What do you think?
Rate this book
Kate Shugak #0.5, 13.5, 13.6, 15.5, 17.5, 19.
The Collected Short Stories
Edgar-award winning author Dana Stabenow is best-known for her Kate Shugak novels, but the unifying protagonist of almost all her writing—be it crime, fantasy, horror, or science fiction—is Alaska. This genre-spanning collection of 16 short stories features familiar characters like Kate and Jim, Liam and Wy, and Bill and Moses, but also ranges farther afield than many readers will expect, leaping from modern-day Anchorage to 22nd-century Mars to the fantasy kingdom of Mnemosynea. Remarkably disparate, but indisputably Stabenow, whose fertile imagination is anything but predictable.
Titles in this collection: "Nooses Give," "Conspiracy," "Under the Influence," "Wreck Rights," "Cherchez la Femme," "Siren Song," "The Eyak Interpreter," "Any Taint of Vice," "On the Evidence," "Missing, Presumed…," "The Perfect Gift," "Gold Fever," "Cheechako," "No Place Like Home," "Justice is a Two-edged Sword," and "A Woman’s Work."
Titles in this collection: "Nooses Give," "Conspiracy," "Under the Influence," "Wreck Rights," "Cherchez la Femme," "Siren Song," "The Eyak Interpreter," "Any Taint of Vice," "On the Evidence," "Missing, Presumed…," "The Perfect Gift," "Gold Fever," "Cheechako," "No Place Like Home," "Justice is a Two-edged Sword," and "A Woman’s Work."
356 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 20, 2013
102 people are currently reading
207 people want to read
About the author
Dana Stabenow
104 books2,145 followersDana Stabenow was born in Anchorage and raised on 75-foot fish tender in the Gulf of Alaska. She knew there was a warmer, drier job out there somewhere.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
July 22, 2018
Now I think I've read all the Kate Shugak that is out there. Next up: reread!
July 15, 2016
For some reason, "The Collected Short Stories" are not available as an audiobook, so I've picked up the ebook version and I'm having to imagine Marguerite Gavin's voice in my ear as I read.
I bought the collection because I wanted to see how Dana Stabenow handles the short story form and I wanted to know more about Kate Shugak. Having read all of the Kate Shugak series, I was a little miffed to find that some of the events in the twentieth book are triggered by Kate's actions in a short story I hadn't read. So now I'm catching up.
The collection issplit into five parts: eight Kate Shugak stories, two Liam Campbell stories, three "Alaska" stories, a Star Svendotter story and two Mnemosynea stories, a completely new universe for me that turned out to be great fun. There are also excepts from "A Cold Day For Murder", "Fire And Ice" and "Second Star"
The Kate Shugak stories were a welcome opportunity to get my imagination back into that universe and remind myself of why I enjoyed being there so much.
The first one "Nooses Give" is the one that later causes Kate so much trouble. It takes place a little before the first book, "A Cold Day For Murder" and shows a Kate who is both haunted and fierce. The story is told in a stark, matter-of-fact style that is quite chilling. The economy of the text has confidence of a Japanese line drawing: If I hadn't already read the Kate Shugak novels, this story would have had me reaching for them.
"Wreck Rights" is a mini-mystery that I enjoyed mainly for the chance to revisit that period where Kate was intentionally driving Jim crazy by making him aware that, even though he'd left her, he couldn't be in the same room as her without being distracted.
"Siren Song" stands out as a first-rate short story, rather than a vignette from a larger piece. The non-linear structure of the story is a perfect fit for the content and the question of "was justice done" gets a more complex answer than usual.
"The Eyak Interpreter" is fun because it's told from Johnny's point of view in the form of a series of blog posts. "Any Taint Of Vice" could have been a good main plot in a novel but felt a little rushed in short story form.
I've never really liked Liam Campbell but I enjoyed the books despite that. They have a harder, less romantic edge than the Kate Shugak books. The sex is more direct, the violence a little more graphic and there is an air of atonement, wrapped in mysticism that the Kate books don't have.
The first Liam Campbell story "On The Evidence" is a good example of what the Liam books have to offer: murders in the snow, fights into the wilderness in alarmingly small planes, dogged detection and a dash of spooky intuition. It's also a well structured short story that is strong enough to stand alone.
"Missing, Presumed..." is a vignette describing the cute.meet between two of my favourite characters in the Liam Campbell books: Bill Billingtong - a strong, older woman who runs a bar / diner and is also the (feared and respected) local magistrate and Moses Alakuyak an elder who hears voices that he drinks to make go away and who, among other things, teaches Campbell Tai Chi. In "Missing, Presumed..." Bill encounters Moses for the first time as juror on a inquest into the death of a sailor at sea that she is presiding over. I enjoyed seeing Bill when she was still coming to terms with being a magistrate and still coming to terms with her strong attraction to Moses.
The Alaskan Stories are connected only by being in Alaska. "The Perfect Gift" is a fun werewolf story, skillfully and stylishly accomplished, that I first encountered in Charlaine Harris' "Wolfsbane and Miseltoe" Christmas anthology. "Gold Fever" is an amusing, if slight, tale of bad people who plan well. "Cheekako" is an atmospheric historical tale of the pragmatic justice meted out during the Klondyke gold rush.
The Star Svensdotter story was an intriguing idea but a little underdeveloped. I'd have preferred to see the situation worked through a little more before a resolution was reached
The Mnemosynea stories were an unexpected delight. Who knew that Dana Stabenow wrote Sword & Sorcery stories? I really enjoyed the two stories here. The world show is rich with possibilities and the proposition in original and intriguing. I hope Dana Stabenow finds the time to turn this into a novel, or two, or three..
I bought the collection because I wanted to see how Dana Stabenow handles the short story form and I wanted to know more about Kate Shugak. Having read all of the Kate Shugak series, I was a little miffed to find that some of the events in the twentieth book are triggered by Kate's actions in a short story I hadn't read. So now I'm catching up.
The collection issplit into five parts: eight Kate Shugak stories, two Liam Campbell stories, three "Alaska" stories, a Star Svendotter story and two Mnemosynea stories, a completely new universe for me that turned out to be great fun. There are also excepts from "A Cold Day For Murder", "Fire And Ice" and "Second Star"
The Kate Shugak stories were a welcome opportunity to get my imagination back into that universe and remind myself of why I enjoyed being there so much.
The first one "Nooses Give" is the one that later causes Kate so much trouble. It takes place a little before the first book, "A Cold Day For Murder" and shows a Kate who is both haunted and fierce. The story is told in a stark, matter-of-fact style that is quite chilling. The economy of the text has confidence of a Japanese line drawing: If I hadn't already read the Kate Shugak novels, this story would have had me reaching for them.
"Wreck Rights" is a mini-mystery that I enjoyed mainly for the chance to revisit that period where Kate was intentionally driving Jim crazy by making him aware that, even though he'd left her, he couldn't be in the same room as her without being distracted.
"Siren Song" stands out as a first-rate short story, rather than a vignette from a larger piece. The non-linear structure of the story is a perfect fit for the content and the question of "was justice done" gets a more complex answer than usual.
"The Eyak Interpreter" is fun because it's told from Johnny's point of view in the form of a series of blog posts. "Any Taint Of Vice" could have been a good main plot in a novel but felt a little rushed in short story form.
I've never really liked Liam Campbell but I enjoyed the books despite that. They have a harder, less romantic edge than the Kate Shugak books. The sex is more direct, the violence a little more graphic and there is an air of atonement, wrapped in mysticism that the Kate books don't have.
The first Liam Campbell story "On The Evidence" is a good example of what the Liam books have to offer: murders in the snow, fights into the wilderness in alarmingly small planes, dogged detection and a dash of spooky intuition. It's also a well structured short story that is strong enough to stand alone.
"Missing, Presumed..." is a vignette describing the cute.meet between two of my favourite characters in the Liam Campbell books: Bill Billingtong - a strong, older woman who runs a bar / diner and is also the (feared and respected) local magistrate and Moses Alakuyak an elder who hears voices that he drinks to make go away and who, among other things, teaches Campbell Tai Chi. In "Missing, Presumed..." Bill encounters Moses for the first time as juror on a inquest into the death of a sailor at sea that she is presiding over. I enjoyed seeing Bill when she was still coming to terms with being a magistrate and still coming to terms with her strong attraction to Moses.
The Alaskan Stories are connected only by being in Alaska. "The Perfect Gift" is a fun werewolf story, skillfully and stylishly accomplished, that I first encountered in Charlaine Harris' "Wolfsbane and Miseltoe" Christmas anthology. "Gold Fever" is an amusing, if slight, tale of bad people who plan well. "Cheekako" is an atmospheric historical tale of the pragmatic justice meted out during the Klondyke gold rush.
The Star Svensdotter story was an intriguing idea but a little underdeveloped. I'd have preferred to see the situation worked through a little more before a resolution was reached
The Mnemosynea stories were an unexpected delight. Who knew that Dana Stabenow wrote Sword & Sorcery stories? I really enjoyed the two stories here. The world show is rich with possibilities and the proposition in original and intriguing. I hope Dana Stabenow finds the time to turn this into a novel, or two, or three..
Read
September 3, 2022I don't plan to read all of the short stories - mostly those from the Kate Shugak series and the Alaska Short stories, still added the details for all of them, based on the current Amazon page number of 529 pages and Kindle locations of 4898. I follow the order within the book (with differs from series and table of content orders)
Kate Shugak Short Stories
#1: Nooses Give 4* 9/3/22 (35) Kate Shugak #0.5
#2: Conspiracy ?* ?/?/? (13) Kate Shugak #15.5
#3: Under the Influence ?* ?/?/? (3) Kate Shugak #13.5
#4: Wreck Rights ?* ?/?/? (47) Kate Shugak #13.6
#5: Cherchez la Femme ?* ?/?/? (21) Kate Shugak #17.5
#6: Siren Song ?* ?/?/? (22) Kate Shugak #17.25
#7: The Eyak Interpreter ?* ?/?/? (29) Kate Shugak #?
#8: Any Taint of Vice ?* ?/?/? (36) Kate Shugak #19.5
Liam Campbell Short Stories
#9: On the Evidence ?* ?/?/? (32) Liam Campbell #4.5
#10: Missing, Presumed... ?* ?/?/? (33) Liam Campbell #4.25
Alaska Short Stories
#11: The Perfect Gift ?* ?/?/? (22)
#12: Gold Fever ?* ?/?/? (15)
#13: Cheechako ?* ?/?/? (38)
Star Svensdotter Short Story
#14: No Place Like Home ?* ?/?/? (13) Star Svensdotter #1.5
Seer and Sword The Mnemosynea Short Stories
#15: Justice is a Two-edged Sword (48) Seer and Sword #1
#16: A Woman’s Work (55) Seer and Sword #2
Excerpts from:
A Cold Day for Murder (23)
Fire and Ice (7)
Second Star (29)
All the additional stuff (Table of Content/About the Author/Book lists…) (7)
Kate Shugak Short Stories
#1: Nooses Give 4* 9/3/22 (35) Kate Shugak #0.5
#2: Conspiracy ?* ?/?/? (13) Kate Shugak #15.5
#3: Under the Influence ?* ?/?/? (3) Kate Shugak #13.5
#4: Wreck Rights ?* ?/?/? (47) Kate Shugak #13.6
#5: Cherchez la Femme ?* ?/?/? (21) Kate Shugak #17.5
#6: Siren Song ?* ?/?/? (22) Kate Shugak #17.25
#7: The Eyak Interpreter ?* ?/?/? (29) Kate Shugak #?
#8: Any Taint of Vice ?* ?/?/? (36) Kate Shugak #19.5
Liam Campbell Short Stories
#9: On the Evidence ?* ?/?/? (32) Liam Campbell #4.5
#10: Missing, Presumed... ?* ?/?/? (33) Liam Campbell #4.25
Alaska Short Stories
#11: The Perfect Gift ?* ?/?/? (22)
#12: Gold Fever ?* ?/?/? (15)
#13: Cheechako ?* ?/?/? (38)
Star Svensdotter Short Story
#14: No Place Like Home ?* ?/?/? (13) Star Svensdotter #1.5
Seer and Sword The Mnemosynea Short Stories
#15: Justice is a Two-edged Sword (48) Seer and Sword #1
#16: A Woman’s Work (55) Seer and Sword #2
Excerpts from:
A Cold Day for Murder (23)
Fire and Ice (7)
Second Star (29)
All the additional stuff (Table of Content/About the Author/Book lists…) (7)
May 17, 2017
Great storyteller
She writes with such detail that you wish you could be in Alaska tomorrow. Her characters become good friends. All the knowledge she shares about the history of the people who came before is overwhelming.
She writes with such detail that you wish you could be in Alaska tomorrow. Her characters become good friends. All the knowledge she shares about the history of the people who came before is overwhelming.
October 8, 2023
Overall enjoyable. The authors notes are fun. The essays have _alot_ of repetitive material.
Nooses Give (Kate 1.5 previously read) ***
Conspiracy (Kate 15.5) ***
Under the Influence (Kate 13.5) **
Wreck Rites (Kate 13.6) ***
Cherchez la Femme (Kate 17.5) ***
Siren Song (Kate 17.25) ***
The Eyak Interpreter (Kate ?) ***
Any Taint of Vice (Kate 19.5) **
On the Evidence (Liam 4.5) **
Missing, Presumed… (Liam 4.25) **
The Perfect Gift (Alaska story) **
Gold Fever (Alaska story) **
Cheechako (Alaska story) **
No Place Like Home (Star 1.5) ***
Justice is a Two-edged Sword ***
A Woman’s Work ***
Essays
Nooses Give (Kate 1.5 previously read) ***
Conspiracy (Kate 15.5) ***
Under the Influence (Kate 13.5) **
Wreck Rites (Kate 13.6) ***
Cherchez la Femme (Kate 17.5) ***
Siren Song (Kate 17.25) ***
The Eyak Interpreter (Kate ?) ***
Any Taint of Vice (Kate 19.5) **
On the Evidence (Liam 4.5) **
Missing, Presumed… (Liam 4.25) **
The Perfect Gift (Alaska story) **
Gold Fever (Alaska story) **
Cheechako (Alaska story) **
No Place Like Home (Star 1.5) ***
Justice is a Two-edged Sword ***
A Woman’s Work ***
Essays
May 21, 2024
I read all that I wanted. 524 pages of short stories is too much for me. My interest begins to wander after about 50 pages. This book had the Kate Shugack stories first. I read all of those and a few of the others. If you like short stories and particularly if you like stores without a firm ending, this book is for you.
March 25, 2019
Good collection
I really enjoyed this collection of stories that take me around Alaska, space, and a fantasy world of sword & sorceress. Each story stands alone, but there is the rich feel of a world unexplored and waiting.
I really enjoyed this collection of stories that take me around Alaska, space, and a fantasy world of sword & sorceress. Each story stands alone, but there is the rich feel of a world unexplored and waiting.
April 5, 2019
Short stories from my favorite author!
I got what I wanted! Fun, great characters full of intrigue and sass, settings that joined the cast and mysteries to be solved.
I got what I wanted! Fun, great characters full of intrigue and sass, settings that joined the cast and mysteries to be solved.
October 14, 2019
I like Stabenow's series of mysteries with Liam Campbell and Kate Shugak. These stories were mostly about these two and the people surrounding them but I didn't care for the collection. Oh well.
December 7, 2019
Very enjoyable
March 14, 2021
Wonderful stories by my favorite author! Revisiting characters from the novels was like seeing old friends.
April 30, 2021
Dana Stabenow writes on every level about life in extremis. That’s why I love her. Others do that too, but combine that with a beautiful style, her worlds absorb me like no other; I read her books on a loop. This most recent find has left me breathless as it fills in the cracks that I had thought I’d misunderstood: off-stage, asides, back stories and deep dives. Loved it.
January 16, 2022
I’ve only read the Kate Shugak stories so far, though.
July 11, 2024
Alaskan society and great storytelling are evident with all these stories.
September 3, 2024
Pretty boring compared to the main books in the series.
dnf
September 4, 2024I really loved the Kate Shugak and Liam Campbell short stories - especially the one with Bill and Moses’ meet-cute haha. Couldn’t get into the other stories unfortunately…
February 2, 2023
I should have started here.
I've been a fan for 9 years, starting with Dana's appearance in the Alaska Sampler books in 2014. She writes about real, gritty subjects as if she was handcuffed to the perps and heroes as they went about their mayhem. She writes like she has been there because she has. And the scars show through.
This collection of short stories and sketches starts with her life on a north-Pacific fishing boat, hooking salmon into the hole in the deck and falling in the hole; at the age of eight. Maybe that's why she refused to eat salmon until she was thirty-five. Other passages have her changing the oil filter under her dad's car, climbing the Chilcoot Trail to Bennett Lake and butchering a moose.
She includes teasers from her best-selling novel series and her very first novel, planting the seeds for more adventures. All in all, this is a good read. Buy it. Read it. Then try to convince me I'm wrong.
I've been a fan for 9 years, starting with Dana's appearance in the Alaska Sampler books in 2014. She writes about real, gritty subjects as if she was handcuffed to the perps and heroes as they went about their mayhem. She writes like she has been there because she has. And the scars show through.
This collection of short stories and sketches starts with her life on a north-Pacific fishing boat, hooking salmon into the hole in the deck and falling in the hole; at the age of eight. Maybe that's why she refused to eat salmon until she was thirty-five. Other passages have her changing the oil filter under her dad's car, climbing the Chilcoot Trail to Bennett Lake and butchering a moose.
She includes teasers from her best-selling novel series and her very first novel, planting the seeds for more adventures. All in all, this is a good read. Buy it. Read it. Then try to convince me I'm wrong.
December 3, 2015
I'd originally got the stories individually - but having them all in one place makes it a lot easier to read them in order. This is a good collection comprising stories about both Dana's established characters, and the more one-off ones, often including Bush justice (even on Frontier Mars) - or lack thereof. And I did enjoy the homage to Raymond Chandler, in "Any Taint of Vice". As a long standing fan of Dana's books, I wasn't sure it needed the excepts from the first books of the three main series (Kate Shugak, Liam Campbell, Star Svensdotter), but it did remind me that I really ought to read the Star Svensdotter trilogy.
I think the two Mnemosynea fantasy stories are the most interesting find, though. I hope she makes good on her joking suggestion to write a full novel about the Sword and the Seer.
I think the two Mnemosynea fantasy stories are the most interesting find, though. I hope she makes good on her joking suggestion to write a full novel about the Sword and the Seer.
September 29, 2014
Justice is a Two Edged Sword and A Woman's Work were really great stories and only different from Stabenow's usual wonderful writing, in where they are set.
It's always nice to visit with Kate and Liam even if only for a short time.
It's always nice to visit with Kate and Liam even if only for a short time.
February 21, 2016
A Temporary Fix
A good mix of the author's work. I most enjoyed the short stories related to Kate Shugak. This satisfied, temporarily, my desire for more. Since it has been a while, I guess the Kate Shugak series has come to an end. She will be missed.
A good mix of the author's work. I most enjoyed the short stories related to Kate Shugak. This satisfied, temporarily, my desire for more. Since it has been a while, I guess the Kate Shugak series has come to an end. She will be missed.
December 12, 2015
good supplemental stories to her Alaskan novels.
December 25, 2025
There were a few stories here in the Kate Shugak timeline that I liked. I also liked her life events that led to her becoming the author we know today.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews