I absolutely loved the world building in this novella – it was a fantastic reality of blood magic and chaos. There was a whole underbelly of magic and mayhem that I can’t wait to dive deeper into. And that’s not accounting for the great character building of Lem and Mags. Blood magic isn’t a new concept in the stories that I read, but the way that it is portrayed is entirely new. I love that it is all built on a seedy underbelly of blood and life. All of which is transactional.
Lem is a fascinating narrator, one that I want to get to know more of. I love that, when there are constant bad decisions to be made, he chooses to do the “right thing”. All driven, of course, by his love of Mags. Love that the simplicity of Mags and the way he sees the world is what makes a man who could potentially be evil be a good man. And one that I want to get to know more of.
This is a fantastic prequel to The Ustari Cycle, I can’t wait to see how the occurrences in this story lead to a world of hurt for Lem and Mags. Forced servitude, blood trading and all sorts of horrible nonsense are going to be incredibly fun and interesting to read about!
For every hero trying to save the world, there’s a villain trying to tear it all down – and in this star-studded urban fantasy anthology, the villains get their say. Told from antagonists’ points of view, this is a rare glimpse into the dark side of your favorite series.
John Marcone decides to battle a cantrev lord instead of going after Harry Dresden in Jim Butcher’s “Even Hand” (Dresden Files). Loki traverses Hell to ahve a sit-down with Lucifer in Kevin Hearn’es “The Naughtiest Cherub” (Iron Druid Chronicles). Kelley Armstrong’s “Hounded” (Cainsville) tells the tale of the Huntsman’s plot to replace his missing hound in a most surprising fashion. The cuckoos are powerful telepathic predators, but one finds herself with difficult decisions to make in Seanan McGuire’s “Balance” (InCryptid). In Jonathan Maberry’s “Altar Boy” (Joe Ledger), the man called Toys is no saint, and certainly isn’t playing around…
Includes other stories by Domino Finn (Black Magic Outlaw), Diana Pharaoh Francis (Horngate Witches), Faith Hunter (Jane Yellowrock), Caitlin Kittredge (Hellhound Chronicles), Jon F. Merz (Lawson Vampire), Joseph Nassise (Templar Chronicles), Lilith Saintcrow (Jill Kismet), Steven Savile (Glass Town), Craig Schaefer (Daniel Faust), Jeff Somers (The Ustari Cycle), Carrie Vaughn (Kitty Norville), and Sam Witt (Pitchfork County).
I really enjoyed this collection, but it was a little more difficult to get through. Unlike a lot of anthologies, every single one of these stories was placed in an already established world and series. However, unlike the few other books that I’ve read which have the same setup, these shorts didn’t stand by themselves very well. Actually, some were just downright confusing because I had no idea what was happening.
What I did love about this collection is that even though I wasn’t 100% about what was happening… there was a little introduction at the beginning of each story. It just explained the worlds and series in a brief manner. Not excellently because I still didn’t actually get what was happening in a number of stories, but enough that it helped me to place the stories a little.
I’d be keen to reread a number of these short stories. Particularly once I’ve actually read the series in which they are situated. At this point, they’re all on my wish list, so it’ll happen… eventually. I seriously need to stop starting a series and then starting a new one… should really finish a few before I get too hooked into a new series.
Title: Nigsu Ga Tesgu Author: Jeff Somers Series: The Ustari Cycle #4.5 In: Urban Enemies (Joseph Nassise) Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Dark fantasy, Horror, Urban fantasy Dates read: 26th August 2019 Pace: Fast Format: Short story Publisher: Gallery Books Year: 2017 5th sentence, 74th page: His spell, his curse, it should have consumed me long ago.
She is the most powerful of her kind. Her apprentice thinks that he’s finally found a way to usurp her. But there’s a reason that she’s survived for so long… a reason why she understands the words better than anyone else.
I absolutely adored the creepiness and spine-tingling
evilness of this story. This might be in a collection of Urban Fantasy Villains
stories, but there was something extra creepy about a girl chewing her own
tongue to kill her father. A whole other level of darkness that hasn’t so far
been portrayed in this collection – most villains use the sacrifice and blood
of others. This woman starts off sacrificing parts of herself willingly.
I love that the woman in this is the most powerful in the
world, but she is also incredibly feeble. This fantastic juxtaposition between
physical and mental strength is incredibly fascinating and drives home the
point that sometimes the most powerful aren’t the most physically able. The
entire looks can be deceiving, and don’t judge a book by its cover ideal is heavy
handedly highlighted in this story. But in a way that doesn’t feel clunky and
irritating, just slightly humorous.
Nigsu ga Tesgu introduced me to a world that is
entirely shades of grey. There is nothing black and white, good and evil in the
world. There are just choices that aren’t good and aren’t necessarily evil.
They’re just about survival and finding a way to move forwards further in your
life. Normally the stories I read have a clear villain and hero (even if the
hero is more than a little damaged), but this didn’t feel like that kind of
story. I know that the woman was supposed to be the big Cahoona in the
villains’ world, but it just felt like an old woman struggling to survive in a
horrible world… in a incredibly horrible manner.
Earth and Skye 