some gems in this collection.  The origins of Bran and Samuel, a laugh out loud story with Ben, just two among them.  Many of the stories in this anthology have been previously published elsewhere, but the handful that were written for this book specifically are worth the price for me.  If you love the Mercyverse, this is a must have.
3979997
a good collection of short stories the book made me look up some of the author's other works
2762861
This anthology, like the Legends series of novellas, is a great introduction to the writings and worlds of some of our best writers going today. The big names are folks I hadn't gotten around to reading yet, and it was nice to get a glimpse of what they can do.

I'll certainly be looking for more from Syne Mitchell ("The Last Mortal Man") as this is the first time I've read a second-person story that really made good use of that unusual viewpoint.  Also, Nina Kiriki Hoffman's story was highly engaging, and an enticement to more of her work.

Some stories are simply odd, others more light-weight, but overall one of the most enjoyable collections I've seen in a long time.
1581697
I'm not usually a huge fan of short stories but I am a fan of vintage or unusual cars (my first car was a 1973 red, white and blue Plymouth Roadrunner) so I decided to take a chance on this collection.

One reason I usually don't like collections like these is that you normally get one or two good (not great) stories and the rest are filler. Boy was I pleasantly surprised with this selection. I really shouldn't have been after noting the lineup of authors - quite a star studded list.

All of the stories are good and there are a few that are great. My favorite was THE KILL SWITCH by Willy Vlautin followed closely by THE PLEASURE OF GOD by Luis Alberto Urrea.

There are all kinds of stories in this collection, most of them dark, and all kinds of vehicles.

It was really a blast reading the assortment and I found some new authors I want to try out on longer pieces of their work.
839360
Several of the leading authors of Lovecraftian literature contributed to this volume and S.T. Joshi has done a good job in offering an interesting variety of stories within the genre.