Dark and Stormy Knights

By: Ilona Andrews, Jim Butcher, Shannon K Butcher, Rachel Caine, P. N. Elrod, Deidre Knight, Vicki Pettersson, Lilith Saintcrow, Carrie Vaughn

Narrated by: Renee Raudman, Joe Barrett, Marc Vietor, Suzanne Toren, David Pittu, Katherine Kellgren, Natalie Gold, L J Ganser

Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

It was a dark and stormy knight, and nine dark defenders embarked upon a most perilous quest. They're the ultimate defenders of humanity, modern-day knights who do dark deeds for all the right reasons.

In this all-star collection, nine of today's hottest paranormal authors bring us thrilling, all-new stories of supernatural knights - stories that are brimming with magic, mystery, and mayhem.

John Marcone sets aside his plans to kill Harry Dresden to go head-to-head with a cantrev lord in Jim Butcher's "Even Hand". Kate Daniels is called upon for bodyguard duty to protect Saimen, a shifter she trusts less than the enemy in Ilona Andrews' "A Questionable Client". Cormac must stop a killer werewolf before it attacks again on the next full moon in Carrie Vaughn's "Gods Creatures". And in Vicki Pettersson's "Shifting Star", Skamar gets more than she bargained for when she goes after a creature kidnapping young girls and enlists the aid of her frustratingly sexy neighbor.

When everything's on the line, will these knights complete their missions and live to fight again another day? Find out in Dark and Stormy Knights! Included are stories from Ilona Andrews, Jim Butcher, Shannon K. Butcher, Rachel Caine, P.N. Elrod, Deidre Knight, Vicki Pettersson, Lilith Saintcrow, and Carrie Vaughn.

©2010 P. N. Elrod (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Jim Butcher does his usual top-notch job with the Dresden Files tie-in “Even Hand”….Equally as good is Carrie Vaughn’s taut and suspenseful “God’s Creatures”….Rachel Caine’s “Even a Rabbit Will Bite”…is unexpectedly poignant.” ( Publishers Weekly)

Entertaining read

This was an entertaining read. I was familiar with a couple of the authors and some of the stories (if not all?) were about characters in their existing fictional world settings. I think readers who are already familiar with the authors' previous works will gain added enjoyment from the stories, but they are all good stand alone stories and don't require prior knowledge of the authors or world settings to be enjoyed, and could be a good starting point for anyone.

A Questionable Client by Ilona Andrews

This review is only for the short story by Ilona Andrew's. This is a quick introduction to the world of Kate Daniels, which introduces the listener to Kate, a member of the Mercenary Guild of Atlanta, Georgia. We also meet Mark and the Clerk of the Guild, along with some of Kate's fellow mercs. We are also introduced to some of the magic wielded by the Russians who live in the area. Kate is given a bodyguarding gig for a client called Saimon, a being who can assume any human size, shape or gender. This short story sets the scene for the first book in the Kate Daniels series and was a lot of fun to listen to.

Bought this for Dresden, loved the rest!

I bought this just for Jim Butcher's story (which was actually about John Marcone, not Harry Dresden) but I enjoyed every story. It's very rare that I find a compilation like this where every story is gripping, action-packed, and well written but this one has it all. I enjoyed that there was very little romance and a lot of battling monsters. I will definitely listen to this collection again!

Mediocre

I bought this because it was on sale for under $5 and because it had a Jim Butcher story in it. I also hoped that it would introduce me to some new fantasy authors I might like to try. Sadly, it did not. The Jim Butcher story was okay. Not great, but okay. The other stories ranged from okay to horrid. I won't be seeking out the work of any of these people. Definitely not worth a full credit.

Short stories from favorite authors.

Where does Dark and Stormy Knights rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I enjoyed most of the short stories from Dark and stormy Knights. I like a longer book better than short stories on the whole.

What other book might you compare Dark and Stormy Knights to and why?

Jim Butcher's Dresden series as well as Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels series

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When the mob boss saves the little girl. He's not as bad as he wants you to believe

Any additional comments?

I especially liked the story by Jim Butcher. Instead of a story about the main character in his Dresden series, he writes a story about one of Dresden's adversaries. He makes the mob boss human and likeable. At the end he adds the twist that the security measures he uses to destroy the monster that attacks his headquarters were put in place for his final confrontation with Dresden. Now you don't want either of these characters to lose that confrontation.

Worse Narrations Ever!

This is a collection of my favorite authors however the worse flipping narration ever. Literally I rewound over and over because there was just nothing to hold your attention. You've been warned, listen at your own risk.

A great listen!

I got this book because of one particular author and it lets me find other authors I've not known about. These were all well written and I may have to add some new authors to my library.... AGAIN!! It never ends and that is how it should be!

Great collection

I'm giving this book four stars only because I'm not a huge fan of short stories. I picked up this book because it had offerings from some of my favorite authors. They were all very good, not a clunker in the batch.

One of the best things about the short story format is that is offers an author of a long-running series the opportunity to write something from one of their supporting character's point of view. Sometimes this can be disappointing, but not here. I don't want to give any spoilers.... but Jim Butcher does a great job here.

Good listen but too crude at times

I enjoyed many of these stories. The narration was quite good. The only complaint I have is that the writers put crude language in that really didn't need to be there. That was a distraction. It also meant that my children who listen with me could not.
I wish we could delete these words prior to listening.

Great group of short stories.

This is a great group of short stories some were even good for the kids. Recommend this!