Kitty's Greatest Hits

Not so much Greatest Hits as Collected B-Sides, this volume contains mostly stories that have appeared in various anthologies over the years. Not all of them (indeed, only the minority) have Kitty Norville as their protagonist, but they are all set in the same universe as the Kitty novels and the reader of this collection will encounter many familiar names. Like with all good B-sides there is a lot of experimentation going on here, where Carrie Vaughn strays from the familiar Kitty formula and tries new things, plays with different sounds and reaches for different modes of expression.

Still in analogy with most B-sides collections, the stories vary quite a bit in quality, reaching from a mere “meh” to “exciting”, with the show more occasional “funny!” thrown in (it should be noted that there are no complete duds to be found here, though, even the weaker stories are at least readable). The ones I liked the least were the ones in historical settings, as Carrie Vaughn just does not manage to give her characters a voice and a mindset that would be convincingly pre-modern, they feel more like modern people play-acting in front of a painted historical backdrop. In marked contrast to those, the stories featuring Kitty Norville as first-person narrator are among the highlights of the collection (and how could anyone possibly not love a story that is titled “Kitty and the Mosh Pit of the Damned”?) with in particular the tone of the narration being spot-on (which makes me wonder just how much it is due to Kitty’s distinctive voice that the novels are so enjoyable to read).

Another favourite story in this collection is “Life is the Teacher” which is basically about a vampire growing up – leaving the nourishing haven of home to go out into the world, learning to stand on her own feet, and of course discovering sex. Not much happens in this story, but it is an impressive character piece and rife with atmosphere. Said atmosphere is also very lush and sexually charged and makes me wish Carrie Vaughn would write erotica, at least occasionally.

The story I liked best, though, and the ones fans of the series will be most likely to gobble up is “Long Time Waiting” – also the only one that really fills a gap in the novels by telling the full story of what happened to Cormac in prison. It probably is no accident that this is also the longest story in the collection – Carrie Vaughn’s writing seems to work better in the long form, she is more of an album artist and her singles just don’t live up to her longplayers. Still, for the most part Kitty’s Greatest Hits is a fun collection, and anyone who has been following the series should grab it for “Long Time Waiting” alone. show less

Kitty’s Greatest Hits give readers a great selection of stories, both in the Kitty universe and of some of our favorite characters.

Of the stories not about Kitty and her friends, I really loved The Book of Daniel and A Princess of Spain. At one point in the novels, Kitty is speculating on what historical figures might have been supernatural creatures. The biblical Daniel, of Daniel and the Lion’s Den, is one on which she speculates. Could Daniel have been a lion shifter? That might explain why the lions didn’t eat him.

A Princess of Spain tells us the story of Arthur Tudor, the sickly older brother of Henry Tudor — Henry VIII. What if Arthur’s sickness was a plot in vampire machinations? Arthur’s wife, Catherine of Aragon, show more and Henry discover the plot and “save” Arthur from the wicked vampire.

I also love the “origin” stories of Rick and TJ. Conquistador de la Noche reveals how Rick — Ricardo de Avila — was turned vampire in Mexico long before most European vampires came to America. Wild Ride assures us that T.J. chose to become a werewolf, but was too dominate a wolf to be comfortable in most packs.

And, of course, Long Time Waiting is the brilliant story of Cormac and Amelia’s fight against the demon haunting the prison, and how they became partners in Cormac’s head.

Actually, there aren’t any bad stories in this collection. Even the short short ones are fun. My only complaint is that I would have preferred the stories be presented in chronological order, rather than in publication order, or there was some notation of when each story took place in the timeline of the novels. That would have been helpful. I also would have liked to see some stories about General Sherman and Odysseus Grant.😉

I’m very glad all the stories were collected into one volume, and that Marguarite Gavin narrated them all. Having a consistent narrator for the entire series is fantastic. Gavin does an excellent job.

I’m super glad I took the time to reread the entire Kitty series. I rated several books higher than I did on my original read, and I’m so glad there was a resolution to the Roman story-line. Kitty is one of my favorite series.😉 show less

A while back, I shared with a friend my opinion that Carrie Vaughn was a short story writer applying herself to novels. Hence, she produced novels that are really collections of 2-5 shorts woven together into an intricate tapestry. "Well," my friend opined, "maybe the short story collection she has coming will be the best Kitty Norville book ever."

I wouldn't go that far. But still, Kitty's Greatest Hits is an excellent addition to the world Vaughn has created, steeped in the uncommon layer of realism that keeps her fans coming back. Where other authors of urban fantasy are satisfied making pulpy escapism, Carrie Vaughn reaches higher, giving us characters who are human beings instead of cliches, conflicted instead of angsty, and show more ultimately just trying to get by the same as everyone else.

Read the full review at Lupines and Lunatics show less

I really liked this collection. I think I enjoyed this more than I would have because I knew Kitty's world, and I knew the characters portrayed in the stories (for the most part). These weren't stand-alone stories but missing pieces that further fleshed out a world I know, and characters I loved. Even the stories that didn't feature any of the characters from the Kitty books worked, because they were historical events that were interesting what-ifs - if vampires and were-creatures were real.

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Kitty’s Greatest Hits is a collection of short stories that Carrie Vaughn has collected together under one anthology. Many have been part of other anthologies and I’d already read two of them (Il Est Ne and The Temptation of Robin Green), but there are also a few never before seen ones. One is a small story that spins off from one of Kitty’s on-air callers after he hangs up the phone and the other is the novella written about Cormac, one of the main characters, and events that happened to him ‘off screen’.

The stories cover a wide range of topics and characters, from historical periods and even an alternative take on a popular biblical tale (which I really show more enjoyed). Kitty features with her usual flair for getting caught up in things that only she can get caught up in and the wider view of the entire Kitty Norville universe just made me ache for more. These short stories show just how big the supernatural world that Vaughn created is and it feels like she barely scraped the surface of it in the series, which is a little bittersweet. show less

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy:
www.allthingsurbanfantasy.blogspot.com

Under normal circumstances I'm not a huge short story fan, I miss the deeper character development arc that a long story offers. I turn to short stories as a last resort on vacations, or seek them out to tide me over until a favorite author’s next full length book is available. KITTY'S GREATEST HITS turned this paradigm on it’s head. Rather than tiding me over until the next book, these stories deepened my appreciation for the rest of the series and made it more likely that I’ll bump the next Kitty Norville novel to the top of my TBR pile.

In the full length Kitty books, I tend to get overwhelmed by action and lose track of character development. show more KITTY’S GREATEST HITS offers the opportunity slow down and focus on Kitty, her humor and curiosity and unique perspective on life. I particularly enjoyed Winnowing the Herd and Kitty and the Mosh Pit of the Damned, where Kitty's hilarious outlook adds so much fun to the most mundane proceedings, everything from an office party to a dive bar concert.

While it was nice to get a glimpse of Kitty in relative repose, seeing things through her eyes is not a new experience. My favorite aspect of KITTY’S GREATEST HITS was the opportunity to see the Kitty Norville universe from a historical perspective, or from the point of view of other characters that Kitty encounters. Vaughn's enthusiasm and imagination makes it obvious that she takes great joy in exploring all angles of how this world fits together, from the other side of a call-in to Kitty’s show to familiar historical events re-imagined with a paranormal twist. The stories included for Rick, T.J., Emma, and Cormac are seminal, showing them at crisis points in their lives. We see T.J.'s path to lycanthropy, Rick becoming a vampire, and most important of all, the story of Cormac's possession. I have always been a Cormac fan, to the point where I've felt alienated from a story line that has closed so many doors between him and Kitty. Long Time Waiting offers not only a sense of Cormac’s feelings about Kitty, but also some much needed insight into his dealings with Amelia. For someone as strong and fundamentally lonely as Cormac, it was incredibly winning to read about his slow-building trust in this most unlikely of partners.

As much as I enjoyed this anthology, it does leave me frustrated for more. More stories from the perspective of these fascinating supporting characters, more time to focus on the relationships that are so important in Kitty's life, and more time with Kitty herself. While only two of these short stories are newly published content (though I had not read most of them before), the ability to wholly immerse yourself in this world is well worth the price of admission. Given how much I enjoyed KITTY’S GREATEST HITS, I'll keep reading the action-packed full length novels, keep hoping for a spin off from another character’s point of view, and look forward to more short stories that give a well crafted little glimpse into another part of Kitty’s universe.

Sexual Content: None. show less

The Kitty Norville series has remained strong throughout its run thus far. I always look forward to a new Kitty book and since I haven't read any of her short stories I was extremely excited for her collected short story collection "Kitty's Greatest Hits". What sent me into pre-order mania was learning that Cormac's prison story "Long Time Waiting" was included. Cormac, oh, Cormac! Cormac may be my favorite male character in any series, ever. Yes, he is that awesome. He is tough but vulnerable (which we see handled beautifully in the prison story). He has feeling for Kitty, and I still believe Kitty has feeling for Cormac too, but the timing just never worked out. There is "electricity" between them that is missing between Kitty and her show more husband Ben. Cormac is resigned to watch Kitty and Ben together since he loves his cousin very much as well and believes they are better off together. In the series Cormac went away to prison (due to a crime he committed to save Kitty) and we had limited Cormac scenes all the way up until a couple of books ago when he was released from prison...and carrying the spirit of a woman named Amelia inside of him.

"Long Time Waiting" fills a lot of holes by explaining how Cormac came to be sharing his body with Amelia's spirit. I have to state for the record that I don't really like this plotline and I want Amelia expunged from Cormac ASAP, but I did really enjoy this story. We get access to Cormac's feelings about being in prision and his feelings for Kitty and Ben. We share his worries and relive his father's death through his memories of when he was sixteen. This is the longest offering in the compilation and it alone is worth the price of the book. This is a must read for fans of the Kitty series.

Often in short story collections or anthologies, there are only a couple great stories and the rest are fillers. That is not the case with "Kitty's Greatest Hits". There is not a single bad apple in this batch. Some are better than others and some fit in with the Kitty world theme better than others but each and every one is worth reading. I will give a brief overview of some of the highlights in this book.

Il Es Ne - A cute werewolf story featuring Kitty helping a brand new wolf over the holidays.

Conquistador de le Noche - Absolutely a favorite and another must read for fans of the series. This story tells how Rick became a vampire. I loved how strong a person Rick was straight from the beginning. I will mention this was probably one of the most disturbing stories.

Looking After Family - This is a background on how Cormac came to be live with Ben's family and specifically how the bond built between the two of them.

Kitty and the Mosh Pit of the Damned- Awesome short story about Kitty's involvement with a band that seems to induce violence in its concert goers.

Kitty's Zombie New Year- This one was a little too short and sweet but was still fun to read. A strange guest shows up at a New Years Eve party and Kitty tries to discover what is wrong with the girl.

Temptation of Robin Greene: This one really stayed with me for awhile. Robin works in a paranormal laboratory where she takes care of a vampire (Rick!), werewolf, mermaid and more. One day she meets the newest lab specimen, a male selkie. I loved Rick in this story and the plot was fantastic. I wish there was more of this story.

Wild Ride - This is T.J.'s story that tells about how he became a werewolf. I liked it but it would have been more relevant if we still saw some of T.J. in the series.

God's Creatures - Another story about Cormac. Here he is on the hunt to find something that is killing local livestock.

You're On the Air- We get to see a scene from one of the early Kitty books through the eyes of an average vampire named Jake. This is a really cute story.

There were two good short stories "Book of Daniel" and "A Princess in Spain" which I enjoyed tremendously but they were really out of place in this collection. They had no obvious connections to the Kitty universe. show less