Rogues

This is a big audiobook, produced in a big way. Seventeen narrators read short stories by 21 authors. In an undertaking of this size, it's not surprising that the final product is a bit uneven. The narrators range from outstandingly suited to their particular tale to curiously mismatched with their story. On the standout side of things, actors Gwendoline Christie, Conleth Hill, and Ian Glenn could all have second careers as narrators, while familiar voices Scott Brick and Julia Whelan give their usual excellent performances. If listeners are willing to skip around to discover the combinations of story and narrator that appeal to them, there are hours of enjoyment to be had here. G.D. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

April 27, 2015
Martin and Dozois (Dangerous Women) showcase 21 original cross-genre tales about scoundrels in this star-studded anthology. A hooker and faux clairvoyant is ensnared in a tangled web of who's conning whom in Gillian Flynn's "What Do You Do?" Scott Lynch's team of reformed scoundrels takes on an impossible heist with a deadline and severe consequences for failure in the highly entertaining "A Year and a Day in Old Theradane." Cherie Priest's "Heavy Metal" provides a unique alchemy of Southern Gothic and old gods in a mostly restored Tennessee mining pit. In Steven Saylor's "Ill Seen in Tyre," young Gordianus is educated about the power of stories via his tutor's tales of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Knight Sir Hereward and puppet-sorcerer companion Mister Fitz encounter a succession of unexpected difficulties as they endeavor to retrieve "A Cargo of Ivories" in Garth Nix's clever contribution. While the characters' undertakings fall within a pretty broad spectrum of shades of moral gray, the common theme of survival by one's wits will keep readers entertained throughout.