Rogues

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