Blurb
They walk the streets no one else can walk, take the jobs no one else will take, and if you’ve got a problem – and the cash – they can solve it.
Of course, if your case involves rabid werewolves, cursed objects, the living dead, malevolent beings from another dimension, or other “unusual” circumstances, it may cost you a bit extra . . .
Mean Streets is a compilation of four all-new novellas by Jim Butcher, Simon R. Green, Kat Richardson and Thomas E. Sniegoski. While I’ve read Jim Butcher and own two of Kat’s books (haven’t read them yet) I hadn’t read anything by Simon and Thomas, so their stories were a foray into new territory for me.
Jim Butcher’s novella is called The Warrior and brings us back into the world of Harry Dresden – an excellent choice to kick off this book. The main plot is Harry trying to protect his friend Michael and his family from danger and ends up becoming a target himself. What I liked most about this novella is the ending. Without giving too much away, the ending is not what you’re expecting throughout the whole tale and, as usual, Jim Butcher, shows just why he’s such a fabulous author, weaving the story with skill and humour.
Next up is Simon R. Green’s offering – The Difference A Day makes – taking us into his Nightside series with John Taylor, PI. John is hired to find the lost memories of a desperate woman. I’m in two minds on this one. While it’s written extremely well, I didn’t particularly enjoy the story. The whole tale just didn’t gel for me and I couldn’t enjoy the characters. I think it may be necessary to have “met” the characters before to really get a grip on the dynamics of both the characters and the Nightside. I was left with the feeling that the story was rushed and wasn’t very well thought out.
The third novella is by Kat Richardson and brings her Greywalker, Harper Blaine, to Mexico during the Day of the Dead, where she becomes enmeshed in a tangle of dark family secrets and revenge from beyond the grave. I’ve yet to read the two Greywalker novels (although I do own them) but I found the story easy to follow without having any prior knowledge of the main character. Overall the story was interesting, drawing on some of the beliefs of Mexico to give a very real feel to the whole situation. This story, for me, ranked as one of the two strongest stories in the compilation – the other being Jim Butcher’s.
The fourth and final offering is from Thomas E. Sniegoski – another author I’ve never read. In this tale, Remy Chandler – a fall-angel-turned-detective – investigates the death of Noah (yes, THE Noah). At first I wasn’t too sure I was enjoying this one, but I think it grew on me. Remy is an interesting character and I do believe I will be picking up some of the novels in this series. The tale Thomas shares with us relates to the flood and what happened to the animals that didn’t make it on the ark – I found this interesting on many levels and the story was woven well.
Overall, the book isn’t bad, and for any fans of the authors contained well worth picking up for the additional stories to the respective series’.
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