Rogues

For over a decade, I have been wondering how the Marquis got his coat back. Now that I have an answer, I feel I can at last breathe easily again.

Rogues is an interesting collection and is spans genres much more than I expected. A lot of the stories seem to require at least a little foreknowledge of the author's previous works. For lovers of Neverwhere, A Song of Ice and Fire, and The Kingkiller chronicles, this is a real treat. Gaiman and Rothfuss easily have my two favorite stories in the bunch in no small part because they take my favorite character from their respective worlds and give them a chance to shine as rogues away from the hero's spotlight. Martin's story is interesting, but written as a historical translation, so a bit more dry than the actual novels. It also offers several extremely intriguing sidelines which go nowhere and serve only to frustrate the reader. Thanks, George, for reminding us how much more there is to your world and then not telling any of it to us!breathes

And thanks Rothfuss for not only giving Bast a “Winter is Coming” line, but naming your crazy old hill-codger “Martin.” A bit snarky, but appreciated nonetheless.

As for the other stories, the gambit is wide. I've never read Gillian Flynn before, but her story was hauntingly scary. I'd hoped Scott Lynch would give us a little exploration of some of the Gentleman Bastards, but his story is entertaining nonetheless. Daniel Abraham's piece is surprisingly poignant, but as intricately plotted as I've come to expect of his work.

For new authors to me I really enjoyed Michael Swanwick's take on historical zombies. Bradley Denton's “Bad Brass” was amusing if only because it was about a marching band crime ring, and how is that not a wonderful thing?

I definitely enjoyed the purely fantastical stories much more than the others, but that's probably just a matter of taste. The only one that I was actually irritated reading was “Now Showing,” which was just so referential as to lose its charm. Writing about a couple who shares a love of movies is difficult, because every reference just feels so very forced. The concept of far future movie theaters is awesome, but I came away just tired from all of the “new blockbusters” and shameless Star Wars quotes.

If you like any of the names in this volume, it's definitely worth reading their stories even if you skip the rest. I particularly urge Gaiman and Rothfuss fans, the first because it clears up a decades old confusion and pays love letter tribute to the most beautiful piece of clothing ever produced, and the latter because it reveals much more of Bast (literally and figuratively) than any of the epic tome novels do. Fae fanservice? Absolutely. Thanks, Pat.

NOTE: I didn't read the entire anthology, just the stories listed at the bottom. My rating is simply the average of those stories I did read and may not be reflective to the entire thing.ReviewAfter my disappointment with [b:Dangerous Women 17279560 Dangerous Women George R.R. Martin https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1370759802s/17279560.jpg 19236677], I decided I wouldn't be buying this (or likely any other anthologies) any time soon. So I borrowed it from the library instead and didn't feel obligated to read all the stories.It's quite possible I would have enjoyed other stories, but there is always so much to read, and so little time, so I pretty much just focused on the authors I already really like. In particular I picked up this anotholgy to read Patrick Rothfuss and Scott Lynch.The Rothfuss story about Bast definitely lived up to expectations, but I wonder how enjoyable it would be to anyone not already familiar to the series. If you're a fan of that series however, I definitely think it's worth borrowing this just to read that.The Scott Lynch Story was initially disappointing simply because in an anthology entitled “Rogues” I couldn't imagine it being anything but a Gentleman Bastards story. However as I read it I came to love the characters and the world Mr. Lynch introduced in this story, and I hope he revisits it at some point in the future, just not until he's finished his Gentleman Bastard series. This was my favorite story in the book though, slightly edging out Mr. Rothfuss.The rest of the stories I read were pretty good, but none really stand out as must reads for me. I love [a:James S.A. Corey 4192148 James S.A. Corey https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-a7c55399ea455530473b9f9e4da94c40.png] but this was my first time reading either author by themselves. Daniel Abraham's story was enjoyable enough that I'll definitely try to get to some of his fantasy novels sooner rather than later.The highlight of the Joe Abercrombie story was the brief cameo of Friendly from [b:Best Served Cold 2315892 Best Served Cold Joe Abercrombie https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347732723s/2315892.jpg 2322406]. I'm not sure if there are other cameos since I haven't read all of his novels yet, but I was annoyed at the pulp fiction-esque lack of payoff. Still, it was a fun story.I read the story by Gillian Flynn based on several recommendations, and it was enjoyable.The biggest disappointment was the George R.R. Martin story. Like his story in Dangerous Women, it's not so much a story as a historical account, and it reads very dry.I've actually read very little Neil Gaiman, but I had watched a BBC mini-series version of the Neverwhere from the 90s. I don't really remember The Marquis, but the short story here makes me want to pick up that book at some point.Ratings of The Stories I read- “The Lightning Tree” by Patrick Rothfuss 4 stars- “A Year and a Day in Old Theradane” by Scott Lynch 4.5 stars- “The Meaning of Love” by Daniel Abraham 4 stars- “Tough Times All Over” by Joe Abercrombie 3.5 stars- “What do you do?” by Gillian Flynn 4 stars- “The Rogue Prince” by George R.R. Martin 3 stars- “How the Marquis Got His Coat Back by Neil Gaiman 4 stars

Als Gurm niet verder schrijft aan A Song of Ice and Fire, dan doet hij de laatste tijd vooral anthologieën met Gardner Dozois, heb ik de indruk.

En dan nog wel anthologieën zoals ik ze graag heb: cross-genre, met vanalles en nog wat nieuws erin, en met altijd wel minstens de hoop op een aantal goeie dingen: Dangerous Women heb ik onlangs gelezen, Old Mars en Songs of the Dying Earth staan al op mijn Kindle, en ik dénk dat de volgende die ik koop Warriors zal zijn.

Cross-genre anthologieën, da's altijd een zak vol verrassingen: het kan even goed science fiction als fantasy als detective als wat dan ook zijn.

Het begint, vind ik, uitstekend, met Joe Abercrombie's Tough Times All Over, over een pakje dat van eigenaar naar “eigenaar” naar “eigenaar” gaat, via diefstal, afpersing, verkoop en allerlei. Onderhoudend, op een “ik wou eigenlijk dat dit een veel langer verhaal was”-manier.

En dan gaat het op en af. Ik ben ondertussen al een paar boeken verder als ik dit schrijf, en het is me niet allemaal even hard bijgebleven. A Year and a Day in Old Theradane (Scott Lynch) wel: iets met hoe een hele straat gestolen moet raken, en hoe daar allemaal verschillende manieren voor gezocht worden tot er uiteindelijk één werkt. How the Marquis Got His Coat Back is Neil Gaiman in wat mindere doen, in de wereld van Neverwhere.

The Lightning Tree (Patrick Rothfuss) is een fijn stukje over Bast, uit de Kingkiller Chronicles. Now Showing is een redelijk silly SF-achtig verhaaltje van Connie Willis over cinema-multiplexen, dat leest alsof het geschreven is door iemand die in de jaren 1980 is blijven steken wat media en technologie betreft.

En het boek eindigt met een prequel van een prequel, door GRRM zelf: The Rogue Prince is een verhaal dat zich afspeelt net vóór The Princess and the Queen (dat in Dangerous Women stond), en dát was dan weer een jaar of honderd voor de gbeurtenissen in Game of Thrones. Ik zeg “een verhaal”, het is eigenlijk een pastiche van de neerslag van een geschiedenis zoals die door een maester zou kunnen genoteerd geweest zijn. Redelijk droog en academisch, dus.

Geen essential reading, dat laatste. En eigenlijk, als ik er zo over nadenk, geldt dat voor heel het boek.

I am somewhat ignorant when it comes to anthologies of short stories, but this was one of the nicer ones that I have read. Many famous and not-as-famous authors lend their talents to this book, and so the stories are of very high quality, regardless of if I personally liked them or not. If you have not already, check this out. It may just surprise you. I give it a four out of five.