Monday, July 4, 2011

Naked City-Ellen Datlow (editor)

Naked City
Ellen Datlow (editor)
St. Martin’s Griffin, Jul 5 2011, $15.99
ISBN: 9780312385248

Starting with Dresden attending a Cub game where he tries to do the impossible by removing “Curses” preventing the team from winning, this twenty tale collection of urban fantasies is a winner for sub-genre fans. Batting second, Delia Sherman tells readers “How the Pooka Came to New York City” with the Irish immigrants in 1855. “Fairy Gifts” by Patricia Briggs stars a vampire in Big Sky Country paying a debt to the Fae who removed a curse haunting him. The Graveminders’ entry “Guns for the Dead” by Melissa Marr stars deceased Frankie Lee seeking employment similar to the felonious jobs he had as a mortal. Under a Seattle bridge, bitter children's literature Professor Richardson meets an equally cynical troll in Peter S. Beagle's "Underbridge." The other contributions are excellent while warning readers to watch out for the hand that serves man (see “Noble Rot” by Holly Black) as the price may be more than just your life. These “Tales of Urban Fantasy” make for one of the year’s best anthologies regardless of genre.

Harriet Klausner

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