Naked City

By: Ellen Datlow (editor), Peter S. Beagle, Elizabeth Bear, Holly Black, Patricia Briggs, Jim Butcher, John Crowley, Jeffrey Ford

Narrated by: Eliza Foss, Nicola Barber, Richard Topol

Length: 16 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's Summary

In this thrilling collection of original stories, some of today’s hottest paranormal authors delight, thrill and captivate readers with otherworldly tales of magic and mischief.

In Jim Butcher’s ”Curses”, Harry Dresden investigates how to lift a curse laid by the Fair Folk on the Chicago Cubs. In Patricia Briggs’ “Fairy Gifts,” a vampire is called home by magic to save the Fae who freed him from a dark curse. In Melissa Marr’s “Guns for the Dead,” the newly dead Frankie Lee seeks a job in the afterlife on the wrong side of the law. In Holly Black’s “Noble Rot,” a dying rock star discovers that the young woman who brings him food every day has some strange appetites of her own.

Featuring original stories from 20 authors, this dark, captivating, fabulous and fantastical collection is sure to have readers coming back for more.

The complete list of authors includes: Ellen Datlow (editor), Peter S. Beagle, Elizabeth Bear, Holly Black, Patricia Briggs, Jim Butcher, John Crowley, Jeffrey Ford, Christopher Fowler, and Caitlin R. Kiernan.

©2011 Ellen Datlow (P)2011 Macmillan Audio

Excellent narration!!

I really liked some of these stories -- and a couple, not so much. I see anthologies as a smorgasbord, allowing me to sample the style of authors with whom I'm not familiar without having to commit to an entire novel which I may or may not like. I taste a little here, a little there, and then I can go back to enjoy more of the ones I favor.

The one thing I really did come away with was an appreciation for these three narrators. They are excellent. Eliza Foss' voice is similar to Kate Reading's (if you need a reference). British narrator Nicola Barber's Irish is impeccable -- and expressive -- and wonderful (her American accent isn't bad, either)! Richard Topol has done one other book on Audible, and I checked it out. It's nonfiction, and he maintains a very conversational tone in that, as well. Excellent first person storyteller. And speaking of first person narration, if there HAD to be a change, I wish he'd read Jim Butcher's Ghost Story. His voice has a similar tone & timbre to James Marsters', and his cadence/timing sounded familiar. I could imagine him telling Harry's tale as I listened to Elizabeth Bear's Vegas story. It may have made the transition much less (painful) glaring.

Not what I was looking for

I expected this to be more fantasy but most of these were really boring. The narrators were good, but i couldnt get into the writing. I bought this for Jim Butcher and enjoyed that story immensely, as I always do with his stories. I had to skip through most of the rest as it was just sort of strange and disconnected. I liked Hex Appeal and Stormy Knights much better. Those compilations made more sense together and were more true to the fantasy genre.

Mostly Enjoyable

Groups of short stories are always a bit of a roll of the dice. A majority of the stories are good with a few by the big name authors really good. There are a few that just seemed unfinished. Over all I enjoyed this book.

Good, but not all urban fantasy

If I were to review this book purely by the quality of the stories, I would give it 5 stars. All of the stories (with the possible expection of "On the Slide", which was so obvious that I wondered what the point of staying until the end) were well- written, many moving and thoughtful. As a reader with two advanced English degrees, I loved the word-craft. However, this book has a big problem: it's supposed to be collection of urban fantasy, but a full third of those included are not urban fantasy.

Some, like "Picking Up the Pieces" would be better catagorized as magical realism, while "Weston Walks" and "Duke of Riverside" lack any fantasy or magical element at all. "Projected Girl" at least leaves us with the thought that something truly magical happened, though I would still say it's not really urban fantasy. The definition of fantasy in this context requires the inclusion of mythological creatures/beings and/or Harry Potter magic; not merely 'fantastical' in the sense that the events are uncommon. Therefore, this collection fails to be a true collection of urban fantasy, and as such, was a disappointment.

That said, there were some great examples of urban fantasy. "Curses" and "Priced to Sell" were delightful rides. "Noble Rot" and "Fairy Gifts" were sweet and had nice twists. "Bricks for Gelecek" and "Colliers' Vensus" (nice works of literary fiction) were thought-provoking.

All in all, it was a good book, but not entirely urban fantasy. And for that reason, I can only give it 3 stars.

Almost worth it

I bought this book in spite of mixed reviews. The reviews were correct. A couple great stories, a few good ones, and several made no sense and were difficult to follow. If your favorite author is part of this book buy it otherwise keep shopping.

75% of the stories I enjoyed.

The work ranged from excellent to ok. The bulk of the work was good, performed well, and captivating. Overall I am content with my purchase. Not a must have but nice to own.

Well done collection....

An excellent collection of stories which tie into multiple different genre. If you recognize an author involved it's worth reading for the others.

A Few Jewels

Let me start by saying that I do not like anthologies. So why did I pick up this book? Well I am a big fan of Jim Butcher and have been sold on some other anthologies because of his work. In this book 3 or four of the stories are fantastic. The rest are somewhat questionable and some are downright confusing. Maybe I'm not the best reader.

However, if you can slog through the mediocre stories, the few that are fantastic including the one about a professor of ancient dinosaur lives is asked to look at a being found in the bottom of a coal mine. That one is truly a jewel.

Let this one go

I picked this up b/c it had a Dresden tale. But it was less than satisfying and I have yet to find another story (I have not finished the book yet) that has really grabbed me. I'd skip this over if I had to do it again.

Great book

There was just one issue with this book when you're listening to the last story on end of book 1 it cuts off and starts a new story on book 2 you never know what happens to the end of the story and it never pick up again, I hate that part, but ... overall this book with it's variety of stories are wonderful

Boring

Got to get better narrators slept thru a few of the stories as the voice was droning on