On the Prowl | Patricia Briggs, Eileen Wilks, ...

On the Prowl | Patricia Briggs, Eileen Wilks, ... | Worth buying for the Karen Chance and Patricia Briggs stories...

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On the Prowl

	On the Prowl Patricia Briggs, Eileen Wilks, ... Berkley, 2007 - 352 pages average customer review:based on 49 reviews view larger image
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I loved all the stories

I had to go right out and buy novels from each of the authors. A couple of stories continue on into full novels. I am a great fan of Patricia Briggs anyway. I havn't read the other authors before. But after reading these stories I went and purhcased their books.

Worth buying for the Karen Chance and Patricia Briggs stories...

The problem I find with anthologies is you tend to buy them for one (or maybe two) stories. Therefore I shall admit my bias straight off and say I bought On the Prowl for the Patricia Briggs story.

Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs.
Set in the Mercy Thompson universe (Moon Called, Blood Bound). Alpha and Omega follows Charles (the son of werewolf king Bran) when he comes to Chicago to deal with unrest in the Chicago pack. Although this story takes place during Moon Called it's not necessary to have read Moon Called to enjoy this story.

Not surprisingly I really liked this. It's also a story I've dipped back into whilst reading the other three. My favourite part being when Anna initially calls Bran for help. In a way this serves as an introduction to Anna and Charles who will be getting their own series of books in 2008, so there is something of a feeling that there is more to come. If I had any quibbles it would be that on p69 Anna smells Boyd's blood but Boyd wasn't involved in the fighting. So surely it should be Justin's blood? Rate - 4/5

Inhuman by Eileen Wilks.
As I'm not familiar with the Universe this is set in, I found it unsatisfying. I feel strongly that even if a short story is set in an ongoing series, it should be able to stand on its own. However, I felt like I'd come in part way through the action, the characters were talking about things I knew nothing about. The situation is ultimately resolved by magical means so I didn't feel like it had really been dealt with. The heroine wasn't that interesting, but Nathan was well written, I could have read more about him and how he saw the world. One for the fans who'll have a better idea of what's going on and might enjoy it more. Rate - 2.5/5

Buying Trouble by Karen Chance.
This was my second favourite. I thought the story had real humour and the characters were engaging. It had a bit of a slow start, but following the gamelans escape, the story had much more pace. Claire's transformation scene was very well done, and Heidar has a way with the witty remark. Claire had an appealing voice and I could happily read more about her. Based on this short story I'd definitely check out Karen Chance's backlist. Rate - 3.5/5

Mona Lisa Betwining by Sunny
I have only read Book 1 of the Mona Lisa series. And if you're in the same position you may want to give this one a miss - because it's got huge spoilers in it regarding the death of a character.

There is very little plot here. There's quite a bit of exposition bringing you up to date with what's happened - kind of like a 'Previously in the Mona Lisa Universe...'. It's more of a filler between books and is probably only interesting if you're a fan of the series. Nothing really happens, and it happens for about 60 pages.

Also, similarities between the Mona Lisa world and both Laurell K.Hamilton's Merry Gentry and Anne Bishop's Black Jewels stories are slightly grating to say the least. 0/5

Disregrading Mona Lisa Betwining I'm giving the anthology a four overall. Worth checking out. :)

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Prowling through "Prowl"

I, like many other reviewers of this anthology, LOVED the first story, LIKED the second two more or less, and grimaced my way through the last story. But for more detail:

I'm a great fan of Patricia Briggs. I've re-read the two Mercy books (Moon Called and Blood Bound) a number of times, and was thrilled to hear about 'Alpha and Omega'. I rushed out and bought the book and was not at all disappointed. Her writing flows, the characters are believable, deep, and real. Her language flows, her settings are entirely credible for those who know the area (especially the Tri-cities area of Washington State) and I can't wait for the story to be turned into a full-on novel.

I had never read anything by the authors of "Inhuman" or "Buying Trouble" although I will willingly seek them out after this taste of their writing skills. They both felt a little rushed and frenetic, with things happening too fast to follow - let alone develop the way I would prefer - but I liked the twists to the plots and the sexual tension.

Which brings us, I'm sorry to say, to 'Mona Lisa Betwining'. I have not read anything by this author, and I was expecting more along the same lines - fantasy, maybe a bit of magic, some sexual tension....what I got was an attempt to shoehorn every sort of sex you can get, including the kind that can get you arrested in some states, described in tawdry detail. To hold it all together? The shakiest of threads of plot.

Buy the book. Read the first three stories. I've re-read 'Alpha and Omega' several times now. But the give the last story a miss. You'll be glad you did.

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