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)

Not a waste of time.

Good to find new authors you might like. I liked some of the stories and some of the readers.

Great story intros but where to find them

I got in to each story introduction but when I went to go look for the books themselves an audible I can find some of them so I was disappointed

Rachel Caine blew me away!

I picked up this volume of short stories in a sale. I didn't have high expectations because I am not a huge fan of the short form, but there were several writers included that I liked so I gave it a try. And, most of the stories are pretty good, especially Ilona Andrews' and Jim Butcher's. But I got a total shock from Rachel Caine. I have read some of Caine's books, but have never been overly impressed. However, her short story, Even a Rabbit Will Bite, is just about as good a short story as I have ever read - right up there with some of my favorites of Edgar Allen Poe and that is saying something. She builds and destroys a whole world in one brief story, makes the reader care deeply about some very odd characters, and left me with a tale I will never forget. It is especially nice that this great story is perfectly narrated by Suzanne Toren (bravo, Ms. Toren!). This is such a great short story, it makes the whole collection totally worth a credit.

Good Anthology

I got this because I was interested in the stories by Ilona Andrews and Carrie Vaughn. I liked both of those stories very much. The other stories varied in my level of like or dislike for them. I found that the Jim Butcher story was very good and made me decide to listen to the Dresden series in the future. I also liked the Lilith Saintcrow story. I hope she'll write more about Rookwood and Mrs. King (if she does I'll buy the book). Overall I didn't expect to like all the stories (and I was right) but I found enough of the stories to be good that it was worth the cost of buying this.

Worth it for the Jim Butcher

Not all great stories, but worth the listen for a Jim Butcher book set in the Dresden world. The protagonist though is the professional monster Gentleman Johnny Marcone instead of Dresden!

Great short stories, everyone a winner.

Great short stories, a few of the characters I'd love to see written into a book

Kind of dissapointed

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would not, I bought the book because it has a short story by Jim Butcher and I am a big fan of the Dresdin Files. I found all the short stories to be lacking. They could not keep my attention to the point that I just fast forwarded through them and I will rarely do that.

What was most disappointing about the authors’s story?

I like the idea behind the book being full of novella's by different authors, it is a great way to be introduced to a new author, however this book the stories were flat with no depth.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Some of the readers did a great job, others I would not choose to listen to.

Do you think Dark and Stormy Knights needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I think it is already part of a pseudo series

Truly enjoyable stories from great authors

If you know any of these authors, give this anthology a chance, and don't expect the same old same old. I was very pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this bunch of stories. I don't know what the other people who only gave two stars were expecting, but you can't please everyone. I found myself really enjoying the entire anthology. Great authors, some doing different things, others sticking to what they know. On a recent road trip everyone enjoyed this one.

A pretty good anthology

I will be honest up front, I really only got this book because I saw it had a Dresden Files short story in it by Jim Butcher. I won't spoil things, but fans will find it a very interesting story, and one they might not (I certainly didn't) expect. I found his wife's story to also be very good, and P. N. Elrod always writes excellent stories. I didn't listen too carefully to most of the other stories, and I will likely go back and do so, but as I picked this up in anticipation of Jim Butcher's fourteenth Dresden Files novel, Cold Days, his was really the only story I was interested in listening to at the time of purchase. Sharron K Butcher's story was a very different type of story, but a pleasant surprise. I hope we will see more of this from her. Thus the above ratings is only for the stories I listened to, and not an overall rating. Id rate the Jim Butcher story five stars, with a solid four and a half stars for the narrator. He does an excellent job, but James Marsters has ruined other narrators telling of Jim Butcher Dresden Files books/stories as he is so damn good at it.

Nine 1 hr shorts give you flavor of full series

A well organized, fun anthology that I especially recommend for those thinking about getting some of these author’s full length books. Unlike some anthologies, the nine short stories are clearly identified in the Table of Contents. Also unlike some anthologies, most of the series’ regular narrators are used, so you’ll definitely know if you’ll like the narration for the series. These shorts contain occasional F bombs and dwindling quality with each passing story. Bought on sale, I was okay with enjoying roughly half of these shorts (1-4, and 8). Better anthologies include Night Shift and Must Love Hellhounds, perhaps because those are 2-4 hour novellas rather than 1 hour shorts.

1) A Questionable Client by Ilona Andrews - Rene Raudman is in standard, snarky form narrating this prequel introducing the Kate Daniels series and an action / magic filled mercenary caper involving Sieman, a Loki-like regular right down to his frost-giant connections. If you like this prequel, you’ll like the Kate Daniels series and should like the author-duo’s Hidden Legacy series even more for a better mix of action, magic, and fun (don’t let the weird romance cover turn you off).

2) Even Hand by Jim Butcher - short involving Dresden rival Marconne, full of action, but light on character backstory or development. Mafia-style narration for the MC was a bit off from the series, but otherwise gives you a great flavor of the Dresden world. This story is also found in Brief Cases, book 15.5 in the Dresden series.

3) The Beacon by Shannon Butcher - Pulpy horror story of humans against monster, set in a small town. Maybe it connects to a series, but I don’t see it on Audible.

4) Even a Rabbit Bites by Rachel Caine - centuries old dragon slayer Lisl trains replacement slayer Ellie to hunt the last dragon. Satisfying and surprisingly deep, considering Rachel Caine’s usual campier fare. Narrator is outstanding.

5) Dark Lady by PN Elrod - Although the narrator is different than the series, this short tracks the tone of the Vampire Files series set in the 1930s and starring reporter/vampire Jack Fleming. It’s a little noir with mafia, a dame in distress, and a missing pile-O-cash. I find this series to be a tad on the dull side, in part because setting the 1930s mood seems to be more important than the action, mystery, or vampire parts.

6) Beknighted by Deidre Knight - painter Anna is haunted by the knight she is commissioned to paint. This felt very cheesy, like the Ghostbusters sequel, if Siguorney Weaver’s had a random Southern accent. Didn’t work for me.

7) Shifting Star by Vicki Pettersson - Non-human Skamar, a being created by thought, that may be angelic, pairs with neighbor/cop to hunt a demonic child killer. This was a confusing mess, with a lot of mystical mumbo jumbo and a mismatched plot of monster horror and romance without any chemistry.

8) Rookwood & Mrs. King by Lilith Saintcrow - Crusty former cop works with a “babe” to take on vampires as he repeatedly thinks about her hot bod. Little seedier and with more cussing than the rest of the stories, but a decent twist on the usual vampire hunter trope.

9) Gods Creatures by Carrie Vaughn - This was a rather tame mystery as bounty hunter Cormac from the Kitty Norville series hunts a werewolf amid a catholic school.