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Shadow Unit #13
Shadow Unit 13
Contains the episodes "Wild Card" by Leah Bobet, "Underworld" by Elizabeth Bear, "Single Bullet Theory" by Chelsea Polk, and
"Apolysis" by Emma Bull and Will Shetterly.
"Apolysis" by Emma Bull and Will Shetterly.
188 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 14, 2013
8 people are currently reading
70 people want to read
About the author
Emma Bull
83 books690 followersEmma Bull is a science fiction and fantasy author whose best-known novel is War for the Oaks, one of the pioneering works of urban fantasy. She has participated in Terri Windling's Borderland shared universe, which is the setting of her 1994 novel Finder. She sang in the rock-funk band Cats Laughing, and both sang and played guitar in the folk duo The Flash Girls while living in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Her 1991 post-apocalyptic science fiction novel Bone Dance was nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Awards. Bull wrote a screenplay for War for the Oaks, which was made into an 11-minute mini-film designed to look like a film trailer. She made a cameo appearance as the Queen of the Seelie Court, and her husband, Will Shetterly, directed. Bull and Shetterly created the shared universe of Liavek, for which they have both written stories. There are five Liavek collections extant.
She was a member of the writing group The Scribblies, which included Will Shetterly as well as Pamela Dean, Kara Dalkey, Nate Bucklin, Patricia Wrede and Steven Brust. With Steven Brust, Bull wrote Freedom and Necessity (1997), an epistolary novel with subtle fantasy elements set during the 19th century United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Chartist movement.
Bull graduated from Beloit College in 1976. Bull and Shetterly live in Arizona.
Her 1991 post-apocalyptic science fiction novel Bone Dance was nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Awards. Bull wrote a screenplay for War for the Oaks, which was made into an 11-minute mini-film designed to look like a film trailer. She made a cameo appearance as the Queen of the Seelie Court, and her husband, Will Shetterly, directed. Bull and Shetterly created the shared universe of Liavek, for which they have both written stories. There are five Liavek collections extant.
She was a member of the writing group The Scribblies, which included Will Shetterly as well as Pamela Dean, Kara Dalkey, Nate Bucklin, Patricia Wrede and Steven Brust. With Steven Brust, Bull wrote Freedom and Necessity (1997), an epistolary novel with subtle fantasy elements set during the 19th century United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Chartist movement.
Bull graduated from Beloit College in 1976. Bull and Shetterly live in Arizona.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 22, 2014
"Wild Card" - by Leah Bobet. Um, this is like the mildest, least violent Shadow Unit story ever; why is it prefaced by a content warning when the ones that are way more triggery aren't? Confused.
"Underworld" - by Elizabeth Bear. Sadly probably realistic that . Clearly I'm not cut out for law enforcement. Also weirdly anticlimactic as a fictional narrative.
"Single Bullet Theory" -- by Chelsea Polk. Again, I don't find Polk's style and characterization to mesh with the regular authors',, but it's less grating here as we have Dyson instead of the usual protagonists and cyclist gastropub as the setting.
"Apolysis" -- by Emma Bull and Will Shetterly. Janesville, Wisconsin again. This time with spiders.
"Underworld" - by Elizabeth Bear. Sadly probably realistic that . Clearly I'm not cut out for law enforcement. Also weirdly anticlimactic as a fictional narrative.
"Single Bullet Theory" -- by Chelsea Polk. Again, I don't find Polk's style and characterization to mesh with the regular authors',, but it's less grating here as we have Dyson instead of the usual protagonists and cyclist gastropub as the setting.
"Apolysis" -- by Emma Bull and Will Shetterly. Janesville, Wisconsin again. This time with spiders.
September 12, 2015
"Wild Card" was hilarious, and I really like Arthur Tan. I wish there were more of him. I like what the authors have done with Dice's characterization, but his story dragged quite a bit. "Apolysis" was a bunch of "Meh."
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November 20, 2014I know I’ll be sad when I get to the end of this series – and not just because there will be no more episodes after that, but also (and possibly even more so) because at this stage, there cannot really be any doubt that things are not going to end well for the members of the FBI’s Anomalous Crime Task Force which we readers have come to know quite intimately over four seasons of episodes and vignettes.
It is not just the length of time we have spent with them that has made these people grow on us, but the at time almost uncannily deft hands the series’ authors have at characterizations, and in particular at convincingly describing relationships, Romantic and otherwise. The introduction of the new team member in this and the previous volume is very much a case in point, and again I was particularly struck by the way his relationship to his wife is shown, which comes across as both moving and realistic.
The series has always been playing with superhero tropes, and I guess it was only a matter of time until one of the Anomalous Crime cases would go meta and cast himself as a supervillain. Leah Bobet’s “Wild Card”, the opening story in this 13th volume of Shadow Unit finally delivers on that, and does so in an almost comedic manner, closing with what surely must be the most bizarre suspect interview in the history of crime fighting ever. The episode sets the tone for this volume, which in general is comparatively light-hearted for what is at heart a very dark, occasionally even outright bleak series. Like in the previous volume, we get a large number of episodes but only a tiny helping of additional material. Elizabeth Bear shows in “Underworld” that she’d make a great author of True Crime books (at least if she gets to make her facts up), in Chelsea Polk’s “Single Bullet Theory” a returning character from outside the team takes the central spotlight, giving us a fascinating glimpse on how the anomaly marks even people it left in its wake, while Emma Bull’s and Will Shetterly’s “Apolysis” is all about spiders, to which all I have to say is – ewwww. And that sometimes I’m glad that this is not an actual TV series…
Shadow Unit is a fascinating project, not just imitating TV crime shows, but actively transferring their narrative structures into writing and coming up with all kinds of interesting ways to achieve a TV series’ effects with literary means and keeping it fun to read throughout. Two more volumes to go now…
It is not just the length of time we have spent with them that has made these people grow on us, but the at time almost uncannily deft hands the series’ authors have at characterizations, and in particular at convincingly describing relationships, Romantic and otherwise. The introduction of the new team member in this and the previous volume is very much a case in point, and again I was particularly struck by the way his relationship to his wife is shown, which comes across as both moving and realistic.
The series has always been playing with superhero tropes, and I guess it was only a matter of time until one of the Anomalous Crime cases would go meta and cast himself as a supervillain. Leah Bobet’s “Wild Card”, the opening story in this 13th volume of Shadow Unit finally delivers on that, and does so in an almost comedic manner, closing with what surely must be the most bizarre suspect interview in the history of crime fighting ever. The episode sets the tone for this volume, which in general is comparatively light-hearted for what is at heart a very dark, occasionally even outright bleak series. Like in the previous volume, we get a large number of episodes but only a tiny helping of additional material. Elizabeth Bear shows in “Underworld” that she’d make a great author of True Crime books (at least if she gets to make her facts up), in Chelsea Polk’s “Single Bullet Theory” a returning character from outside the team takes the central spotlight, giving us a fascinating glimpse on how the anomaly marks even people it left in its wake, while Emma Bull’s and Will Shetterly’s “Apolysis” is all about spiders, to which all I have to say is – ewwww. And that sometimes I’m glad that this is not an actual TV series…
Shadow Unit is a fascinating project, not just imitating TV crime shows, but actively transferring their narrative structures into writing and coming up with all kinds of interesting ways to achieve a TV series’ effects with literary means and keeping it fun to read throughout. Two more volumes to go now…
October 19, 2025
A new agent joins Shadow Unit’s ranks to be drawn into a case involving a nightmarish trauma, concealed and hidden for too long, resulting in a disturbingly beautiful and tragic manifestation. For all its sadness; the twists and turns of this journey run into past cases, taking Hafidha Gates to answers Stephen Reyes searched for a very long time.
Sickening, heartwarming, exhilarating; this particular volume brought back Dice, allowing him to show how far he’s come from once upon a time surviving a gamma’s abuse. He’s helping others survive similar trauma, collaborating with Solomon Todd, and dares to reach out to a gamma herself, stopping her destructive cycle.
Shadow Unit’s struggle reaches beyond the team to others, others whom are learning what’s out there and learning to fight back. As horrifying as the situations which hatch an anomaly from a gamma’s agony; there was a powerful, welcome burst of hope in this particular book. The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter, even if the journey may never be complete.
Sickening, heartwarming, exhilarating; this particular volume brought back Dice, allowing him to show how far he’s come from once upon a time surviving a gamma’s abuse. He’s helping others survive similar trauma, collaborating with Solomon Todd, and dares to reach out to a gamma herself, stopping her destructive cycle.
Shadow Unit’s struggle reaches beyond the team to others, others whom are learning what’s out there and learning to fight back. As horrifying as the situations which hatch an anomaly from a gamma’s agony; there was a powerful, welcome burst of hope in this particular book. The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter, even if the journey may never be complete.
December 29, 2013
I actually read it twice - once when I got it and then again when I realized I had read it and hadn't added it. My rules about reading/re-reading are weird, even by my standards.
The episodes have changed some - now more about people than the anomaly, though that is still something that moves the plot along. My favorite was the episode with Dice, his move and adjustment to D.C. to be near his brother, his work to identify those 'infected' and help them before they end up being part of an investigation. I liked his discovery of biking (well, really he was dragged into it by enthusiasts, but that was part of the discovery), his appreciation of good beer and the inclusion of Solomon Todd in the story. I think the best ones usually include Todd.
Hopefully there will be a 14 and beyond.
The episodes have changed some - now more about people than the anomaly, though that is still something that moves the plot along. My favorite was the episode with Dice, his move and adjustment to D.C. to be near his brother, his work to identify those 'infected' and help them before they end up being part of an investigation. I liked his discovery of biking (well, really he was dragged into it by enthusiasts, but that was part of the discovery), his appreciation of good beer and the inclusion of Solomon Todd in the story. I think the best ones usually include Todd.
Hopefully there will be a 14 and beyond.
October 27, 2013
seriously addictive
March 5, 2014
I am so thrilled with what's going on with Dice! That story alone made this whole book fabulous. I am hoping we'll see more of him.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews