Big Fat Supernatural Summer Fun

Yikes! Has it been a year since I posted to the old book blog? Y'all just can't see all those unfinished "saved" posts (sorry, Murakami, Moaveni, & the rest of you...) hiding back in Blogger's edit view.

But what better way to get back on track than to jot a few notes about a couple of light-hearted summer reads? Most weddings have the potential to become horror stories, but few embrace the fact so thoroughly as the special days (& nights) chronicled in two short story collections, My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding and My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon, both edited by P. N. Elrod.

These are just pure entertainment -- and though some of the stories aren't really "good," they're all good for a grin. I enjoyed spending a laid-back river weekend with these anthologies for company. Though some of the stories in the "Honeymoon" volume were quite well crafted, overall "Wedding" was my favorite; it was perhaps a little lighter, the stories centered a bit closely around the theme. The stories are all complete in themselves (though some are written as episodes taken from a larger series), the unified them give one the feeling that these authors are collaborating, and having a blast doing it. St. Martin's, if you keep putting these collections out, I'll keep reading them (though I wish they were released in cheaper mass market instead of trade paperback editions).

Here are my thoughts on the stories themselves:

My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding

"Spellbound" by L. A. Banks: In a genre-bending collection, this story unabashedly follows the romance formula. Though not the best written, this tale was one of the most fun (feuding families, backwoods voodoo, no-nonsense grandmas, and young lovers cursed with celibacy). That said, it was hard to ignore the history that tells me the Hatfields and McCoys were West Virginia crackers and accept the author's premise that these rival clans are South Carolinian African-Americans.

"Something Borrowed" by Jim Butcher: One of my favorites; I simply enjoy the return to the world of the Dresden Files. There's plenty of action, a suitably creepy villainess, and a wicked step-mother-in-law just for a bonus.

"Dead Man's Chest" by Rachel Caine: The author of the Weather Wardens series here strikes out in a different direction with this stand-along story. I found it well-done -- certainly in-debted to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, but Caine's tongue-in-cheeck approach makes her borrowing more like an homage.

"'All Shook Up'" by P.N. Elrod: Elvis is always entertaining, although this story was rather light on plot.

"The Wedding of Wylda Serene" by Esther M. Friesner: The first person narration of an Ivy League insider makes this story distinctive. I'm not sure I'd want to spend much longer in this bloke's point-of-view, but it works for the story, which also features a unique use of Greek myth.

"Charmed by the Moon" by Lori Handeland: I found this nearly-wed couple to be endearing. The story seemed a little flat (perhaps the lack of a clear villain contributed), but it left me curious about the larger series.

"Tacky" by Charlaine Harris: I'm a big fan of the Sookie Stackhouse books, so this story was a bit of a disappointment. I couldn't totally buy into the point-of-view of the vampire protagonist, but my real problem was with the relatively easy happy ending and resolution of the vampire-werewolf conflicts.

"A Hard Day's Night-Searcher" by Sherilyn Kenyon: This story seemed to be longer; I needed more to feel really satisfied. On the upside, there's plenty of action and it follows the crowd-pleasing formula of the classic short stoyr.

"'...Or Forever Hold Your Peace'" by Susan Krinard: I was more interested in the world of this story, an alternate Victorian England where magical gifts are "entailed" and passed down through families, than in the story itself, but I enjoyed my trip from London to the Welsh Border with Krinard's amateur detective duo.

My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon

"Stalked" by Kelly Armstrong: I'm afraid I just couldn't get into the point-of-view of the male werewolf narrator.

"Heorot" by Jim Butcher: I think this story, which includes mead, the mob, and Beowulf, is even better than Butcher's showing in the "Wedding" volume. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

"Roman Holiday, or SPQ-arrrrrr" by Rachel Caine: This story is a sequel to "Dead Man's Chest" in the earlier volume and also quite enjoyable. The diversity of haunted seafaring vessels is impressive.

"Her Mother's Daughter" by P. N. Elrod: This short mystery, investigated by Elrod's vampire PI, Jack Fleming, was complete and completely entertaining. The whodunit may not have been terribly complex, but the details of character (sometimes humorous) kept my attention.

"Newlydeads" by Caitlyn Kittredge: This wasn't a perfect story, but I loved these characters and the gritty, dangerous Britain that Kittredge creates. Pete (as we discover, short for "Petunia," a London cop who's just learned about the Black, a dark magical realm that encroaches on the ordinary world) and Jack (her longtime friend, a former junkie, seer, and generally unreliable character) pretend to be newlyweds in order to score a better deal at a rather fishy Blackpool hotel. I'd be happy to spend a novel with these two.

"Where the Heart Lives" by Margorie M. Liu: This fairy tale is certainly magical; I found it a bit dull, however. It's a distant prequel to a larger series by Liu, and I wonder if the modern world isn't where her heart truly lies.

"Cat Got Your Tongue?" by Katie MacAlister: This story has an amusing set of ghostly characters, but overall it was not one of my favorites.

"Half of Being Married" by Lilith Saintcrow: Like Kittredge's story, Saintcrow's made me want to read the larger series. Full of action, this tale tells its story while providing tantalizing details as to how the supernatural works in Saintcrow's version of reality. A vampire hunter and werewolf find their secret identites revealed to their partners during the honeymoon -- and then must solve a nearly fatal mystery.

"A Wulf in Groom's Clothing" by Rhonda Thompson: This light-hearted romance fits the collection's mood and theme.