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Subterranean: Tales of Dark Fantasy #2
Subterranean: Tales of Dark Fantasy 2
Subterranean: Tales of Dark Fantasy, published in 2008 to widespread critical and popular acclaim, provided a unique showcase for some of our finest practitioners of dark, disturbing fiction. This much anticipated second volume more than meets the standards set by its predecessor, offering a diverse assortment of stories guaranteed to delight, unsettle, and enthrall.
Table of Contents:
Joe Hill – Wolverton Station
Kelley Armstrong – Chivalrous
Steven R. Boyett – Not Last Night but the Night Before
Glen Cook – Smelling Danger: A Story of The Black Company
Caitlin R. Kiernan – Hydraguros
Jay Lake and Shannon Page – The Passion of Mother Vajpai
K. J. Parker – A Room with a View
Norman Partridge – Vampire Lake
David Prill – A Pulp Called Joe
William Browning Spencer – That Dappled Thing
Bruce Sterling – The Partheneon Scalpel
Table of Contents:
Joe Hill – Wolverton Station
Kelley Armstrong – Chivalrous
Steven R. Boyett – Not Last Night but the Night Before
Glen Cook – Smelling Danger: A Story of The Black Company
Caitlin R. Kiernan – Hydraguros
Jay Lake and Shannon Page – The Passion of Mother Vajpai
K. J. Parker – A Room with a View
Norman Partridge – Vampire Lake
David Prill – A Pulp Called Joe
William Browning Spencer – That Dappled Thing
Bruce Sterling – The Partheneon Scalpel
292 pages, Hardcover
First published April 30, 2011
6 people are currently reading
747 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
April 17, 2022
Chivalrous, Otherworld Stories 8.1 by Kelley Armstrong
This was brand new to me, which was a surprise, b/c I'd thought I'd read all of the most recent additions to this series.
It's a Reese POV, and as one of the newer members of the pack, I'm very interested in his back story that previously had only been hinted at in the main books.
All that skittishness in regards to Pack wolves? Well . . . turns out he had good reason. VERY good reason. I'm looking forward to him eventually getting the revenge he deserves. *wink, wink, nudge, nudge, Kelley Armstrong*.
This was brand new to me, which was a surprise, b/c I'd thought I'd read all of the most recent additions to this series.
It's a Reese POV, and as one of the newer members of the pack, I'm very interested in his back story that previously had only been hinted at in the main books.
All that skittishness in regards to Pack wolves? Well . . . turns out he had good reason. VERY good reason. I'm looking forward to him eventually getting the revenge he deserves. *wink, wink, nudge, nudge, Kelley Armstrong*.
July 31, 2017
la historia de kelley estuvo muy dramatica.
January 25, 2019
Chivalrous – Reese, as we learn, hasn’t had the easiest of time and he really became an interesting wolf for me and I hope we get his HEA.
January 8, 2012
I won a copy of Tales of Dark Fantasy on Pat's Fantasy Hotlist. As alluded to by the title, this is a collection of 11 fantasy short stories with a dark twist.
In general, it's quite good, with some unfortunate exceptions.
Some honorable mentions:
The Passion of Mother Vajpai by Jay Lake and Shannon Page: although this is not explicitly stated, this story might be set in Lake's City Imperishable. It's about the final test of a young female assassin student, who is confronted with a task rather more difficult than what she expected. Lake seems to have a thing about secret societies of women, he wrote a rather similarly themed story for another collection I read recently. Very well-written.
Chivalrous by Kelley Armstrong: starts out as Romeo and Juliet with werewolves, but, as it turns out, not everything, and everyone, is as it seems. Cleverly constructed to play with the tropes we've become used to through Twilight and other assorted supernatural soft-porn.
Not Last Night But The Night Before, by Steven R. Boyett: One day, a man working as a clerk in a law firm starts seeing his death. Not as in how he's going to die, but as a not further described humanoid creature which appears in his life, but doesn't really interact with him at all. The death mostly amuses itself by playing computer games, and doing small acts of kindness. Nevertheless, this appearance totally throws him off the rails...until something decisive happens. Definetely the least dark story in this collection.
A Pulp Called Joe, by David Prill: Long Rapids has been involved in paper-making for so long that the inhabitants have become part paper. The upper classes are fine vellum, the lower ones cheap pulp paper. Also involved: a doomed love-story.
A Room With A View by K.J. Parker: I really loved this one. I'll have to check if the author has done any other stories in the same world. There's a really special magic system, where the magician passes through different "rooms", in each of which other magical stuff can be done. Apart from rooms, there's "forms", something like spells. Manuo is something of a black sheep among magicians, and gets carted off somewhere to check dogs for demonic possession. During this assignment, he's supposed to mentor a student magician, and things turn out rather unexpectedly.
Dishonorable mention:
Hydraguros by Caitlin Kiernan: A small-time drug peddler, after taking some weird stuff, starts seeing quicksilvery stuff leaking out of people's noses or ears..then he has an extended hallucination...and then the story's over. No resolution or explanation, nothing. Or did they forget to print the last 10 pages?
Smelling Danger: A Black Company Story by Glen Cook: I'm really sad about having to give this facit on this story, because I really love the Black Company books. This one however is extremely confusing, and nothing much happens either. I don't think anybody who's not read the books could make head or tails out of this. There is almost no indication about when or where this is taking place. The characters are not introduced or explained at all. Basically, unknown people are doing bizarre things for no explained reason in an undefined place...Very disappointing :(
The other 4 stories are ok, easily readable, but not really special in a good or bad way.
7/10 all around.
In general, it's quite good, with some unfortunate exceptions.
Some honorable mentions:
The Passion of Mother Vajpai by Jay Lake and Shannon Page: although this is not explicitly stated, this story might be set in Lake's City Imperishable. It's about the final test of a young female assassin student, who is confronted with a task rather more difficult than what she expected. Lake seems to have a thing about secret societies of women, he wrote a rather similarly themed story for another collection I read recently. Very well-written.
Chivalrous by Kelley Armstrong: starts out as Romeo and Juliet with werewolves, but, as it turns out, not everything, and everyone, is as it seems. Cleverly constructed to play with the tropes we've become used to through Twilight and other assorted supernatural soft-porn.
Not Last Night But The Night Before, by Steven R. Boyett: One day, a man working as a clerk in a law firm starts seeing his death. Not as in how he's going to die, but as a not further described humanoid creature which appears in his life, but doesn't really interact with him at all. The death mostly amuses itself by playing computer games, and doing small acts of kindness. Nevertheless, this appearance totally throws him off the rails...until something decisive happens. Definetely the least dark story in this collection.
A Pulp Called Joe, by David Prill: Long Rapids has been involved in paper-making for so long that the inhabitants have become part paper. The upper classes are fine vellum, the lower ones cheap pulp paper. Also involved: a doomed love-story.
A Room With A View by K.J. Parker: I really loved this one. I'll have to check if the author has done any other stories in the same world. There's a really special magic system, where the magician passes through different "rooms", in each of which other magical stuff can be done. Apart from rooms, there's "forms", something like spells. Manuo is something of a black sheep among magicians, and gets carted off somewhere to check dogs for demonic possession. During this assignment, he's supposed to mentor a student magician, and things turn out rather unexpectedly.
Dishonorable mention:
Hydraguros by Caitlin Kiernan: A small-time drug peddler, after taking some weird stuff, starts seeing quicksilvery stuff leaking out of people's noses or ears..then he has an extended hallucination...and then the story's over. No resolution or explanation, nothing. Or did they forget to print the last 10 pages?
Smelling Danger: A Black Company Story by Glen Cook: I'm really sad about having to give this facit on this story, because I really love the Black Company books. This one however is extremely confusing, and nothing much happens either. I don't think anybody who's not read the books could make head or tails out of this. There is almost no indication about when or where this is taking place. The characters are not introduced or explained at all. Basically, unknown people are doing bizarre things for no explained reason in an undefined place...Very disappointing :(
The other 4 stories are ok, easily readable, but not really special in a good or bad way.
7/10 all around.
March 25, 2016
This is neither a great anthology nor a terrible one. It is slightly misleading, as the stories aren't uniformly 'dark fantasy'. There's light and romance, high fantasy and humorous fantasy, wistfulness and uplift.
And to be honest, I kinda liked the anthology that way, with me starting each story not knowing what to expect. It allowed me to hold back my expectations and come into each new tale with an open mind. Most of them were forgettable. Some felt incomplete. A couple of them were great.
In the end this book passed the time for me in a way I don't regret. That's really good enough for me!
And to be honest, I kinda liked the anthology that way, with me starting each story not knowing what to expect. It allowed me to hold back my expectations and come into each new tale with an open mind. Most of them were forgettable. Some felt incomplete. A couple of them were great.
In the end this book passed the time for me in a way I don't regret. That's really good enough for me!
April 9, 2020
Kelley Armstrong - Chivalrous.
March 18, 2022
Just read Kelley Armstrong
Want to read
December 27, 2015Wolverton station / Joe Hill -- Fine, nothing too exciting.
The passion of Mother Vajpai / Jay Lake and Shannon Page -- Hated Green so wasnt expecting much but actually enjoyed this. Glad it was a short though.
Chivalrous / Kelley Armstrong -- Liked this one a lot. Heart-breaking though. Made me sad!
Smelling danger: a Black Company story / Glen Cook -- Didnt like it at all. Didnt really get what was going on and didnt enjoy the style.
The dappled thing / William Browning Spencer -- Okay, not my cup of tea.
Not last night but the night before / Steven R. Boyett --
Hydraguros / Caitlín R. Kiernan --
The parthenopean scalpel / Bruce Sterling --
A pulp called Joe / David Prill --
Vampire Lake / Norman Partridge --
A room with a view / K.J. Parker. --
The passion of Mother Vajpai / Jay Lake and Shannon Page -- Hated Green so wasnt expecting much but actually enjoyed this. Glad it was a short though.
Chivalrous / Kelley Armstrong -- Liked this one a lot. Heart-breaking though. Made me sad!
Smelling danger: a Black Company story / Glen Cook -- Didnt like it at all. Didnt really get what was going on and didnt enjoy the style.
The dappled thing / William Browning Spencer -- Okay, not my cup of tea.
Not last night but the night before / Steven R. Boyett --
Hydraguros / Caitlín R. Kiernan --
The parthenopean scalpel / Bruce Sterling --
A pulp called Joe / David Prill --
Vampire Lake / Norman Partridge --
A room with a view / K.J. Parker. --
July 10, 2011
I bought this b/c of Joe Hill's story, Wolverton Station, but I liked the second story a lot. I hadn't heard of Jay Lake or Shannon Page. Even though there were lesbian love scenes, it didn't bother me to hear about it. I guess, from my view, you have to write about it a certain way. Until now, I'd never read scenes of gay lovemaking without feeling like the author who wrote it was uncomfortable doing so. These authors weren't uncomfortable so it came out natural-sounding, as if it could have been a man and woman making love.
So far, Joe Hill's story is the only one that's in a different style. It reminds me of H.P Lovecraft, where things just happen and you don't get to know why. True horror comes more from what ISN'T known than what you can see. Fear of the unknown is my second biggest fear.
So far, Joe Hill's story is the only one that's in a different style. It reminds me of H.P Lovecraft, where things just happen and you don't get to know why. True horror comes more from what ISN'T known than what you can see. Fear of the unknown is my second biggest fear.
July 1, 2013
EDITOR INFORMATION: William K. Schafer is the head editor at Subterranean Press, which was founded in 1995. Schafer’s bibliography includes Embrace the Mutation: Fiction Inspired by the Art of J.K. Potter and the first Tales of Dark Fantasy anthology.
ABOUT SUBTERRANEAN: TALES OF DARK FANTASY 2: Subterranean: Tales of Dark Fantasy — published in 2008 to widespread critical and popular acclaim — provided a unique showcase for some of our finest practitioners of dark, disturbing fiction. This much anticipated second volume more than meets the standards set by its predecessor, offering a diverse assortment of stories guaranteed to delight, unsettle, and enthrall. Volume two proper is a full 20,000 words longer than the first ... Read More:
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
ABOUT SUBTERRANEAN: TALES OF DARK FANTASY 2: Subterranean: Tales of Dark Fantasy — published in 2008 to widespread critical and popular acclaim — provided a unique showcase for some of our finest practitioners of dark, disturbing fiction. This much anticipated second volume more than meets the standards set by its predecessor, offering a diverse assortment of stories guaranteed to delight, unsettle, and enthrall. Volume two proper is a full 20,000 words longer than the first ... Read More:
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
Read
August 18, 2011I got this from the library but wasn't able to get through it. Not because it was bad at all, I just didn't have the time right now, and have too many other things to read. I'd specifically checked it out for two stories ("The Dappled Thing" by William Browning Spencer and "Vampire Lake" by Norman Partridge) and I read both of them, and they were both great.
Maybe sometime when things are a little less hectic I'll check it out again and read the rest of the stories...
Maybe sometime when things are a little less hectic I'll check it out again and read the rest of the stories...
July 16, 2011
I am a big fan of fantasy and not so big a fan of horror, so I mostly liked the less dark of this definitely dark collection. They were all pretty solid - "The Passion of Mother Vajpai" and "Not Last Night but the Night Before" were particularly brilliant, in my view. It's a good collection of authors, and if "Dark Fantasy" is an imperfect intersection of genre for my personal tastes, it doesn't mean the collection isn't solid.
May 21, 2011
I bought this because of Kelley Armstrong's short story which tells the story of Reece, introduced in one of her earlier novels. I enjoyed his story. I had not read any of the other authors before. Some I liked and will now consider buying - a few stories weren't to my taste but will likely be enjoyed by others.
July 21, 2011
Any book with a new Black Company story is going to be good. I enjoyed most of the other stories as well. It was a little more urban fantasy than I was expecting, but there was only one vampire story so that was okay.
January 7, 2014
I only read the stories by Glen Cook, Steven R. Boyett, and K.J. Parker. I really liked those three. I didn't read the others because my husband had warned me off them because they had too much R-rated content.
January 8, 2014
I quite enjoyed the K.J. Parker short story (itself almost entirely worth the price of admission). The Glen Cook and Steven R. Boyett stories were quite enjoyable as well. The rest of the stories might as well be pulped--nothing of value for me in them.
January 22, 2016
I received this by accident, and I hope that whoever had originally put this on hold at the library finally gets it.
As with most anthologies, some of the stories are really good, while others are so so. On the whole, I enjoyed more of the stories.
As with most anthologies, some of the stories are really good, while others are so so. On the whole, I enjoyed more of the stories.
October 19, 2014
Good stuff.
January 22, 2012
Borrowed from Jacsmom
dnf
November 6, 2014I beta-read Kelley Armstrong's CHIVALROUS, so if she got the Aussie bits wrong...that would be my fault ;-)
anthology
September 15, 2011Read:
"Chivalrous" by Kelley Armstrong
"Chivalrous" by Kelley Armstrong
October 17, 2011
• “Chivalrous,” by Kelley Armstrong [narrator Reese]
January 14, 2012
Only read Armstrong's short story
July 12, 2016
I only read Kelley Armstrong's contribution to this collection, so my rating is for this story only. It's a great installment to her Otherworld series.
Read
July 14, 2013Read Chivalrous - 4*'s
December 22, 2014
Only read the Kelly Armstrong.
Read
January 8, 2021read only "chivalrous" by Kelley Armstrong from the anthology "otherworld nights"
Want to read
December 19, 2010Has a Black Company story in it - I will have to read it and hope it's a good one.
October 27, 2011
This rating only regers to the short story "Chivalrous" by Kelly Armstrong.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews