Eva Kristin’s Reviews > Rogues > Status Update

I enjoyed the atmosphere in Vaughn's story, but didn't have time to become invested enough in the characters that the revealed relation made much impression.

David Ball's novella is well written but predictable. I liked following the painting's story more than the reveal at the end.

Michael Swanwik's novel has interesting characters and a fun plot, but the ending seemed very rushed. Maybe a longer story was cut short to accommodate a maximum of pages.

Joe R. Landsdale writes manly man stories for manly men. Nothing wrong with that, just too much testosterone for me. And the damsels are too distressed.

Matthew Hughes' novella is rather unoriginal YA Fantasy. Not bad, just the weakest one yet. Aso, having the "hero" contemplating gang raping a woman he has just rescued from monsters when she won't immediately sleep with him isn't roguish, it's disgusting. I probably won't be looking for any of Hughes' books.

The first novella is by one of my favourite authors, Joe Abercrombie. It's a fun and elegant roguish romp through Sipani, a hugely enjoyable glimpse of the world of The First Law. If the rest of the writers in this book are of Abercrombies standard it's going to be a good time!