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“The Warrior” by Jim Butcher: Harry Dresden gets threatening letters and pictures of his dear friend, Michael, a former Knight of the Cross. Harry is determined to protect his friend, even if it means bringing out the Amorachius and Fidelacchius swords which have been entrusted to his safekeeping. “The Difference a Day Makes” by Simon Green: Here we have another adventure of John Taylor, the best P.I. in Nightside. A woman with no memory shows up, looking for her beloved husband. John finds himself roped into helping assure her safe passage through Nightside and in solving the mystery of her husband’s disappearance and her memory loss. “The Third Death of the Little Clay Dog” by Kat Richardson: Harper Blaine, a Greywalker, is given the job of transporting a small clay dog to the grave of a mysterious man on the Day of the Dead. “Noah’s Orphans” by Thomas E. Sniegoski: Everyone’s favorite angel-turned-private-eye, Remy Chandler finds himself in the middle of a puzzle that begins with the murder of Noah… yes THAT Noah…and of mysterious creatures that may have survived The Flood. Mean Streets is a fabulous collection of novellas from some of the most beloved paranormal adventure authors in the field today, each featuring their best known characters. In each case, the stories continue the ongoing lives of the characters and fit in between books in their respective series, but are also written so as to be fully enjoyed even if this is the first time the reader has encountered them. I was familiar with Harry Dresden and Remy Chandler, both favorite characters of mine, but was able to equally enjoy the Harper Blaine and John Taylor novellas. Both series have now been added to my “to be read” list as terrific new characters to explore and enjoy. I really liked that each novella was written like an episode from your favorite TV cop show, and thus, a complete story with an ending that satisfied and did not require the reader to rush out for the next book in the series to find out what happened. My favorite continued to be Thomas Sniegoski’s story with Remy Chandler. I am just really impressed by this series and am fascinated on the developing character of Remy. If reading about Remy for the first time, this story actually fits between A Kiss Before the Apocalypse and Dancing on the Head of a Pin. I was also thrilled to see that Harry Dresden’s adventure involved Michael, the former Knight of the Cross. Michael was one of my favorite characters from the series, and I always enjoy stories involving him. Taylor’s Nightside world was new to me and totally fascinating with creatures and technology that would have been very cool to actually see if written into a graphic novel or transformed into a movie. I look forward to visiting there again and learning more about this world. Harper Blaine’s story was haunting and perfect for a Halloween evening read. I found out just enough about Greywalkers to become intrigued. I’ll be looking her up again soon. You really can’t miss with Mean Streets. I highly recommend it if you are fans of any of these four authors, because by the end, you will become fans of all four. Reviewed by Crystal |
Mean Streets Rating:
Posted June 2009 |
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