Noir Fatale

By: Kacey Ezell - editor, Larry Correia - editor

Narrated by: Brian Nishii, Bronson Pinchot, Erin Mallon, JD Jackson, Allyson Johnson, Marc Vietor

Length: 12 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

NEW SCIENCE FICTION, URBAN FANTASY, AND MYSTERY STORIES WITH A NOIR THEME FROM BEST-SELLING AUTHORS LAURELL K. HAMILTON delivering an Anita Blake series story, LARRY CORREIA, penning a Grimnoir series adventure, an original Honor Harrington series tale from DAVID WEBER, AND MORE.  

The silky note of a saxophone. The echoes of a woman’s high heels down a deserted asphalt street. Steam rising from city vents to cloud the street-lit air. A man with a gun. A dame with a problem....

NOIR.  

From the pulpy pages of Black Mask Magazine in the 1920s and '30s, through the film noir era of the 1940s, to today, noir fiction has lured many a reader and movie-goer away from the light and into the dark underbelly of society. Names such as Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and James M. Cain; titles like The Big Sleep, The Maltese Falcon, The Postman Always Rings Twice...these have inhabited our collective consciousness for decades. Humanity, it seems, loves the dark. And within the dark, one figure stands out: that of the femme fatale.  

Here then, Noir Fatale an anthology containing the full spectrum of noir fiction, each incorporating the compelling femme fatale character archetype. From straightforward hardboiled detective story to dark urban fantasy to the dirty secrets of futuristic science fiction - all with a hard, gritty feel. 

As Raymond Chandler said, “Down these mean streets, a man must walk who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid.” Because, as these stories prove, doing the right thing doesn’t necessarily mean you get the big bucks or the girl. But you do the right thing anyway.  

All new stories by  

Larry Correia 

Kacey Ezell 

Laurell K. Hamilton 

David Weber 

Sarah A. Hoyt 

Robert Buettner 

Alistair Kimble 

Griffin Barber 

Michael Massa 

Christopher L. Smith and Michael Ferguson 

Hinkley Correia 

Patrick Tracy 

Steve Diamond  

Larry Correia is the creator of the Wall Street Journal and New York Times best-selling Monster Hunter series, with first entry Monster Hunter International, as well as urban fantasy hardboiled adventure saga the Grimnoir Chronicles, with first entry Hard Magic, and epic fantasy series The Saga of the Forgotten Warrior, with first entry Son of the Black Sword and latest entry, House of Assassins. He is an avid gun user and advocate and shot on a competitive level for many years. 

Kacey Ezell is an active duty USAF helicopter pilot who also writes sci-fi/fantasy/alt history/horror fiction. Her first novel was a Dragon Award finalist in 2018, and her stories have been featured in Baen’s Year’s Best Military and Adventure Science Fiction compilation in 2017 and 2018.

©2019 Larry Correia and Kacey Ezell (P)2019 Audible, Inc.

Excellent Anthology.

Noir Fatale's stories range from classic Noir to way out there Urban Fantasy. One combined elements of a WWII spy thriller with (what felt like) an early tale of a Grim Noir Knight in the making and possibly an early tale in the Rivers of London series and also a dash of the storyline from Wonder Woman thrown in as well. I know, right? Wild. But very well written and excellently narrated. Another is an Urban Fantasy whose MC has demonic powers, interesting supporting characters and a fascinating, gratifying storyline. It's polished, very well written and left me wanting to look up the author and find anything else about this universe. Actually, a lot of the stories did that for me. I'd get done listening and want to know who wrote it and the next would start, immediately sucking me in and I'd be left with the same sensation at the end. I wish a table of contents was included, but it wasn't, so (after, I confess, I went straight to the Grim Noir novella, Bombshell) I started compiling one as I listened.

Overall the stories are well written, most had intriguing concepts and of course, all have the running theme of the femme fatale. I do have to mention there was one story I felt the narrator, Erin Mallon, did a complete disservice to, but as to the other narrators in this anthology? Wow. Excellent, excellent, excellent. They brought their stories to life, the characters vivid and stepping off the page.

Not only was I thoroughly entertained by Noir Fatale, it has the added advantage of introducing me to new authors and narrators I want to explore. IMHO it's well worth the credit.

Table of Contents

Ain’t No Sunshine by Michael J. Ferguson and Christopher L. Smith
Narrated by JD Jackson

Recruiting Exercise by David Weber
Narrated by Allyson Johnson

Spoils of War by Kacey Ezell
Narrated by Erin Mallon

The Privileges of Violence by Steve Diamond
Narrated by Marc Vietor

A Goddess in Red by Griffin Barber
Narrated by Erin Mallon

Kuro by Hinkley Correia
Narrated by Brian Nishii

Sweet Seduction by Laurell K. Hamilton
Narrated by Erin Mallon

A String of Pearls by Alistair Kimble
Narrated by Erin Mallon

Honey Fall by Sarah A. Hoyt
Narrated by Allyson Johnson

Three Kates by Mike Massa
Narrated by Bronson Pinchot

Worth the Scars of Dying by Patrick M. Tracy
Narrated by Bronson Pinchot

The Frost Queen by Robert Buettner
Narrated by Brian Nishii

Bombshell by Larry Correia
Narrated by Bronson Pinchot

The darker side of Sci-fi Fantasy

I absolutely loved it. The thrill of the darker side of our favourite universes was amazingly brought out either in the illicit magics, or the underbelly of future super technical society.

Some real gems here.

I bought this for the Grim Noir story and was not disappointed. The rest were a bonus and introduced me to some new authors I need to get to know. Hinkley’s adroitness was noteworthy. However, I really enjoyed the contributions of Mike Massa and David Weber, two old friends from previous favorites.

Great collection from some great author's

Normally I'm not an anthology kind of guy, but bought this because I was familiar with several of the authors and the genre has always interested me. Very, very happy with my purchase. Seeing the genre used in so many different era's is a very clever take on it. I have to admit to being skeptical at first, but I'm very pleased with the results. Please purchase this, sit back, and enjoy the show.

[count] shades of gray

There are no gems here.
No, not even Larry's story. It's OK, but not a gem (because his gems are MHI and Grimnoir and Dead Six).

These stories...
...some of them imitate Hammett. Unsuccessfully.
...some of them are about nothing.
...some of them make you wonder whether the characters are autistic village idiots, as in, "why are they doing this".
...one or two start out strong and fail to deliver in the end.
...one is an actual Heinlein rip-off. Talk about wow.

As for performance: most are OK, Pinchot is great as always, one the female readers is atrocious, the other is OK.

All in all, this is for return bin, unfortunately.
I so wanted to like it.
Damn.

Pretty good

I bought the book just for the one Grim Noir short story and wasn’t disappointed. I was pleasantly surprised with most of the other stories as well. Overall, pretty good.

this is the first time I've ever loved every story

this is the first time I've ever loved every story in an anthology. Every author did an outstanding job. the reader's did an amazing job of bringing every story to life. I cannot recommend this Anthology enough. do yourself a favor and buy it!

a great collection by a lot of great writers.

Can't say enough good things about this book. Bronson Pinchot is one of the best narrators around.

Great mix

All of the stories are great. This is a mix of sci fi, fantasy, and noir. Imagine the detectives from any law and order, or dragnet type cops, spencer for hire, the most future tech of minority report, star trek, or Orwellian stories and magic of Jim Butcher. And a femme fatale like Mae West, or Honey West or Catwoman!

Each story has a freshness and a nod to the classic. Each story centers around a dame (yes remember that old word) who may have questionable morals and ruthless ambition who may take advantage of a guy with a heart of gold.

Murder, violence, greed, horror, phasers, spells of the hell-touched and dragons make an appearance. Imagine a book of short stories by Baldacci, Grisham, Follett, JD Robb, and Briggs. All in each story. Fun times. I love anthologies since I can get to know new authors. Try this one.

great stories and performance

all of the stories were entertaining, with many of them standing out as outstanding. of course Kacey Ezell's story was the best but they were all truly outstanding. I really enjoyed the variety of voice actors, many of whom were familiar from these author's other books.

loved it

Loved most of the dtorys and even went looking to see if some were continued, sadly no.
well worth the listen