Rogues, the men and women whose character’s become beloved (or hated) in stories for their mischievousness, mark the sign of the adventures to come in this book. Rogues is a collaborated work that includes authors such as Gillian Flynn, Joe Abercrombie, Connie Willis, George R. R. Martin, Carrie Vaughn and many more. Each story is long enough to keep your attention for a time and short enough that if you are a busy person (as I am), you could read a story in a short window of time. Each story is roughly 25-60 pages depending on the author. I really enjoyed the authors’ different views on rogues and their multitude of adventures to be read.
In the short story “Bad Brass” (by Bradley Denton), Matthew Marx is a substitute teacher who just moved back to his hometown in Texas from Chicago. A little short on cash, Matt begins targeting low level criminals in order to make up for some funds. After following teenagers back to their hide out, Matt watches as a deal goes south, ending with the “goods” being taken before the cash could make a transition. This leaves Matt to investigate (unwillingly) and finding all the secrets the teenagers were hiding. In the end, Matt loses out on his “pay day” of $1400 in order to end a hostage situation. This short story had me dying of laughter at the sheer outcome of it all and the wonderful sarcasm behind the character.
The short story “The Curious Affair of the Dead Wives”, Lisa Tuttle introduces us to the plight of a young woman wanting to experience death and the sister who lost her. Felicity finds herself at the doorstep of her day and age Sherlock and Watson embodied in Jasperson and Lane. After informing them of the strange circumstances behind her sister’s death, Felicity informs them that she saw her sister, Alcinda, after her funeral. Jasperson and Lane are fascinated by the story go to investigate. As they go along with their investigation, Jasperson and Lane find themselves surrounded by questions. Soon, they locate Alcinda by following their leads through the funeral home. Kidnapped by Mr. Smurl, Alcinda has been brainwashed to follow commands and act as though she hardly lives. Jasperson and Lane rescue Alcinda and return her to her family but not before more questions are brought about. Loved this Sherlock and Watson style tale and all the questions it brought about.
The final story I am going to mention is my favorite of the book. I was really disappointed when it actually ended. The Lightning Tree (by Patrick Rothfuss) is a story about Bast, a mischievous teen who gives advice to younger youth on how to survive trouble. A promise, a secret, a favor or a fun item are the things Bast trades his secrets for. As Bast goes through out his day, he challenged by a young boy asking for help. Rike begs Bast for his help to get rid of his drunk father. Bast puts into motion a series of events and wild goose chases trying to “help” Rike. As the day drags on, his events slowly come together and in the end reveal his grand master scheme as a big success. I don’t want to say anymore on the story because it truly was a great twist and I would hate to give away such an amazing ending.
All in all, I’d rate this book an 8. It literally has a story for every Rogue-lover, taking you on a whirl wind of adventures. The reason I didn’t rate it higher is despite all of the mischievousness, sarcasm, and downright amazing plotting of every story, I had a difficult time making a smooth transition from story to story. It got to be a little frustrating to read multiple stories as they jumped from place to place and I had to re-read a few to not get confused from the previous (Add a bad case of two year old tugging at my knee also). I do love the fact it introduced me to a few writers I have never heard of, and I fully intend to hunt down their books now that I have read a sample of their writing. After a story so adventurous in 20 pages, I wonder what they could do in a full book!
Edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois
