Death's Excellent Vacation

Only read the Night Huntress story. Quick read. Wanted to know why they were banned from Bite. ( )

I didn't read the whole book, I admit I bought it to read 'Two Blondes' about Sookie and Pam, and that story was really funny and well written.
I didn't get into most of the other stories, so that's why I only gave it two stars. ( )

I only read the Sookie story...it was OK, but I didn't expect much since the last book wasn't great. ( )

Hit and miss, and short story collections often are.

The Sookie Stackhouse "Two Blondes" was actually pretty entertaining. I was a bit taken aback by Sookie's willingness to pole dance, but her character has been getting more...relaxed lately so I guess it sort of worked.

The Boys Go Fishing--not really my thing. Too "woe is me" after a while. The premise was good (ancient superhero who is the only one of his friends left), but it fell flat at the end.

One for the Money by Frost had an annoying teenager. Difficult to get past the teen, but underlying character interaction was good. It could be worth picking up a full length novel in the series.

Far Across the Caspian Sea by Stashower had a nice little twist. I'd like to know where these people disappear to when they leave!

The Innsmouth Nook by Martinez was absolutely just fun. Not much meat in it--a true short story, stands on its own, and I can't think of any longer followup that could be done in a full novel. Very nicely done.

Safe and Sound by Abbott...meh. Could see the end coming from a mile away, and the reporter was just too stereotypical.

Seeing is Believing by Banks wasn't bad. I can't see pursuing further books with the characters, but ok.

The Perils of Eferjim by Katie MacAlister--a bit too campy for me. Now, I like camp, so maybe I just wasn't in the mood. Or maybe I needed to have a background with the characters to really enjoy it.

Thin Walls by Christopher Golden--super creepy and kinda icky.

The Heart is Always Right by Saintcrow--again, this one was a bit too transparent. It almost worked as a prequel, though. Sort of like we were supposed to know a story that happened after this, and the author is going back to introduce how these people met.

The Demon in the Dunes by Chris Grabenstein--not my thing.

Home from America by Newman--again, not my thing. One of those frustrating stories that if one of the other characters had just taken the time to EXPLAIN to the main character what was happening...Bah! Also, there were a lot of unnecessary bits--the woman he keeps running into (why twice if she's not going to play a bigger part?), the space taken up in the back seat of the car (never explained), etc.

Pirate Dave’s Haunted Amusement Park was totally fun. Just fun.



( )

I am not a big fan of the whole "vampire" genre, so I got this book just to read a few stories by some authors that I like and respect.

I read Chris Grabenstein's story and was very happy with it, and it didn't have a vampire in sight! There is a hard-hitting moral to his story and I'll admit I didn't see it coming.

I read two or three others and although they were okay, I wouldn't go as far as to say I would look for them again. I'm not mentioning names because I don't want to diss an author because I didn't like the subject matter, and I knew I probably wouldn't when I read the book.

Those who love the supernatural should love this - and I say more power to you! ( )