Camille Alexa

This has been in my to-read pile for far too long, and I figured an anthology was a good way to wrap up the year. This hit the spot nicely. All 24 tales are about Canadian superheroes, written by Canadians, and span from the Yukon Gold Rush to present day, and coast to coast. There were a few that didn't resonate with me (as is the way with anthologies) but some of my favorites included "The Man in the Mask" by Emma Faraday, "Great Canadian Comics" by Patrick T. Goddard, and "Canadian Blood Diamonds" by Kristi Charish. So many were fun, pulpy, and just the right length to read here and there.… (mere)

*Book source ~ Many thanks to Untreed Reads for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

In this combination Fantasy/Sci-Fi anthology there are 29 short stories that are creative and interesting. Some of the stories I completely enjoyed, some were ok and some I didn’t understand, but they were all well-written. If I had to pick a favorite out of them, it would be tough since there were many that I couldn’t stop reading, but I’d say I enjoyed Matty Johnson and Echo’s stories the best. Matty is a colorful Texan traveling to Mars and Echo is the android unit assigned by her father to protect her. But it goes so much farther than that. Wonderful and imaginative!… (mere)

Camille Alex presents a wide range of imaginative and well-wrought tales in this collection. The few poems included in the collection are not nearly as strong as the stories. They don't quite have the same punch as the stories. But the awesome of the stories far outweighs the mediocrity of the poems.

I was especially fond of "The Clone Wrangler's Bride" and its sequel "Droidtown Blues," which are space western stories about a girl and her mandroid. The girl is spunky and awesome. I loved her quite a bit.

"The Butterfly Assassins" was a beautiful murder mystery. In it a young prince loves to create clockwork creatures, a talent that is looked down upon because the arts of alchemy are more highly prized within the kingdom.

"Shades of White and Road" was a lovely little tale about a girl who runs away from home and travels a spiraling road. Along the way she meets and assortment of stray furniture and objects, who pester her and wish to become her friends.

A story about the last surviving dragon in the world is contained in "Paperheart" and an plaster figurine shares his wit in “Observations of a Dimestore Figurine.”

There are many other stories in this collection that are also powerful and moving, sometimes funny and sometimes horrifying, but always beautifully told.… (mere)