My take on the Home Improvement: Undead Edition anthology

I'm so glad I was writing this as I worked my way through the anthology, because that means it's ready to go on a night when I worked 3+ hours late (Fridays suck!).

I picked up the audio version of another supernatural anthology at the library last week, Home Improvement: Undead Edition, since I'm so glad to have "discovered" Patricia Briggs in another anthology recently. I'm not really reviewing it here (and not dissecting the audio performances, either), but after I started listening, I decided I wanted to report in on what I like and don't, entirely subjectively. I like anthologies for exposing me to new authors, but hey, I don't like every author. Nothing personal.

I found a list of the contents online (thanks, B&N), so I don't even have to type them in myself. Lazy win!

If I Had A Hammer Charlaine Harris

Charlaine is of course what draws me to these types of collections. I've liked her Sookie Stackhouse series since early on, and I enjoyed this creepy story quite a bit, though it's not necessarily what I would choose as an intro to her work, if you haven't read it already. On the other hand, if you haven't tried her books, are you picking up this one? Probably not. For fans, we get to see more of Tara and JB, as well as Sam.

Wizard Home Security Victor Gischler

I'd never heard of this author, but that's true of most of the anthology, so no problem. (I hadn't heard of Patricia Briggs before that other anthology, after all.) I listened to part of the story until it irritated me. I wasn't loving the main character, and then he does something stupid which is kind of annoying, but I get that people do do stupid things, plus things have to happen or nothing happens, right? But something happens that presages Bad Trouble, and I got that the first time he described what happened, but then he described it twice more before beginning to go into WHY it was bad, and dude, I got that. Next.

Gray Patricia Briggs

So we've established that I like Patricia Briggs. This isn't her Mercy series, though, it's a different character who's a vampire. I liked it, though not as much as Mercy. (There's just a touch of that I Am Vampire posturing that I find a little wearing with the vampire stories. Werewolves, for example, are much more about emotion, which I think is why I relate to them better.)(I also don't like the word that describes a bunch of vampires: a seethe [shudder].) I'm not sure if this story would have led me to read more of her work, the way the other one did, but it was good.

Squatters' Rights Rochelle Krich

Ohhhh, this one pissed me off. For a while there, I was getting frustrated because we went on for some time with "what is happening" and weren't getting to any discovery or action taken against the evil/creature/whatever it was. It's very in-her-head stuff, and I was reminded of The Yellow Wallpaper in a way (though I like that story). But the end just made me mad. I finished it as I was arriving to meet friends for dinner, and I had to get out my knitting and do some breathing to come out of the fury it roused in me. Ooh! No! This is another author I hadn't heard of, and another I won't be seeking out. Not my type. (Reading is like dating: discuss.)

Blood on the Wall Heather Graham

I found this story hard to get into, and though it didn't make me mad (sadly, a point in its favor), I didn't listen to it all the way through.

The Mansion of Imperatives James Grady

Didn't get into it, didn't finish it.

The Strength Inside Melissa Marr

Oh, good and amusing and creepy and all. And in retrospect, the title is a good play on words! I may look into more of hers.

Woolsley's Kitchen Nightmare E. E. Knight

This one was very interesting, and very creepy, in a "had to remind myself it was only a story" way. I respect it, but I'm not jumping to try more by the author.

Through This House Seanan McGuire

Didn't get into it, didn't finish it.

The Path S. J. Rozan

Didn't get into it, didn't finish it.

Rick the Brave Stacia Kane

Didn't get into it, didn't finish it.

Full-Scale Demolition Suzanne McLeod

Didn't get into it, didn't finish it.

It's All in the Rendering Simon R. Green

Didn't get into it, didn't finish it.

In Brightest Day Toni L. P. Kelner

Enjoyable, but nothing thrilling. I liked the main character's sense of humor, though.

In conclusion
I usually read anthologies in bits and pieces, rather than straight through, and I don't think I'll do another on audio. It's just too jarring to jump from one right into another. Also, it's sometimes hard with supernatural stories, if you don't know the world-building, to "hear" what certain words are. On paper, for instance, "she entered the Knowe" is different from "she entered the now", but if they sound the same...

Sadly, there was nothing here that really grabbed me. Unlike what I was reading last night! I had the Bruins game on (of course), but I was reading a book for most of the game. And here's how you can tell it was a good book: I looked up at goals and other scuffles, I knew the Bruins won, but it was only when reading the paper this morning that I learned that Montreal's Mike Cammalleri was traded during the game. Whoops! Kind of big news to miss!