Naked City

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

It wasn't short stories it was mostly unfinished stories don't waste a credit most of the story hardly made any sense