Rogues

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Call Number: Adult BOCD / Fiction / Fantasy / Rogues
On Shelf At: Westgate Branch

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"A thrilling collection of twenty-one original stories by an all-star list of contributors--including a new A Game of Thrones story by George R. R. Martin! The latest story collection from #1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin and award-winning editor Gardner Dozois is filled with subtle shades of gray. Twenty-one all-original stories, by an all-star list of contributors, will delight and astonish you in equal measure with their cunning twists and dazzling reversals. And George R. R. Martin himself offers a brand-new A Game of Thrones tale chronicling one of the biggest rogues in the entire Ice and Fire saga. Follow along with the likes of Gillian Flynn, Joe Abercrombie, Neil Gaiman, Patrick Rothfuss, Scott Lynch, Cherie Priest, Garth Nix, and Connie Willis as well as other masters of literary sleight-of-hand in this rogues' gallery of stories that will plunder your heart--and yet leave you all the richer for it. Featuring all-new stories by Joe Abercrombie Daniel Abraham David W. Ball Paul Cornell Bradley Denton Phyllis Eisenstein Gillian Flynn Neil Gaiman Matthew Hughes Joe R. Lansdale Scott Lynch Garth Nix Cherie Priest Patrick Rothfuss Steven Saylor Michael Swanwick Lisa Tuttle Carrie Vaughn Walter Jon Williams Connie Willis And an Introduction by George R. R. Martin!"-- Provided by publisher.
"Featuring some of the hottest names in fiction--including New York Times bestsellers Gillian Flynn, Neil Gaiman, and Patrick Rothfuss, PLUS a new Song of Ice and Fire story by George R. R. Martin--the second of our three George R. R. Martin/Gardner Dozois all-original anthologies. Everybody loves a rogue, though sometimes we live to regret it. In this anthology, each of the contributors was asked for a story about a rogue, full of deft twists, cunning plans, and reversals"-- Provided by publisher.

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

The Rogue Prince submitted by burnsh on June 18, 2014, 3:55pm I checked out the book mainly for the new GRRM short story but I loved the entire book. Great stories from masters of Fantasy.

Masters of Epic Fantasy submitted by yooth4556 on August 27, 2014, 11:22am Small stories from very famous authors.

Easily the best short story collection I've read, but then I don't usually like short stories very much. submitted by eknapp on November 12, 2014, 1:52pm I'm never sure how to write up short stories collections. There are only so many ways to say "Well a lot of them sucked but some of them were pretty good". So I'm going to do 21 micro-reviews.

“Tough Times All Over” by Joe Abercrombie - The first story introduces a LOT of rogues, as a mysterious package gets nicked over and over again by a series of different characters. Abercrombie recycles the chained-point-of-view-death structure that he used to great success in The Heroes. Excellent opener to the anthology.

“What Do You Do?” by Gillian Flynn - A fortune teller/prostitute is hired to exorcise a haunted house. Flynn's opening essay on the nature and philosophy of handjobs is hilariously awesome. The twist endings fail the internal logic test and feel stapled on.

“The Inn of the Seven Blessings” by Matt Hughes - A thief is pressed into the service of a minor luck god, rescues strangers from goblins, and attempts to secure his future by selling a powerful artifact to a power-hungry wizard. Hughes' writing is excellent--great vocabulary and he talks UP to the reader (I like a writer that makes me feel smart)--but the characters are strangely lifeless. They don't emote. And I was skeeved out when one of the rescuees hooks up with her would-be rapist.

“Bent Twig” by Joe R. Lansdale - Hap and Leonard are a couple of janitors/country boys who moonlight for a detective agency. (?!?) Hap's girlfriend's prostie daughter disappears and he has to track her down and rescue her from the Dixie Mafia. Reminds me of Elmore Leonard...just a bunch of small timers looking out for number one and screwing up a lot, interesting turns of phrase, matter-of-fact about the dark things in life, cheerful and grim at the same time.

“Tawny Petticoats” by Michael Swanwick - Three grifters (including an anthropomorphized dog) run a con on the power players of future New Orleans, which relies on zombies and pygmy mastodons for cheap labor. Well-written, but the author doesn't seem to have a lot of respect for women. Even the effectual ones are flighty, manipulative, and emotional.

“Provenance” by David W. Ball - Biography of a priceless painting. A shady art dealer drones on about the history of a painting before selling it to multiple shady parties. Meh...fine art bores me. Yeah, I'm a philistine.

“The Roaring Twenties” by Carrie Vaughn - A pair of flapper witches visit a Prohibition era speakeasy that caters to supernatural creatures, seeking an ally against the coming financial meltdown. More uneventful than any story so far; felt like the first chapter of a novel.

“A Year and a Day in Old Theradane” by Scott Lynch - A retired crew of thieves are tasked by a villainous wizard with stealing a street. Failure to do so within a year and a day means eternity as a streetlamp. First of all, NOT a Gentleman Bastards story. But it was fun. Lots of sly humor.

“Bad Brass” by Bradley Denton - A substitute teacher in smalltown Texas moonlights stealing from thieves, like Omar from The Wire but with way less badass and far more smartass. Quick, entertaining, and funny. But why would he steal $1400 one night and then carry it with him several nights later on another job? Logic fail.

“Heavy Metal” by Cherie Priest - Not really a "rogue" story. Cool hero though...Kilgore "Heavy" Jones is like a six-foot-seven 500lb John Constantine. He's hired to perform an exorcism of a mining-country pond. The ending makes no sense; an old woman thanks Heavy for "calling back" her "Old Man" but it's unclear what she means by "calling back" and "Old Man could be the monster, her dead husband, a Patronus, or God Himself.

“The Meaning of Love” by Daniel Abraham - A rather useless fugitive prince thinks he has fallen in love with a slave woman he glimpses from afar. His rogue companion devises a roguishly devious plan to effect her escape. There is much discussion on the nature of love. Fun, clever, and well-written.

“A Better Way to Die” by Paul Cornell - Set in a future England in which technology allows access to parallel Earths--much like The Long Earth. There are vague references to "Foreigners", possibly an irrelevant-to-the-story alien invasion. A secret agent (not much of a "rogue") is tasked with tracking and killing a younger version of himself from one of the parallel realities. "A Better Way to Die" embodies much of what I usually hate about short stories. Cornell appears to have excised a large amount of critical exposition to get in under the short-story word count, leaving a confusing mess. It's a shame, because the confusing mess was thoughtful and intelligent.

“Ill Seen in Tyre” by Steven Saylor - An ancient Roman student and his elderly Greek tutor are suckered into buying a collection of useless magic scrolls. The rather obvious con involves an "invisibility potion" that conveniently only functions against strangers, so the marks can't verify to one another that it works. Amateurishly written. One character is introduced only as "a voluptuous blonde".

“A Cargo of Ivories” by Garth Nix - A knight and an animated puppet/sorcerer break into a wealthy criminal's home to steal a collection of ivory figurines before they can hatch into raging death demon gods. One of the ivories wakes up mid-heist. Short and sweet and satisfying.

“Diamonds From Tequila” by Walter Jon Williams - The rogue here is a scary-looking actor on a movie set in Mexico. When his costar is murdered--threatening his career-making production--he has to solve the murder, placate a homicidal cartel kingpin, and find a way to get the movie back on track. Possibly the best contribution to this point. The protagonist is scoundrel-ish but likeable, the narrative is packed with juicy behind-the-scenes movie production methodology, and the mystery works.

“The Caravan to Nowhere” by Phyllis Eisenstein - A minstrel with the curious ability to teleport joins a desert caravan, seeking inspiration for new songs. After a lot of boring buildup, he stops a plot to murder the caravan leader. Interesting concept, poor execution. Lots of setup with no payoff.

“The Curious Affair of the Dead Wives” by Lisa Tuttle - Another not-really-a-rogue story. The protagonist is a young woman in Ye Olde Englande (well, late 1800s maybe) who plays sidekick to a Sherlock Holmes wannabe. The detectives are hired to decode a diary and locate a girl WHO RECENTLY DIED. Gasp! It's interesting...the heroine periodically calls attention to this or that aspect of her society that treats women like bruised fruit and values them about that much, but at the same time she has no problem indulging in the odd swoon or fainting spell. Interesting choice by the author to have her looking ahead yet simultaneously being a sometimes-fluttery product of her environment.

“How the Marquis Got His Coat Back” by Neil Gaiman - Sequel to Gaiman's classic [book:Neverwhere|14497]. His most roguish of rogue characters, the Marquis de Carabas, has recently been returned to life and embarks upon a quest to reacquire his splendid coat from the ruffians who ransacked his body. A jarring blend of quirkiness, whimsy, and blackest peril. Reminiscent of Douglas Adams. (That's intended to be a high compliment.)

“Now Showing” by Connie Willis - A "scoundrel" movie-lover and his cinephile girlfriend uncover a sinister plot by the movie-industrial complex to promote fake movies and trick the public into not seeing them. This was a lot of fun as I'm a cinephile myself and the story was LOADED with movie references. Woefully short on logic though.

“The Lightning Tree” by Patrick Rothfuss - A young man, who is more than he appears, spends a day trading favors, secrets, and knicknacks with the village children and quietly has a tremendous impact on a number of lives. Delightful. Also contains the best quote in the entire book.

"The Rogue Prince, or, a King’s Brother" by George R. R. Martin - The story of the maneuvering of some early Targaryens for control of the Iron Throne. Reads unexpectedly like a dry historical document, but wonderful nevertheless. Kind of an abrupt ending.

Rogues submitted by SBNB on June 15, 2018, 1:47pm I haven't read most of the stories in this book, but I have read "The Lightning Tree" by Patrick Rothfuss (this was in fact the whole reason I checked out the book). "The Lightning Tree" does not disappoint. It focuses on Bast, and it is great reading for fans of Rothfuss and his character Kvothe.

One of my favorite anthologies submitted by kritiyer on June 21, 2019, 4:54pm Most anthologies have their gems and their disappointments, and a bunch of lukewarm stories, but this one was almost entirely enjoyable and the gems were some of my favorite stories by those authors.

Tough Times All over *****

Charming, full of dark humor and wit, and thoroughly entertaining, this story was one of my favorites of the anthology. It's trademark Joe Abercrombie, and I really enjoyed it, especially because of Gwendoline Christie's narration. There were so many colorful characters, and I can't wait to read more about Sipani (I really hope there's more Carcolf!)

What Do you Do ****

This story starts out kind of tongue in cheek and satirical, and ends up being a really creepy psychological thriller. The twisted characters and ick-factor and trademark Gillian Flynn.

Inn of Seven Blessings ***

Anthropomorphagi are out to eat people in this creepy story, and our hero is a thief who enlists the help of a luck god to save a few people. I'm not sure if it was the narrator or the story itself, but I zoned out through quite a bit of this one.

Bent Twig - DNF

I just couldn't finish this story, I kept zoning out and getting bored.

Tawny Petticoats ****

This starts out like a western, almost like Bonny and Clyde, but ends up being a very scientific zombie story. I loved how Tawny was such a badass, independent, and smart woman, and the ending had me laughing.

Provenance ****/

This one was slow to start but that ending nailed it! The story follows how a painting was lost and found, sold, and stolen. Max is more of a character than he lets on!

Roaring Twenties ****/

I thought the atmosphere of the twenties was excellent and I loved the colorful characters. Pauline and Madame M's partnership was great, and it was fun to watch them con people.

A Year and a Day in old Theradane *****

Creepy statues and mythology, with a cast of vibrant and entertaining characters. In case you have ever wondered how to steal a street in a year and a day, this story will more than answer your question. Scott Lynch does not disappoint! I loved this one!

Bad brass **

This was one of the few stories I didn't really like. It's a strange story involving band students and tuba thieves.

Heavy Metal ***

Interesting story where people call for help of the supernatural variety. I liked the unconventional main character, but the story was a tad too preachy for my taste.

The Meaning of Love *****

Loved the world and the characters, and the writing was gorgeous too. I laughed and had my heart bruised. Asa's story was lovely, and I'm definitely going to look for more Daniel Abraham.

A Better Way to Die ****

This one had a really strong Doctor Who vibe :) It was slow to start but very compelling and intense, what with parallel universes and paradoxes.

Ill Seen in Tyr ****

This was a hilarious story set in an alternate timeline Greece/Rome and the magical misadventures of a duo. It's predictable, yes, but it's definitely still a lot of fun.

A Cargo of Ivories ***

Charming, but not super memorable. It involves the theft of ivory and some unexpected company along the way. I expected better from Garth Nix, but oh well.

Diamonds from Tequila **

This was the other story I didn't care for. It's about the murder of an actress and the conspiracies behind it. It was kind of funny, but not hugely entertaining.

Caravan from Nowhere ****

Fantastic story about the mysteries of the desert and the price you pay for happiness. This definitely tugged on my heartstrings!

Curious Affair of the Dead Wives ***/

Sherlock Holmes adaptation. Sold. It borrowed that familiar set of characters and style of story telling, which I liked, but I felt like the creepy element wasn't explained all that well.

How the Marquis Got His Coat Back *****

Neverwhere is my favorite Neil Gaiman novel, so obviously I loved this short story on how the Marquis got his coat back. It has all the fantastic elements of Gaiman's stories, with the added bonus of the enigmatic Marquis.

Now Showing ****

Funny science fiction/mystery story with tons of satirical pop culture references. Conspiracy theories abound!

I highly recommend this anthology for fantasy/speculative fiction lovers. The majority of the anthology is fantasy, but who can resist a loveable rogue in any genre?

The Lightning Tree ***/

I was on the fence about how I felt about Name of the Wind, and I kind of feel the same way about this one. This novella centers around what Bast does each day when Kvothe doesn't have tasks for him. Bast's major occupation is trading magical favors for secrets at the Lightning Tree. I loved the idea of the story, but there were a couple of things that rubbed me the wrong way, just like NotW.

The Rogue Prince ***

Fans of GRR Martin will love this. As for myself, I felt like it read like a history lesson instead of a story, and since it has been a while since I was in the ASOIAF universe, I had a hard time keeping track of who was who and how they were related to the characters of the main story