The Big Bad II

The Big Bad Anthology #2

by John G. Hartness (Editor), Emily Lavin Leverett (Editor and Contributor), Bobby Nash

Everybody Loves The Bad Guys The Big Bad II brings you more to love! A collection of best-selling fantasy and horror writers brings you twenty-four all-new tales of vampires, demons, ghosts, zombies, and the most terrifying monsters of all - humans. Crack open the pages, if you dare, and explore tales of humor and horror by some of the brightest names in the business. Be afraid of the dark, because that's where the Big Bad things live!

contains:
Mercy’s Armistice by J.T. Glover
A Family Affair by Selah Janel
old Nonna by Gail Z. Martin
Letters to Logroth by Jason Corner
Skippin’ Stone by S.H. Roddey
The Sea Witch by Kasidy Manisco
A Day in the Life by James R. Tuck
Overkill by Sara Taylor Woods
Voodooesque by Eden Royce
A Fitter Subject for Study by Sarah Joy Adams
Ghosts and Sands by Jay Requard
Teacher of the Year by Riley Miller
Feels Like Justice to Me by Edmund R. Schubert
Portrait of the Artist as a Psychopathic Man by Stuart Jaffe
The House of Cherry Hill by Emily Lavin Leverett
Sticks and Stones by Bobby Nash
Sweet Tooth by Nicole Givens Kurtz
Just Pretending by Linden Flynn
Phone Home by E.D. Guy
I Think of Snow by J. Matthew Saunders
Little Gods by Neal F. Litherland
Drawing Flame by Misty Massey
The Witch Hunter by M.B. Weston
The Cully by D.B. Jackson

386 pages, Paperback

First published February 24, 2015

About the author

John G. Hartness is a teller of tales, a righter of wrong, defender of ladies’ virtues, and some people call him Maurice, for he speaks of the pompatus of love.

He is also the award-winning author of the urban fantasy series The Black Knight Chronicles (Bell Bridge Books), the Bubba the Monster Hunter comedic horror series, the Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter dark fantasy series, and many other projects.

In 2016, John teamed up with a pair of other publishing industry ne’er-do-wells and founded Falstaff Books, a small press dedicated to publishing the best of genre fictions “misfit toys.”
In his copious free time John enjoys long walks on the beach, rescuing kittens from trees and playing Magic: the Gathering.

For free short stories and to follow his activities and appearances on his newsletter, follow this link - http://eepurl.com/fV4In

Reviews

[Mya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this anthology focusing on the stories of the 'bad guys' and their aims. Like most of the anthologies there were brilliant stories, slowly simmering tales, frightful yarns and just a few that didn't quite hit the mark. Overall however the theme of the 'villain's tale' was an intriguing one. As anthologies are a great way to discover new authors to read and this anthology has quite a few standouts. One particular tale with an Indiana Jones x Cthulhu like feel called "Letters to Logroth" by Jason Corner had me chuckling. "Sweet Tooth," by Nicole Givens Kurtz was a wicked little urban tale that I thoroughly enjoyed. "Voodooesque" by Eden Royce perfectly evoked the southern Gothic feel. "Ghost and Sands" was awesome with making you root for the dashing but skeletal anti-hero. "The Portrait of the Artist as a Psychopathic Man by Stuart Jaffe kinda...okay it did actually scare me. But the story that blew me away the most had to be "Feels Like Justice to Me"...talk about jaw dropping, zombie short.

Like I said, this is a very intriguing and entertaining anthology and I look forward to going back and checking out the first one :)

[Roxanne Bland · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a horrifying collection of short horror! I loved every minute of it. I don't have a favorite, they were all that good. One that does stick with me though, is a rendering of the wicked queen in Snow White. I'll never look at Alzheimer's patients quite the same way again. The writing in all the stories was crisp--no clutter here!--and the characters beautifully drawn. "The Sea Witch"--ah, that's another one. To what lengths will you go to have revenge on your kin?

If you like short horror, I wholeheartedly suggest you get "Big Bad II." It's every bit as good as "Big Bad I."

[Erin Penn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much more consistent in story quality than the first book (but slightly less daring), Mr. Hartness and Ms. Leverett seem to have their strides with their second anthology of Big Bad.

So often we see the put-upon minority, the bad guys, get trampled, locked up, even killed by good guys and government agents (unless, of course, those are the bad guys). It is a pleasure seeing them not only survive, but thrive ... I think.

Feels like Justice to Me by Edmund R. Schubert may be one of the best justifications I have ever read for someone doing something unusual. An amazing character piece! This one is a five star. It's about half-way through the anthology.

And Stuart Jaffee for his Portrait of a Psychopathic Man wins the "what was I thinking reading this anthology at midnight" award. Really I was reading this anthology at midnight - WHAT was I THINKING?

Quick rundown on some of the other 24 stories
A Family Affair - by Selah Janel - So nice to see a son take after his mother. I can see him growing up to be just like her ... she should be worried.
Old Nonna - by Gail Z Martin - A lovely twist of an ancient Russian story transferred to mountain folk everywhere.
A Day in the Life - by James R. Tuck - Some days are better than others, even for the fiends of Hell. But you know, a good working environment can help make the difference.
Overkill - by Sara Taylor Woods - Word of advice, don't make a Southern waitress from a redneck bar angry. She will bless your heart.
A Fitter Subject for Study - by Sarah Joy Adams - All in the name of science. (I can soooo see this as the first stage of a Call of Cth game. ... Little surprised the editors choose to have two letter-based shorts, but they are both horrific fun.)
Ghost and Sands - by Jay Requard - Another short of Mr. Conjer whom we met in the first Big Bad Anthology. Pleased to see him still in business.
The House on Cherry Hill by Emily Lavin Leverett - Some old houses are more than just money pits.
Phone Home - by E.D. Guy - A sci-fi! So much of the horror genre is historic or contemporary; so nice to see one proving bad guys continue to destroy humanity in the future.
I Think of Snow - by J. Matthew Saunders - This author's beautiful language perfectly capture a love interest (ummm, maybe not the right description).

and finally ...
The Cully - by D.B. Jackson - A Sephira origin story ... enough said, if you like the Thieftaker series.

[Seth Tucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic anthology, all telling the story of the "bad guys." Some of these stories are set in fantasy landscapes detailing different adventures of different villainous characters, while others are set in more current landscapes. You will see vampires trying to "clean up" a Mid-Western town, origin stories for some of your favorite fairy tale villains, even tales of evil men in the far-flung future. My favorite story in this anthology is by M.B. Weston and stars the Wicked Queen from Snow White as she attempts to continue her life. For anyone who likes to route for the bad guy, or just understand them, this anthology is a great read because the villain is always the hero of their story.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very entertaining horror anthology. I loved Old Nonna story and desperately wanted more of it! I enjoyed the fairy tale twist of The Witch Hunter and really liked A Family Affair and The Sea Witch. I disliked Letters to Logroth and A Fitter Subject for Study. I think the compilation has a little bit of everything that people will like and dislike based on their cravings. I did feel the ending story was weak and should have been in the middle instead.