Mean Streets

November 17, 2008
Readers will be delighted with this collection of original novellas tied to popular crime/fantasy series. The standout is Sniegoski’s “Noah’s Orphans,” in which angel PI Remy Chandler must solve the murder of the biblical Ark’s builder, whose battered corpse is found on an abandoned oil rig. Sniegoski manages to make a far-fetched setup both plausible and moving. Butcher’s “The Warrior” hints at a mysterious ongoing war, while wizard detective Harry Dresden solves a case with typical dry wit. Green employs darker humor in “The Difference a Day Makes,” in which PI John Taylor assists a woman who wandered into the dark world hidden within London, while Richardson’s “The Third Death of the Little Clay Dog” neatly merges noir conventions with a fantastical plot. All solid and suspenseful, these stories are sure to please.

January 15, 2009
From Butcher's story of a Chicago wizard involved in protecting a holy sword and the man who once wielded it ("The Warrior") to Thomas Sniegoski's recounting of fallen angel Remy Chandler's involvement in discovering who killed Noah ("Noah's Orphans"), and contributions from Kat Richardson and Simon R. Green, this four-novella collection features detectives who plumb the supernatural in pursuit of their goals. A good introduction to novels that delve deeper into their featured characters by these top urban fantasy authors, this volume belongs in most fantasy/mystery collections.

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