[b: Paper Cities|2412563|Paper Cities An Anthology of Urban Fantasy|Ekaterina Sedia|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1389044098s/2412563.jpg|2419740] is an anthology of urban fantasy short stories. When I hear "urban fantasy" I tend to think of novels by [a: Jim Butcher|10746|Jim Butcher|http://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1400640324p2/10746.jpg] or [a: Charles de Lint|8185168|Charles de Lint|http://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1494881016p2/8185168.jpg], who write about present day cities where fantastical happenings take place. The editor of this anthology, [a: Ekaterina Sedia|668710|Ekaterina Sedia|http://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1356285981p2/668710.jpg], has a broader view of the sub-genre - fantasy stories that take place in a city, regardless of the time period. From the collection's first story, it becomes clear what the problem with this loose description is - any medieval fantasy story that takes place in a large castle town now qualifies.
The genre's definition is a minor thing when compared with the quality of the stories - I just didn't enjoy many of them. Some are well written but simply uncaptivating, others are just bad ("Down to the Silver Spirits"). Out of the 21 authors, none who I was familiar with prior to this book, I only found about 4 or 5 who I was interested in following up with (and one of them doesn't even have a novel out yet!).
Can't say I recommend this one, although I started out feeling optimistic about it. The second half of the book was the weakest and I ended up skimming many stories after the first two pages didn't hook me in.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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20 July, 2008:
Finished reading
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20 July, 2008:
Reviewed
