Best New Paranormal Romance [Paperback]

Paula Guran, the editor of this compilation, waffled so much at the beginning of this book that I gave up reading her introduction to go and do something more interesting, like watching a plank warp.

I guess that was my earliest indication that the book itself was going to be the major disappointment it proved to be ...

If not, the first story ought to have begun to convince me .. it was one of those which though adequately constructed in terms of grammer, language choices etc., nonetheless leaves you sitting there at the end, asking "yes, well .. what was she trying to say? What were those blasted lights? Where was the point in all that?"

If a short story should - as I believe - have a beginning, a middle and an end, which start a tale, expand it and lead it to a conclusion wherein the reader can make sense of the elements that went before .. this fails to meet the criteria. It seemed to more resemble some ideas the author had jotted down in a spare moment to think through and work on at a more convenient time.

Of the 12 stories, only one - Rebecca York's "A Hero's Welcome" (which I think was oddly titled in relation to the story) met my criteria for a book in the romance genre .. which is that the hero and heroine end up living "HAE" (happily ever after).

The remaining eleven stories I found depressing, irritating, self-indulgent or just plain boring. Some I'd class as fantasy, rather than paranormal. None would fit my criteria for the romance genre.

All in all, I'd have considered it a major waste of money except that at least now I know not to buy anything in future by 11 authors I've realised I have zero time for!

Any book entitled "Best..." gives the potential for disappointment, especially in the crowded genre of paranormal romance. However this book was not disappointing in the least and was instead a great collection of short stories within this tricky-to-define genre, each very different in their own way. The editor, Paula Guran, gives an introduction to the genre (or, rather, how difficult it is to define the genre) and there follows twelve different short stories by authors within this field.

Most of these stories are set in the modern world although with paranormal elements: ('Follow Me Light' by Elizabeth Bear; 'A Maze Of Trees' by Claudia O'Keefe; 'Walpurgis Afternoon' by Delia Sherman; 'Calypso in Berlin' by Elizabeth Hand, 'Single White House' by Heather Shaw; 'Magic In A Certain Slant Of Life' by Deborah Coates; 'Fir Na Tine' by Sandra McDonald; 'A Treatise On Fewmets' by Sarah Prineas and 'The Hard Stuff' by John Grant), two are more traditional space science fiction ('The Shadowed Heart' by Catherine Asaro and 'Hero's Welcome' by Rebecca York) and one has historical elements ('A Knot of Toads' by Jane Yolen). Unlike most full-length romance novels there isn't always a Happy Ever After in these stories, they often instead explore some of the difficulties and sadnesses of life on this planet or another.

What really stands out about these stories is the writing styles. Many romance novels have little literary merit but the contributions to this anthology are written with great attention to detail and some wonderful turns of phrase. I particularly highlight "Calypso in Berlin" here which has some wonderful descriptions of Berlin after the Wall came down although in this story the romance is a very minor part of the piece.

The last story in the anthology, 'The Hard Stuff' is very different in that it has a male author. It focuses on a man severely injured in Iraq and is a strongly anti-war piece with a brilliant depiction of the difficulties of a man who has had both hands amputated coming to terms with his new disability and the different ways in which his disability is viewed in America and in Scotland. The paranormal aspect of this story came in quite a way through by which point I was fascinated with the hero's story and in some ways I would have enjoyed reading this without the paranormal aspect as the topic of the man and his injuries was so well written, although then it could not have been included in this collection!

This is an excellent book for those who wish to find talented authors in this overcrowded genre. Each of these stories has a writing style markedly better than much of the available writing in this genre and it's an excellent introduction to these authors for those looking for new things to read.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book, www.curledup.com. © Helen Hancox 2007

Any book entitled "Best..." gives the potential for disappointment, especially in the crowded genre of paranormal romance. However this book was not disappointing in the least and was instead a great collection of short stories within this tricky-to-define genre, each very different in their own way. The editor, Paula Guran, gives an introduction to the genre (or, rather, how difficult it is to define the genre) and there follows twelve different short stories by authors within this field.

Most of these stories are set in the modern world although with paranormal elements: ('Follow Me Light' by Elizabeth Bear; 'A Maze Of Trees' by Claudia O'Keefe; 'Walpurgis Afternoon' by Delia Sherman; 'Calypso in Berlin' by Elizabeth Hand, 'Single White House' by Heather Shaw; 'Magic In A Certain Slant Of Life' by Deborah Coates; 'Fir Na Tine' by Sandra McDonald; 'A Treatise On Fewmets' by Sarah Prineas and 'The Hard Stuff' by John Grant), two are more traditional space science fiction ('The Shadowed Heart' by Catherine Asaro and 'Hero's Welcome' by Rebecca York) and one has historical elements ('A Knot of Toads' by Jane Yolen). Unlike most full-length romance novels there isn't always a Happy Ever After in these stories, they often instead explore some of the difficulties and sadnesses of life on this planet or another.

What really stands out about these stories is the writing styles. Many romance novels have little literary merit but the contributions to this anthology are written with great attention to detail and some wonderful turns of phrase. I particularly highlight "Calypso in Berlin" here which has some wonderful descriptions of Berlin after the Wall came down although in this story the romance is a very minor part of the piece.

The last story in the anthology, 'The Hard Stuff' is very different in that it has a male author. It focuses on a man severely injured in Iraq and is a strongly anti-war piece with a brilliant depiction of the difficulties of a man who has had both hands amputated coming to terms with his new disability and the different ways in which his disability is viewed in America and in Scotland. The paranormal aspect of this story came in quite a way through by which point I was fascinated with the hero's story and in some ways I would have enjoyed reading this without the paranormal aspect as the topic of the man and his injuries was so well written, although then it could not have been included in this collection!

This is an excellent book for those who wish to find talented authors in this overcrowded genre. Each of these stories has a writing style markedly better than much of the available writing in this genre and it's an excellent introduction to these authors for those looking for new things to read.

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