Those Who Fight Monsters: Tales of Occult Detectives

Good anthology of short stories, quick, easy reads that introduce the reader to established characters, to see if you want to continue to follow the character. I enjoyed it and found some characters that I'm going to look into reading more about. ( )

I read the stories by Carrie Vaughn, CT Adams and Cathy Clamp, Tanya Huff, Justin Guistainis. All nice short stories. ( )

This proved to be a very solid collection of short "casefiles" from the careers of a dozen monster trackers. I knew several of the heroes, but the other tales were generally self-contained enough that I could follow along without much trouble. Considering that three of those series are ones that I own but haven't gotten around to just yet, it was nice to get a quick introduction to them. ( )

Little Better than a Beast - disappointing. I thought the Beast would turn out to be not just a beast. Neat neutralization of both of them, but not the story I was hoping for. Interesting universe, though.
Dusted - eh. The story was fine, the universe is interesting, his agonizing over what he is is boring.
The Demon You Know - cute, I've read a couple of these books. Like the books, this is well-written, interesting situation, and just doesn't catch me.
The Spirit of the Thing - yuck. I don't like anyone in this. The bartender's just nasty, the girl's an idiot and so's the boy, and John Taylor, despite his reputed soft heart, arranges murder because he's annoyed at having been used. No thanks.
Holding the Line - I haven't read Jill Kismet, and I won't be. Like other Saintcrow books, it's well-written and the action's OK but the hopelessness and self-hatred are just too unpleasant.
Defining Shadows - now this one I like. Police procedural, in a world newly acknowledging magic - I didn't realize it was Kitty's world until she was explicitly mentioned. I don't remember Jesse Hardin - may not have read her story yet.
Deal Breaker - Yeah, I like Quincey Morris. I think he scammed both of them - a matter of belief, indeed!
See Me - Tony I know and like - this is a fascinating glimpse of an entirely new kind of creature, and a great story. I do like Lee. And now I want to read the Smoke series again.
Soul Stains - eww. First - too much backstory to this - a lot of it is very unclear. And then - nasty people, nasty story, nasty ending.
Under the Hill and Far Away - mmm, middling. The language and the world are too grim, the mystery is mildly interesting. I wouldn't mind reading more.
An Ace in the Hole - mmmph again. Mildly interesting world but I don't like the people much - magic mobsters.
Hell Bound - yawn. Silly story, heavy on the sex.
Impossible Love - yuck. Poor story & worse editing. Unrealistic emotions that are supposed to form the basis of the story.
Running Wild -eh. Don't like the Weather Wardens & adding the Bacchae didn't help.

Mostly middling to bad - a few good stories. Glad I read it, may search out some new stories, won't reread. ( )

This was very good, I even enjoyed the introduction. I loved how at the end of each story after telling a bit about the author, he then told a little about the hero of the story as if they were real.

I would recommend this book mainly for people who have read most of the series referenced. I'll only rate the ones I liked.

Little Better than a Beast (Marla Mason) by T.A. Pratt - I love and miss Marla. 5 stars

Dusted (Cosa Nostradamus)by Laura Anne Gilman - This was great, I'm glad Danny is going to get his own book. 5 stars

The Demon You Know (Demon-Hunter Soccer Mom)by Julie Kenner - this was good, I may have to continue reading these books. 4 stars

The Spirit of the Thing (Nightside) by Simon R. Green - excellent, maybe nightside is better as short stories. 5 stars

Holding the Line (Jill Kismet) by Lilith Saintcrow - I haven't read any of this series and just couldn't get into it.

Defining Shadows (Detective Jessi Hardin from Kitty Norville) by Carrie Vaughn - This is from the Kitty Norville world, but Kitty wasn't in it. Cormac did have a cameo. 4 stars

Deal Breaker (Quincey Morris) by Justin Gustainis - 4 stars

See Me (Smoke and Shadows) by Tanya Huff - 3.5 stars

Soul Stains (Vampire Babylon) by Chris Marie Green - haven't read any of this series

Under the Hill and Far Away (Black London) by Caitlin Kittredge - very good, I need to start reading this series. 4 stars

An Ace in the Hole (Sazi)by C.T. Adams and Cathy Clamp - I haven't read any of this series and wasn't very interested.

Hell Bound (Hell on Earth) by Jackie Kessler - 3 stars

Impossible Love (Piers Knight) by C.J. Henderson

Running Wild (Outcast Season)by Rachel Caine ( )