Kerrie Hughes

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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Heroes have fascinated humanity since we started telling stories. They became even more fascinating when we started writing the stories down—and achieved the status previously reserved for pantheons of deities when we started putting them on the big screen. Heroes have become big business.

But heroes, real heroes, aren't titans or icons.

Real heroes are standing behind cash registers, starting cold trucks, getting kids out of bed. show more They're the everyday humans who happen to be standing there when something bad happens, and when there is a sudden need for skill, courage, or intelligence. They’re the regular people in irregular circumstances who find themselves considering others first and standing up to do whatever needs to be done.

WHAT'S HEROIC HEARTS ABOUT?
In her Foreword, Kellie Hughes describes this as

a collection of hopeful stories about courage, bravery, codes to live by, and people you can trust.

Who doesn't love a hero story? Here we have twelve stories from a dozen UF authors all approaching this idea in their own distinctive ways. Some are stand-alones, some are parts of a series.

AUTHORS I'M NOT THAT FAMILIAR WITH (IF AT ALL)
It's the rare anthology that will be full of only authors you know well—half the point of one of these is to be exposed to someone new so you can decide if you want to read more by them.

Charlaine Harris wrote the only story I didn't appreciate in this collection, I just couldn't get into it. That's likely something to do with my mood/what I ate today/something else. Most days, I simply wouldn't have cared—I don't think it's in me to really like this one.

I thought the rest of the stories were entertaining and well-executed, but a few are going to get me to keep an eye out for authors/series. Chloe Neill's "Silverspell" tempted me to check out the rest of that series, these are characters and a world I could spend more time with. Jennifer Brozek's "The Necessity of Pragmatic Magic" was great—ditto for "Grave Gambles" by R.R. Virdi.

"Troll Life" by Hughes was just wonderful. It's everything you want in a short story—we're given a well-developed world, a handful of strong and interesting characters, a good plot, and it just made me smile throughout.

AUTHORS I'M VERY FAMILIAR WITH
Kevin Hearne, Patricia Briggs, and Jim Butcher are what brought me to this collection. I've read everything I can by them, so that's not surprising, right?

We meet up with Atticus, Starbuck, and Oberon in Australia, looking into the cause of a massive forest fire, in "Fire Hazard." It's told from Oberon's point of view, which makes it a sure-fire win. I'll read just about anything in Oberon's voice—and this story demonstrates why. It's funny and action-packed. Some of the best lines in the book are in this story, too.

I wasn't that interested in "Dating Terrors," by Patricia Briggs based on the idea. "Asil on a blind date" just doesn't draw me in—sure, I'm curious about Asil's activities, so I wanted to read it. But the concept didn't grab me. That lasted only a few pages—now I want to see more about Asil's date and her friends. Preferably with Asil around, but that's not necessary. I should've known Briggs would hook me by the end, and come into it with better expectations.

This brings us to the story the book opens with (but I saved until the end), Jim Butcher's "Little Things." This happens days after Battle Ground, as the city (and its wizard defender) is trying to recover from those events. The "Little Things" this story focused on are Major General Toot-Toot Minimus, his forces, Lacuna, and Mister. When a threat to the castle slips by the guards and other defenses, these heroes have to rise to the challenge. It's deceptively fun, light, and breezy. But it's Butcher, you know he won't let you off that easy. Dresden in the shadow of Battle Ground? The emotional core of this story isn't small. The story made my day...I've got nothing negative to say about it.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT HEROIC HEARTS?
This is a strong collection of Urban Fantasy stories, with a little something for everyone. Anything I didn't mention above was fine—they're all written well, but some characters/stories aren't for everyone, and that would describe the few I didn't talk about. Every story was worth the time (except for that thing by Harris, I just didn't see why that was written—and I wouldn't be shocked to hear that most readers of the book will think I'm nuts for that).

This probably would've gotten a warm 3 Stars from me, if not for the Briggs and Butcher stories. I enjoyed almost all of these stories, and really only disliked one. But wow, those two were just outstanding. Nothing that made me as happy as those two did is going to get less than 4.

Even if you're new to the genre or are only a fan of one or two of the authors, I expect you'll find yourself enjoying most, if not all, of the book. Pick it up. show less

In theory, there are no dusty corners in my digital library where a book can slink out of sight and sulk because I didn't get around to reading it in the first month after I bought it. In practice, that's exactly what 'Shadowed Souls' managed to do. I bought the book a day after it was published in November 2016. If that sounds eager, it's because this book has new stories from six authors whose work I follow and each story has its own narrator, And yet, here I am in 2025, stumbling across show more the book when it shows up in a LibraryThing search for something else.

So, a little late, I brought this out of the shadows, intending to read a story a day. It didn't work out that way. There's a new portmanteau word doing the rounds now that describes what happened with this book: Snaccident -{snack-si-dent} - noun- mistakenly eating an entire pack of biscuits when the intent was to eat just one.

In the introduction to this collection, Kerrie Hughes says that she "...invited the authors to write a story that good and evil are just two aspects of a complicated and very human story, I wanted the plots to play with the concept and invite the reader to explore the edges of their own darkness."

Some of the stories hit the mark perfectly - dark, complex, compelling, tales. A couple, the ones attempting humour, didn't hold my attention.

I recommend this collection to anyone who enjoys Urban Fantasy that's thoughtful and packs a punch. I recommend the audiobook. Having a different narrator for each story made this a great listen.

Below I've reviewed and rated each story, in the order they appear in the anthology.

COLD CASE by Jim Butcher ★★★★★

I haven't read any Jim Butcher since I gave up on the dirge that was 'Battle Ground' in 2021 so it was a joy to slip back to 2016 and remind myself of why I loved the Harry Dresden books.

The story is about Molly Carpenter, on her first mission for Mab since she became the Maiden Winter Queen. It's set in the cold and dark in Alaska, which fits a story about a Winter Queen. Molly always was easy to like, especially after she had such a tough time in the Dresden files, so I was glad to get to spend time with her again. At first, this seemed like an upbeat, 'Molly-To-The-Rescue' story, with a daring rescue, a spectacular fight scene and an alliance with the nicest (and youngest and most handsome) White Council Ranger. I should have remembered two things: firstly, this anthology is about the complex relationship between good and evil and secondly, Molly is now working on behalf of Mab. The ending took me in an unexpected direction that wasn't so much a twist as an inevitable outcome that Molly should have seen coming. It was sad and harsh and yet quite probably necessary. This was Jim Butcher at his best.

SLEEPOVER by Seanan McGuire ★★★★

So far, I've only read the first two books in McGurie's InCryptid series 'Discount Armageddon' and 'Midnight Blue Light Special', I enjoy the way McGuire uses the eccentric cryptozoologist Price family to challenge a humancentric view of the world. Elsinore Harrington, cousin to Verity and Antimony Price, is the protagonist in 'Sleepover' so of course the story starts at a Roller Derby. Then Eisinore has to deal with a kidnapping and the search for a missing child. What I liked most about this story was that Elsinore never makes the obvious choice. She treats people as people, regardless of species, and tries to find a way to de-escalate tense situations.

IF WISHES WERE by Tanya Huff ★★★★

It was a pleasure to read a new Vicki Nelson from Tanya Huff. It's been fifteen years since I read Tanya Huff's 'Blood' series about Vicki Nelson, an ex-cop, forced to retire because of a degenerative eye disease who, working as a PI, found herself in a series of complex encounters with the supernatural. I've missed her.

'If Wishes Were' takes place decades after the books Vicki, of course, hasn't aged. She's still thirty-four. Being a vampire will do that for you. Mike, her partner is now in his sixties and still working as a cop. For me, this was a poignant story. I could see that Vicki had grown harder over the years. She's convinced herself that her relationship with Mike is the only thing keeping her even slightly human, although I could still see the core of the person she used to be.

The conflict at the story's heart wasn't so much how/if Vicki would deal with yet another powerful rogue supernatural but whether she has the strength to live with Mike's choice to live out his natural lifespan. Tanya Huff showed what a difficult and emotionally complex decision this was.

SOLUS by Anton Strout DNF

Anton Strout was a new author for me. I'm aware of his Simon Canderous series but I'd never tried it. After sampling this story, I'm sure it's not a series that would work for me. I gave up on the 'Solus' part way through because the writing was so leaden and the attempts at humour were so heavy-handed.

PEACOCK IN HELL by Kat Richardson ★★★

A well-imagined and gory climb out of hell. A twisted revenge plot. A lot of action. Not a (completely) good guy in sight. An entertaining read but a little short on emotional engagement with the protagonists.

EYE OF NEWT by Kevin J. Anderson DNF

Nope. Not my sort of thing. This is comic book humour of the sniggering, pun-filled kind that never makes me smile. I set it aside.

WHAT DWELLS WITHIN by Lucy A. Snyder ★★★

Well, that was fun. A kick-ass outlawed-but-still-trying-to-be-good heroine with a complicated past, taking on demonic forces in a spectacular rescue. The storytelling was a little condensed but I liked the main character, Jessie Shimer, so I bought the first book in the series: 'Spellbent' (2009) despite its very 'of its time' cover.

HUNTER, HEALER by Jim C. Hines ★★★★★

Jim Hines met the brief to explore the complex duality of good and evil with this powerful story. It was darker and more violent than his usual stories. He conceives of someone doing something fundamentally evil and justifying it by claiming they are saving lives. He sets up a violent conflict where all the choices seem bleak He carried me right to the brink an outcome fueled by despair and bravery. And then he found a way of transforming all of that into something hopeful without diminishing the impact of the evil. This was very well done.

BAGGAGE by Erik Scott de Bie ★★★★

Another new-to-me author but this time, one writing in a style that I enjoyed.

This is a first-person narrative from a retired supervillain/superhero in hiding. It's not easy to paint a picture of a high-functionîng alcoholic with a superpower fed by other people's fear and still make human enough and vulnerable enough to engage a reader's empathy. De Bie managed it in style while delivering a plot that kept momentum and delivered a twist that I didn't see coming.

I'd like to read more about this character, so I've added a copy of 'Libations for the Dead' to my TBR.

SALES FORCE by Kristine Kathryn Rusch ★★★

I liked the idea of the central character as someone who can do what she does because she has less soul than most. The possible scam she was investigating was clever and heartless. The ending was satisfying. The start, and most of the passages about grief, didn't work as well.

IMPOSSIBLE MONSTERS by Rob Thurman ★★★

This story introduces the monstrous Cal Leandros (think Dexter with a foul mouth and supernatural abilities), the protagonist of Rob Thurman's ten-book Urban Fantasy series about a half-human bogeyman. The start was a little slow and Cal's obsession with expletives got very old very quickly but the story gripped me once it got underway. It was dark, with no redeeming features, although Cal wouldn't lose any sleep about that. I don't know how well the interior monologue of a depressed, violent, sociopathic main character will translate into a novel, but I'm curious enough to want to give 'Nightlife' (2006) the first Cal Leandros book, a try. show less

"Zombie Raccoons & Killer Bunnies," edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Kerrie Hughes, is a 2009 anthology of original stories dealing with animals in various configurations from hilarious to poignant. “Bunrabs,” by Donald J. Bingle, details how a group of chickens manage to fend off ravenous, blood-thirsty rabbits; “Watching,” by Carrie Vaughn, explains that pigeons might really be spying on you after all; we’ve also got Ninja Rats on Harleys (Elizabeth A. Vaughan), Bats in Thebayou show more (Steven H. Silver) and my personal favourite, were-foxes (“The Ridges,” by Larry D. Sweazy). Quite a fun little collection of stories, featuring a number of writers with whom I was unfamiliar; it’s always nice to discover a new writer! show less

This sounds like a romance, but as the cover makes clear it's an urban fantasy anthology, and the title refers to acts of heroism by characters that would normally be considered bit players or underdogs.

And it's an excellent collection; with the exception of one (The Vampires Karamazov, which felt like a story fragment, or at least, a story with an incomplete ending), I enjoyed all of them; not something I can often say about anthologies. Of course this collection's deck is stacked, if you show more know what I mean, with authors like Jim Butcher, Patricia Briggs, Anne Bishop, Kevin Hearne, and Chloe Neil, each of them offering short stories that complement or extend their most popular series.

I'm not sure I can come up with a favourite. As much as I enjoyed all my favourite authors' entries, when I think back across all of them the two that immediately come to mind as stories that 'stick' are Jennifer Brozek's The Necessity of Pragmatic Magic - perhaps because I might overly identify with Felicia, who only wants to be left alone, and Kerry L. Hughes' Troll Life which somehow charmed me in ways I can't quite pinpoint; maybe the sentient trains?

Patricia Briggs' story features Asil, Dating Terrors, and while it's always fun to read about Asil - he makes me laugh - and the story is good, I have to admit I think he plays to best advantage when he's surrounded by Charles, Anna, Bran and the rest of the pack. For those interested, this short story is not the same one as Asil and the not-date found in the Laurel K. Hamilton anthology Fantastic Hope; it's related, I suspect, and I'm certain Dating Terrors takes place after Asil and the Not-Date. It also appears to have long-reaching implications for Asil and his fans; I'm wondering if they'll play out in the next Alpha and Omega book? show less