Review: Heroic Hearts

Heroic Hearts by Jim Butcher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I bought this anthology because it featured short stories by Anne Bishop and Patricia Briggs, and also because it is dedicated to the memory of Rachel Caine. I will review each short story as I pick and choose. Some of these authors I love (see above), some I have read in the past, but have gone off in recent years, and some are totally new to me.

Little Things by Jim Butcher - did not read

The Dark Ship by Anne Bishop - four stars
Set in the world of The Others, this is the story of a young girl in a small village called Pyetra on a Mediterranean island which is being terrorised by Captain Starr and his crew who provide 'protection' to the islanders in return for doing whatever they want.

Dett has a sort of second sense when it comes to ships and the sea, not that she would ever tell anyone after a sailor beat a woman with similar skills to death for correctly warning him of an incoming storm, a warning he failed to heed. So when she 'feels' the need to go to the beach which Captain Starr and his men have baited as a trap for anyone or thing foolish or desperate enough to try to claim what is on the beach, Dett doesn't hesitate. There she finds an unusual blue horse, trapped in one of the nets. Dett frees the horse, which of course turns out to be one of the terra indigene.

I won't go on further but I loved this. How Anne Bishop can cram so much into such a short story amazes me. It may be hard for someone who is not familiar with the series to understand the references to the different kinds of Others, but this is very much a standalone story.

Comfort Zone by Kelley Armstrong - three and a half stars
A short story featuring Necromancer Chloe and werewolf Derek. After their adventures Chloe and Derek are trying really hard to be normal, going to college, living together etc. Chloe does her best to ignore the ghosts that regularly accost her asking for help. Until a young man claims he has been murdered and his half-sister is in mortal danger.

Another great short story in the Darkest Powers YA series which I really enjoyed.

Train to Last Hope by Annie Bellet - did not read

Fire Hazard by Kevin Hearne - did not read

Grave Gambles by R.R. Virdi - did not read

Silverspell by Chloe Neill - three stars
I read the Dark Elite and Chicago Vampires series about a decade ago (that makes me feel old) and failed to write reviews so I have no idea why I gave up on CV at book 5. Anyway, this novella features Merit and Ethan's daughter Elisa, the only born vampire, in her role as a Chicago ombudsman alongside her boyfriend Connor, son of the North American Central Pack's Apex wolf.

Elisa and Connor are called to investigate when the body of a shifter is found, stabbed in the heart by a silver dagger and surrounded by a circle of salt. The murder weapon and the salt suggest black magic of some description. Then they discover that a human was killed in a similar fashion a few nights earlier, can they stop the killer(s) before any others are killed?

I liked it but I didn't love it. I struggled to understand the fight scene and to connect with two characters from a five book series that I haven't read.

Troll Life by Kerrie L. Hughes - 4 stars
A new to me author, I loved the world-building in this story. A troll is hoping to be promoted to station master on the Liminal Subway system and is awaiting a 'surprise' inspection when he comes across a pair of runaways. Harzl has to decide what is more important, his career or saving a small gargoyle child.

I don't know if this is part of a series but I would definitely be interested in reading more books set in this world.

The Return of the Mage by Charlaine Harris - 3 1/2 stars
At one time I couldn't get enough of Charlaine Harris' books and must have reread the Sookie Stackhouse books four or five times, although apparently I didn't like the way the series was heading because I didn't read the final book!

Apparently this short story is part of the same universe as the Sookie Stackhouse series, but it concerns The Britlingen Collective, a society from another dimension divided into Mechs, Mercs, and Mages. An old rescue beacon has been activated and a team of Mercs is sent off-world to rescue whoever set off the beacon.

I liked this, there was a lot of plot conveyed well in a short story and I would read other stories about The Collective.

The Vampires Karamazov by Nancy Holder - did not read
The Necessity of Pragmatic Magic by Jennifer Brozek - did not read

Dating Terrors by Patricia Briggs - 4 stars
Oh, how I wish that this had been a full-length novel. Asil's 'friends' have set him up on a series of blind dates/ For those who don't know him, Asil is a very old, very dangerous wolf. His latest blind date is a group activity involving ghost hunting in a Victorian mansion, one of the ghosts is a poltergeist who likes to hit guests. Asil's date can see and speak to ghosts, but really she and her friends have invited Asil in the hope that he will help her to escape from the fae who has her under his thrall.

This was a great story from start to finish. I love Asil.

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