Tag Archives: Comedy

A World Done In by Great Granny’s Grateful Pie by Ken Scholes

Book Review, , ,
Overview
A Fantastic Holiday Season

Title: A World Done In by Great Granny’s Grateful Pie
Author: Ken Scholes
In: A Fantastic Holiday Season (Kevin J. Anderson & Keith J. Olexa)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Christmas, Comedy, Family
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: World Fire Press
Year: 2014
5th sentence, 74th page: What’s that supposed to mean?

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Synopsis

It’s best to use fresh ingredients… especially when you are making a pie with a bit of a kick…

Thoughts

Family is always messy. It is always difficult. And it is always filled with crazy amounts of love (sometimes with extra helpings of the crazy). So an anthology of Christmas stories just wouldn’t be complete without a tale featuring a not-quite-functioning family. A set up. And a potential zombie apocalypse gone mad.

Although the potentially poisoning grateful pie is quite funny, as is the patient zero for the potential virus. What I loved most about this tale was the way in which everyone in the family is trying to set Kay Ann up. The plus ones that the family brings along all show what kind of person they think makes the perfect mate… and man do they run the gammitt. Yet, everything seems to work out well in the end with the craziness of family and the holiday season. Ending in a great scene with the lead striding off into the sunset, gun in hand…

 <- A Christmas Feast ReviewSanta’s Mortuary Review ->
Image source: Goodreads

The Frog Prince by Gahan Wilson

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for snow white, blood red book cover

Title: The Frog Prince
Author: Gahan Wilson
In: Snow White, Blood Red (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Comedy, Easy reading, Fairy tales
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: Signet
Year: 1993
5th sentence, 74th page: Sometimes, lying there, he wondered if he was making visible rivulets and pools beneath himself on the surface of the couch.

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Synopsis

Everyone needs a shrink sometimes… even a frog prince.

Thoughts

I really enjoyed this story – it took the well-known trope of a frog prince and turned it around a little. For starters… the frog is still a frog… for another thing, his entire story is told in a weird, dream-like state.

There’s something about therapy offices that have a very distinctive feel. The couch that the characters lie on (I never did this in therapy, but it always seems to be in the media…), the stress…. And in the case of the frog prince, the constant sweating. It added an extra sense of realism and an increase in the stakes of the storyline as the amphibian royalty unfolds his latest dream.

Originally I thought that this short story was about the frog prince’s happily ever after going a little skewy, but, as it turns out, it is more about a loss of hope and trying to find one’s dream…

 <- The Moon is Drowning While I Sleep ReviewStalking Beans Review ->
Image source: Amazon

A Very Special Girl by Mike Resnick

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Blood Lite

Title: A Very Special Girl
Author: Mike Resnick
In: Blood Lite (Kevin J. Anderson)
Rating Out of 5: 3.5 (Liked this)
My Bookshelves: Comedy, Horror, Urban fantasy
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Edge
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: He also is an occasional employee that I use when some goniff does not wish to honor his marker, and indeed he has just returned from Longshot Lamont’s, where I had sent him to collect the three large that Longshot Lamont bet on Auntie’s Panties to com ein first, and indeed the filly does come in first by seven lengths, but she comes in first in the eighth race after she goes to the post in the seventh race thirty minutes earlier.

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Synopsis

When a zombie debt collector decides to give his boss’ money away to his new beau, you know that things are about to go a little pear shaped. When his new girl is a little more twisted than expected… well, that’s a whole new story.

Thoughts

What happens when your not-so-smart muscle gives away the money he was supposed to be collecting for you? Well, in this comedy of errors, you find out one way to deal with it. And meet a very unique couple that is just feeling the first blossoms of love…

Throughout this entire short story things just steadily kept getting worse and worse. More and more incorrect and confusing… and I loved how it just steadily went downhill. Although this isn’t the most memorable of stories, the fact atht it is just a calamity of errors and poor judgement completely bespelled me. And even though I probably won’t be reading it again anytime soon, I certainly enjoyed my time in this world.

 <- Where Angels Fear to Tread ReviewLove Seat Solitaire Review ->
Image source: Goodreads

PR Problems by Eric James Stone

Book Review, , , , ,
Overview
Blood Lite

Title: PR Problems
Author: Eric James Stone
In: Blood Lite (Kevin J. Anderson)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Comedy, Crime, Dark fantasy, Vampires
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Pocket Books
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: So I did.

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Synopsis

“What annoys me the most about vampires and werewolves is their good P.R.” — Thus begins the tale of a ghoul and his quest for proper respect.

Thoughts

I laughed so damn hard throughout this story. It’s rare to find a story that features a ghoul instead of werewolves and vampires and the sass with which the storyline is delivered were brilliant.

I love that throughout the story, the ghoul bitches and moans about the bad PR that they get. The fact that it ends with him wanting to eat someone doesn’t really improve my opinion of him… but he made quite a few good points. Ghouls don’t waste, vampires do… yet vampires are seen as something romantic and glorious in the literature.

This improvement on PR has certainly made me want to find a story or ten that features the glories of the ghoulish world…

 <- High Kicks and Misdemeanors ReviewWhere Angels Fear to Tread Review ->
Image source: Goodreads

High Kicks and Misdemeanors by Janet Berliner

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Blood Lite

Title: High Kicks and Misdemeanors
Author: Janet Berliner
In: Blood Lite (Kevin J. Anderson)
Rating Out of 5: 3 (On the fence about this one)
My Bookshelves: Comedy, Fantasy, Gangsters
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: Pocket Books
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: “‘Scuse me?'”

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Synopsis

Willie had an ostrich spirit-guide, and now he’s passing that knowledge and gift on to another.

Thoughts

This story is just damn weird. It’s one of those that no matter how many times I read it – I’m going to feel confused. And unsure. And also slightly entertained and amused. It is weird. Funny. And just balls out odd.

Even reading this, I wasn’t 100% sure of exactly what was going on. There was an uncle figure who was Native American. There were strippers. And Vegas. And spirit animals that were ostriches… did I mention that this was weird?

Normally I’m great with the weirdness factor. I thrive on weird (I myself am an oddbod), but this was almost at my threshold… there was something just a little too much about it that wasn’t quite working… something I’ll certainly give another try though.

 <- A Good Psycho is Hard to Find ReviewPR Problems Review ->
Image source: Goodreads

A Good Psycho is Hard to Find by Will Ludwigsen

Book Review, , ,
Overview
Blood Lite

Title: A Good Psycho is Hard to Find
Author: Will Ludwigsen
In: Blood Lite (Kevin J. Anderson)
Rating Out of 5: 3.5 (Liked this)
My Bookshelves: Comedy, Horror
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: Pocket Books
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: We wiped down the chainsaw and tossed it in the Dumpster.

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Synopsis

It can be hard to find the right amount of passion in a relationship… but for this young couple, things are about to take a sinister turn.

Thoughts

Well. This took an unexpected turn. Like really unexpected. And more than a little creepy. And just… yeah, not really quite right there.

It can be difficult to be passionate with your significant other when life gets in the way. And for the couple in this tale, they are certainly finding it hard to rekindle their first flames. That is, until they realise that they just need a good dose of adrenaline to throw them into each others’ arms. It’s more so where they get this adrenaline from that is unexpected. And in so many ways, not okay…

 <- Dear Prudence ReviewHigh Kicks and Misdemeanors Review ->
Image source: Goodreads

Naughty & Nice by Kevin J. Anderson

Book Review, , , , , ,
Overview
Image result for naughty and nice kevin j. anderson book cover

Title: Naughty & Nice
Author: Kevin J. Anderson
Series: Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. #3.5
In: A Fantastic Holiday Season (Kevin J. Anderson & Keith J. Olexa)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Christmas, Comedy, Cops, Paranormal fantasy
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: World Fire Press
Year: 2013
5th sentence, 74th page: In order to brainstorm, I invited Sheyenne to lunch.

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Synopsis

Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. finds himself tackling a bizarre Christmas case when Santa Claus himself becomes a client, hiring Dan to recover some very precious stolen North Pole property. If you like werewolves, vampires, evil elves, zombies, as well as a lot of belly laughs, curl up with this story and some eggnog.

Thoughts

I’m struggling to get into the Christmas spirit this year. So I thought that I would try and read some Christmas themed stories to get the festive feelings going… and it’s kind of working, but mostly it’s giving me that nice,happy, buzzy feeling that a good story gives me. And this was an amazing story to start the collection off with. It was funny, sassy and reminded me of the joy that Christmas time used to bring as a child (and I’m not talking about the presents).

For me, Christmas has always been about the joys of family,friends and community. Although, as with any other kid, I’ve always thoroughly enjoyed present receiving (and giving), it’s been about the people that I’m around. So it’s always been a little annoying to be thrust into a world full of the commercialisation of Christmas. And how many people have bitched about that? Luckily, Anderson feels the same – this story is all about how bad the commercialisation really is. The comedic and entertaining way in which this was done worked nicely.

This story by itself would have made me quite happy and entertained.But the fact that a zombie was the P.I. and his poltergeist girlfriend helped him out… that just made everything ten times better. It introduced a level of dark and urban fantasy to a Christmas tale that worked incredibly well for my happily crazy and convoluted brain.

 <- A Fantastic Holiday Season ReviewClose Knit Review ->
Image source: Goodreads

An Evening with Al Gore by Charlaine Harris

Book Review, , , ,

Overview

Blood LiteTitle: An Evening with Al Gore
Author: Charlaine Harris
In: Blood Lite (Kevin J. Anderson)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Comedy, Vampires, Werewolves
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Pocket Books
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: We want this to be a private affair.

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Synopsis

Toddy just wants to make the world a better place. But the way she goes about it is a little… unorthodox.

Thoughts

I literally laughed out loud when I read the last line of this story. Which kind of scared my dog because I normally don’t make so much noise when I’m walking around the house reading. Or really, much noise at all when I’m home alone. I normally am very careful with the vampire and werewolf books that I read when home alone because I can get some whacked out nightmares. This is not the kind of story that makes me feel concerned about this. It’s the kind of light-hearted tale that makes me laugh. In a very weird, very loud spasm.

I love the idea that there is a couple who are passionate environmentalists. And they happen to be werewolves. And they want to change the way that those most heavily responsible for environmental degradation think. It all just works exceedingly beautifully in my brain. The fact that the “bad guys” don’t repent wasn’t in the slightest bit surprising, and I laughed to myself throughout the tale. Now I have to return to the world of reality and continue attempting to do my own part for the environment… lest a vampire or werewolf decide to take their revenge.

 <- The Sound of Blunder Review Dear Prudence Review ->
Image source: Goodreads

The Sound of Blunder by J.A. Konrath and F. Paul Wilson

Book Review, , , ,

Overview

Blood LiteTitle: The Sound of Blunder
Author: J.A. Konrath & F. Paul Wilson
In: Blood Lite (Kevin J. Anderson)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Comedy, Easy reading
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: Pocket Books
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: Hey, did you eat all the duck sauce?

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Synopsis

Mick and Willie are in a buttload of trouble with their drug-dealing boss. But things are about to get a whole lot worse…

Thoughts

This was a pretty tripped out story. In more ways than one.

It starts off with two total douche bags who owe a pound or so of cocaine to their boss. But it’s been baked into a cake. Now, I’m not really sure what happens after that, whether they eat the cake, or they actually time travel. But shit just gets weirder and weirder and weirder as the story unfolds.

Like seriously weird. So weird that I can’t actually explain what is going on… or how I feel about it… or really anything.

 <- Old School Review An Evening with Al Gore Review ->
Image source: Goodreads

Old School by Mark Onspaugh

Book Review, , , ,

Overview

Blood LiteTitle: Old School
Author: Mark Onspaugh
In: Blood Lite (Kevin J. Anderson)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Comedy, Fantasy, Zombies
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: Pocket Books
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: It wasn’t even Old English like Chaucer or something.

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Synopsis

Onspaugh reminds us that there is a reason you should never play with that which you don’t understand…

Thoughts

This is an incredibly quick, short, sharp and shiny tale. That mostly reminds us not to play with zombies, rituals and reincarnations of any shape or kind.

Six pages and the story has been through an entire rollercoaster of beginning, middle and end. And the only message and idea that I got from it was that I’m not reading out or performing any rituals at any point in time.

I repeat. Do not perform seances, rituals, anything of the sort. Unless you really, really, really know what you’re doing. Otherwise you’ll end up like the people in this story…

 <- No Problem Review The Sound of Blunder Review ->
Image source: Goodreads