Jessica’s Reviews > The Urban Fantasy Anthology > Status Update

Welp, I don't think Joe R Landsdale is for me. His story was well written but I couldn't get past the weirdness. Usually I enjoy a bit of weirdness but the rape of handless 12 yr old zombies is apparently where I draw the line.

Gestella by Susan Palwick is one of the coldest, most depressing stories I've read in a long time. Honestly it was so depressing that I think I need to go hangout in the sun for a bit and stop reading.

"Ok. What did the owner say her name was?"
"Stella."

Absolutely gutted in less than 20 pages, well played Susan Palwick, well played.

Hit by Bruce McAllister and Boobs by Suze McKee Charnas were not my cup of tea at all. Not a fan of women being given away as prizes after their SO are murdered, also not a fan of all of the dog hate/killing in Boobs. Probably my two least favorite stories in the whole anthology so far. Also (again) the romance was minimal at best, which seems an odd choice for the paranormal romance section.

While still super dark the Paranormal Romance section finally had some fun stories. Though it's weird that only the Patricia Briggs and Norman Partridge stories actually contained any love or still existing romance so far. "She's My Witch" by Norman Partridge has been my favorite in the section so far (which is surprising considering how much I love Briggs and just assumed her story would be my favorite)

Just started the Paranormal Romance part of the book and already the first two stories have just been meh. Companions to the Moon by Charles De Lint was ok, A Haunted House of Her Own by Kelly Armstrong was the same. Both had unexpected endings and weren't bad, they just weren't that great either. Also, so far the romance has been pretty sad, with the relationships basically done before you even meet the characters.

Julie's Unicorn by Peter S Beagle was wonderful, loved it almost as much as Make a Joyful Noise by Charles De Lint. Time to start the paranormal romance section. I'm really enjoying the break up of sub genres in this story collection and the essay write ups explaining each one.

The Goldfish Pool and Other Stories by Neil Gaiman was surprisingly disappointing and boring. The next story On The Road to New Egypt by Jeffery Ford was more fun to read but still kind of meh. Hoping the next two will be better, the Charles De Lint story is still my favorite one so far.