Strange Brew, Anthology by Patricia Briggs, Jim Butcher, Charlaine Harris, and others

I don't like anthologies. I don't like short stories. I don't like having to keep starting over again.

Have I mentioned that I don't like anthologies?

If you aren't familiar with the genre and want to get an idea of which authors you might like, then Strange Brew might be a good book for that. Alternatively, you can find excerpts and in some cases the first chapter or two of several of their books, where you can get an idea of who you like for free.

With that being said, here is what you can expect in the book:

1. Seeing Eye by Patricia Briggs - Set in the Mercy Universe, but in Seattle, so there are none of the regular characters from either of the author's series. The story gets a 9 of 10
   
2. Last Call by Jim Butcher: A Harry Dresden short story. 9 of 10
   
3. Death Warmed Over by Rachel Caine: Probably would have been better if I was familiar with the series. Still, I'll give it an 8 of 10
4. Vegas Odds by Karen Chance: I'm not sure, but think this is set in the Cassandra Palmer series, since there are the different kinds of Mage. I didn't recognize any people, though. It was a good story, though. 10 of 10
5. Hecate's Golden Eye by P. N. Elrod: A Jack Fleming story. I like Jack Fleming and his friend Charles Escott, but the story only gets a 6 of 10
6. Bacon by Charlaine Harris: Set in the Sookie-verse, in Rhodes, with none of the characters from the series. An interesting story, but not great. 7 of 10
7. Signatures of the Dead by Faith Hunter: I believe this is a set up for a new series. Not a bad story, might check the series out if it gets good reviews. 8 of 10
8. Ginger by Caitlin Kittredge: Nocturne City universe. A decent story. 8 of 10
9. Dark Sins by Jenna Maclaine: I'm not familiar with this author so I'm not sure of the setting. 6 of 10

So what do I give the book as a whole? I really do not like having to keep starting over again. I like to pick up a book and get engrossed and stay engrossed. It doesn't work that way with anthologies. Is it fair for me to give it a 5 of 5 because that is how much I enjoyed the book as a whole? Or should I give it something higher because it isn't fair to just give it a bad rating because I've got something against anthologies. Should I average the score of the stories and give the book that rating? Maybe, but the whole is not always equal to the sum of the parts when it comes to series ratings or anthology ratings, I don't think. But in this case, it will have to do.

Book Rating: 7 of 10